It makes you want to weep


In Berliner Morgenpost Simon Rattle tells how there were London Symphony Orchestra musicians weeping after the Brexit vote and goes on to say about the post-Brexit visa process "People simply don’t know how complicated it’s going to be". Earlier this year the same LSO musicians with conductor Daniel Harding toured Korea and China. A description of the convoluted visa application process for China begins: "A work visa is required for persons wanting to work in China for pay. It is also issued to aliens who come to China for commercial entertainment performance. It is only granted if you and the employer meet certain requirements..." I have searched in vain for reports of LSO musicians weeping about the complications of non-nationals performing in China. But I did note that like Simon Rattle, Daniel Harding is managed by Askonas Holt. This agency also managed the LSO's Asian tour, and, as previously explained, has more than one finger in the anti-Brexit pie.

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Comments

Graeme said…
I don't know where you stand on Brexit, but cross border travel has nothing to do with Brexit, just like cross border studies or academic exchanges. The Remain camp still cannot articulate why they love the EU so much. Rattle gets more ridiculous with every public utterance. A poor man's Barenboim, and he is not exactly a brainy guy.
11:39 pm
Pliable said…
Thank you Graeme. Unlike other cultural commentators, I try not to force my views on Brexit down reader's throats. What I do try to do is highlight how self-serving musicians are using Brexit as a tool for feathering their own expensive and very cushy nests.
8:16 am
Graeme said…
One thing that struck me on your linked post was that UBS, a Swiss bank and hence outside the EU albeit not outside Europe, is reported as against Brexit. The levels of irony are dizzying
6:52 pm
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