A Female Concertmaster - Perish the Thought!

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So, the Vienna Philharmonic inches its way into the 21st Century. By the response in the press you'd think that this is some great divide being crossed or alternatively that this was a case of affirmative action with the Philharmonic simply bowing to outside pressure.

Though I am all for seeing more women concertmasters, composers and conductors, I truly can't wait until the gender of our musical leaders is so inconsequential as to garner no mention. After all, the genitals have nothing whatsoever to do with the production of great music.

When will the day come we can celebrate the appointment of a concertmaster in Vienna, or indeed in thousands of musical organizations throughout the world by a celebration of the musicality of the person involved rather than by an irrelevant specification of gender?

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