With every new discussion regarding savings in public service broadcasting in Austria, the ORF RSO is almost automatically called into question. This is a fundamentally wrong signal for the future of the ORF, which we reject in the strongest possible terms. Because this artistically unique orchestra and its live and radio programs legitimize the public service mandate of the ORF in an almost ideal way, testify to an internationally valued profile of domestic, contemporary cultural production and cultural diversity.
It must be clear to the Austrian federal government that with its pressure to cut costs in the course of the fee reform, it is directly curtailing and destroying domestic art and culture. To the ORF it must be clear that its cultural mission is non-negotiable and non-negotiable. The rumored savings of 10 million euros a year are contrasted with a cutback in the music scene, which, in purely economic terms, makes this step absurd. Not only do the musicians, conductors of the orchestra and the cultural workers living around them lose their jobs, this clear cut has negative effects and collateral damage in the music industry and tourism and in international cultural cooperation. The ORF RSO must therefore not be sacrificed, but must be equipped and aligned for the future.
Art and Culture State Secretary Andrea Mayer is currently committed to the continued existence of the RSO a. We therefore also call on Minister for Women, Susanne Raab, to campaign for the continued existence of an ensemble that not only speaks of equal opportunities and gender equality, but truly lives them. We also call on the federal government not to play off financial, cultural and democratic interests once morest each other in public, but to ORF as a medium under public law in such a way that it can fulfill its cultural and educational mandate independently and with high quality.
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OMR
The contribution of the Austrian Music Council calls for the preservation of the ORF RSO – Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra first appeared on mica – music austria.