Iraqi orchestra struggles to survive

Top musicians play on despite unpaid wages

BAGHDAD, Aug 14, (Agencies): In a dusty Baghdad dance studio, conductor Mohammed Amin Ezzat tries to fire up the musicians of Iraq’s National Symphony Orchestra, whose enthusiasm has been dampened by eight months without pay.

An ageing air conditioner fights to beat back the summer heat in the cramped space at the capital’s School of Music and Ballet as the 57-yearold maestro leads the group through a rehearsal of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain”.

The shaggy-haired Ezzat and the 40 musicians surrounding him are gearing up to perform at Baghdad’s National Theatre on Saturday, but the group’s morale is at an all-time low.

The ensemble has lost more than half its members since the start of the year, when the government issued a directive barring state employees with two jobs from receiving two salaries.

The anti-corruption measure was suggested by the World Bank and should affect only about a third of the orchestra’s musicians, but because of delays in carrying out the reform wages have been withheld from the entire group.

“The orchestra is in great danger,” Ezzat said. “Some don’t have enough money to come, and others are disappointed by the impact of politics on the orchestra.”

Officially created in 1970 after several unsuccessful attempts, Iraq’s national orchestra has survived decades of upheaval.

It has survived wars, an invasion, a 12-year international embargo and a devastating three-year battle against Islamic State group jihadists, which came to an end last year.

But this may be the last straw for the outfit, a collateral victim of Iraq’s “war on corruption”.

“Not being paid for eight months has had a terrible psychological effect on the musicians, but we’ll continue to resist peacefully with our music,” said Ezzat, who became the orchestra’s first

investment deal with China’s Huayi Bros. And “Billy Lynn”, for which director Lee used high-frame-rate camerawork that proved a stumbling block for exhibitors, was co-financed with China’s Bona Film Group. (RTRS)

LOS ANGELES:

Peter Simon, photographer and brother of singer Carly Simon, has accused Bill Murray of harassing him at Lola restaurant in Martha’s Vineyard, Iraqi conductor in 1989.

“We’re on the precipice but sure that we won’t jump.”

When all its salaries are tallied up – including the maestro’s $1,200 a month, peanuts for a major conductor – the orchestra costs the state about $85,000 (73,000 euros) a year.

The sum is a pittance compared to the exorbitant figures syphoned off by ministers and high officials who have either fled or been arrested.

Salary

The conductor, his daughter Noor, a timpanist, and his sons Hossam and Islam, who play the cello and viola respectively, have all been without a salary since January.

But according to Raed Allawi, the head of administrative affairs at Iraq’s culture ministry, there is no reason to panic – the wages will soon be paid.

“The finance ministry has asked for a regularisation of contracts. Verification measures are under way and this explains the late payment of wages,” Allawi said.

“The orchestra is one of the country’s cultural showcases (and the ministry) respects its artists and their talent.”

For the symphony’s musicians, however, these are empty words they have heard already. Saad al-Dujaily, a professor of medicine and a flutist, thinks the measure is regressive.

“I’ve been an obstetrician and a flute player since I was very young,” he said.

Because of the directive, the 57-year-old practitioner – who teaches at Baghdad’s al-Nahrain University and plays in the national orchestra – is now entitled to only one salary.

“In Iraq, we’re proud to have more than one job, to have more than one love, to practise two professions with the same love and passion,” said Dujaily, who plans to continue with the orchestra to help preserve its quality.

Further along into the rehearsal, the studio’s electricity cuts, a common

Mass, last Wednesday night. According to a police report obtained by Variety, Murray said that Simon was “taking pictures of him and harassing him while he was quietly minding his business.”

In the report, Simon claims he was “on assignment” taking photos of people at the restaurant for the Martha’s Vineyard Times when Murray “grabbed him and poured a drink on his shirt.” The photographer later told the Boston Globe that Murray interrupted his photo viewing by allegedly gripping occurrence in a country plagued by power outages.

The orchestra cannot afford the diesel to fuel the building’s generator.

But the musicians play on in the windowless room, using their cell phones to illuminate the sheet music.

“There have been crises in the past, but this is the worst,” said Doaa Majid al-Azzawi, an oboe player.

“Especially since my father and I are musicians. We don’t know what will happen, but if the orchestra has to stop, it’s culture in Iraq that will be dealt a deadly blow,” the 25-year-old said.

When the studio’s lights eventually make a flickering return, so too does the players’ enthusiasm, and the music swells.

“As long as we live, music will live. It’s our culture,” said Noor, the conductor’s daughter.

Also: LARISSA, Greece:

Once upon a time in central Greece... a small town fell in love with famed film composer Ennio Morricone and painted a huge mural in his honour.

The residents of Larissa have launched a fan club dedicated to the Italian maestro – known for his scores for classic movies “Once Upon a Time in America”, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “The Mission”.

Members of the Cultural Society of Friends of Ennio Morricone Music in Greece screen his films and broadcast his concerts live on screens at archaeological sites.

In the latest sign of their appreciation, they have commissioned a mural of Morricone’s bespectacled profile on a five-storey residential block, about 1,000 km (620 miles) away from his birthplace in Rome.

“It is very visible, we wanted a clear illustration of him, so it could always remain here in our town, magnificent, like him and his large body of work,” said society president Konstantinos Papakostas.

him from behind, turning him around, and shoving him against a nearby door. Simon claims that Murray then threatened to throw him out of the building and physically harm him.

Simon recalled the confrontation to the Globe, alleging that he responded to Murray’s outburst by asking the “Ghostbusters” actor, “Do you know who I am?” referring to his prestige as a celebrity photographer, to which Murray allegedly replied, “Do you know who I am?” (RTRS)

LOS ANGELES:

Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, who joined with brother-in-law Bret Hart to form one of the top tag teams in the 1980s with the WWE, has died. He was 63.

The Pasco Sheriff’s Office said Neidhart fell at home, hit his head and “succumbed to his injury” on Monday in Wesley Chapel, Florida. No foul play was suspected.

Neidhart’s daughter, known as Natalya, wrestles for the WWE and is a former women’s champion. Neidhart made appearances with his daughter on the WWE reality series “Total Divas”.

“My dad was always a fighter,” she wrote in an Instagram post.

Neidhart, Bret “Hitman” Hart and manager Jimmy “The Mouth of the South” Hart made up the Hart Foundation stable in the 1980s and 1990s, and the tag team won two WWE championships.

“What a great run we had. I couldn’t believe how it took off,” Jimmy Hart told The Associated Press. “But the reason why was, Neidhart was such a great character back then. Bret was more cool, the girls loved him. Neidhart and myself were kind of the evil twins.” (AP)