At last: greetings from the founders of the Wiener Koalano Kai
May 28th 2022
Hi, my name is Yuji Yuasa, President of the Wiener Koalano Kai.
The Wiener Koalano Kai, which launched in Japan on February 15th of this year, will finally be launched in Vienna. This moment is three years in the making; it has required many long hours of complex coordination and planning but we have worked together with our members to make it happen.
This website is for people who are involved in or fond of classical music to exchange opinions, renew old connections and to create new ones. We will be using a members only system, so that people can exchange opinions in an environment where they can be sure their privacy is protected. Our first priority is to promote a conversation platform: the Wiener Koalano Kai is planning to organise various events for members within the club, as well as round-table discussions via zoom.
The organisation was accredited as a non-profit organisation (Verein) in August 2021 and membership can be obtained by paying a fee. The €60 annual membership fee can be paid in any number of installments, and is the equivalent of one €5 cup of coffee per month. The fee is only used to cover the minimum operating and personnel costs.
As part of the membership application process, we request that all musicians and non-musicians create a business card which will be used on the platform to introduce themselves to one another. This will facilitate communication between members.
For musicians in particular, we will offer the opportunity to create self-marketing material, with audio and video, which we will use to assist in the promotion and development of your musical activities. Eventually, we aim to establish a general information office for musicians.
In order to stimulate conversation, we would like to know as much as possible about your current activities in the ‘Activities’ section. As the Wiener Koalano Kai is mainly based online, it is essential that this and all other information is accurately communicated to as many people as possible.
The world’s classical music scene is currently in a state of decline. Peaking in the 1960s and 1980s, quality and interest has been deteriorating ever since. In the opinion of some scholars, in ten years’ time the classical music community will be about 30% of what it is today.
In particular, the decline of the traditional music festival is progressing at an alarming rate. For example, the Wiener Festwochen, which you may be familiar with, has changed drastically over the past seven years and has now been completely replaced by a theatre-based festival. Let’s work together to revive the once very essential musical component of this prestigious event and in general, begin to break the trend of decline in the world of classical music.
Verein der Wiener Koalano Kai
(Internationale Musiker ihnenvernetzung und Vermittlung)
Lerchenfelderstr. 62-64/14 A-1080 Wien
Vorstand Mitglieder
Vorstand Yuji Yuasa
Vize Vorstand Michael Schneider
Schriftsteller Moritz Lauer
Kassier Georg Sonleitner
P.S.:
As of February 15th, the Japanese branch of the Wiener Koalano Kai in my home country of Japan is fully open. At the launch, I published a long, strongly-worded article on the state of the classical music industry and although it was widely was read, the number of people I could convince to revolutionize the system with me was unexpectedly small. I would like to reshape the Viennese branch of the Wiener Koalano Kai to include a reflection on this.
We are looking to recruit people who have studied in Vienna over the past 30 years, people who want to study in Vienna, professional musicians who want to make their European debut, especially in Vienna, people who work in Vienna, people who used to live in Vienna, people who love Vienna, people who love Viennese music, people who love young musicians, young musicians who want to study in Europe and make their international debut, those who are interested in supporting young musicians, those who want to improve the classical music world, those who have doubts about the current state of classical music and music education, and those who are willing to cooperate with and support this association.
On the day after I was writing this, I had dinner with Mr. and Mrs. K, former concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, for the first time in a long time. We had a very lively conversation, especially about the inheritance of the classical music cultural tradition of yesteryear and the future of the orchestra. I am very encouraged. I intend to meet with him regularly and ask him to give his opinion on koala associations.
Dr. Kuchel’s greatness
During the two and a half hour long talk, I could understand that Dr. Küchel loves Viennese music, that he will continue to be active for the rest of his life, and that he thinks about the problems of the classical music world more than I do. I have always thought that he was a genius, but in fact, he is a true hard worker. When I was a student at the Academy of Vienna, at the age of 20, I took the exam to become the second concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic. This was in late December, and I started work on the 4th of January. He had hardly known opera until then, and he began his days in a position that attracted worldwide attention, where he could not afford to make a single mistake. During his first year, he had to perform 40 operas every day as concertmaster. This cliffhanger was the first test of his responsibility to perform perfectly, even though he had never performed an opera before. I had no choice but to do it anyway. One mistake could damage the tradition of the Vienna Philharmonic and lead to a one-year probationary dismissal. In short, the decision could only be made by unanimous approval of the entire orchestra. He said that he had never been so strict in his career. So, after that, the efforts of a man who had been the world’s greatest concertmaster, who had performed in opera, chamber music, string quartets, solo performances, as a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, and in other music festivals, all in the pursuit of a career as a musician, were rewarded with the opportunity to work with him in the future of the Classical Music Festival and help him implement it. He is truly a man of culture. He is truly a man of culture. This is the tradition of Viennese music. I hope that you will not be defeated in your efforts. Effort is the greatest power for a musician. Are you not lazy? Be a cultured person. Since you cannot access the Internet yourself, I will pass on the words of this god-like teacher of the music world to you.
About the long article I wrote:
For this new launch of the Wiener Koalano Kai, I would like to make a revised version of the article and invite you to read it. This article is not a slanderous exposé. It describes honestly all the problems, shortcomings, blind spots and shameful aspects of the current classical music industry. We would like as many of the 13 million people in the classical music community as possible to read this article; if the sentiments there resonate with you, please join the Koalano Kai and give us your support. Please spread the word.
Yuji Yuasa
Original concept behind our organization
06.07.21 Vienna
Yuji Yuasa
Kick-off in Japan and Wiener Koalano Kai
I am passionately dedicated to music. I was born in Chiba, Japan and have been an active music educator in Vienna for over 30 years. Although retired at age 65, I still yearn to contribute to Vienna’s vibrant musical community.
I value deeply my professional network and contacts that I have built throughout my life and now I see my vocation as expanding this circle in order to curate and promote classical music and especially Viennese classical music.
1. First and foremost, I am looking for people who have studied music in Vienna from 1980 onwards (e.g. students from MDW, MUK, other music schools; those who have studied privately or through music festivals; and players from ProArte,) and would get in contact with them via the Internet. Let us, dear friends, reestablish contact with one another and exchange ideas.
I am currently working to establish a database of contact information for this musical community; accurate, verifiable information from everyone is important in fostering trust within this network. All in all, I envision 20,000 members for this and the Wiener Koalano Kai will serve as the basis for this. But to start anything at all, I need you.
2. The conductors network should consist of those trained in Vienna from 1950 to the present day, as well as ex-students, conductors working in other countries, and of course conductors in my own professional circle. Ideally, this should have around 5,000 members.
3. I also plan to create a network of orchestra and choir members from the Vienna State Opera, the Volksoper, and other Viennese venues, who have been active since 1980 or later. University lecturers and professors would also be part of this.
4. I call on the people from 1, 2, and, 3 to rethink about the tradition of Viennese classical music and its future. It is essential to also involve retired people.
In the recent past, the MDW, the Volksoper, and above all the Vienna Philharmonic and State Opera have subscribed to a new trend that has distanced itself from customs that were dutifully cultivated up until around 10 years ago. One of the reasons for this, as I see it, is that these organizations no longer prioritize the preservation of Viennese tradition, but rather allow themselves to be guided by economic trends in Europe. It is important to me that the Viennese classical music world continues to protect its traditions and invest in the way they are passed on to the next generation, so that they are not lost to history. This attitude is essential for the survival of classical music and therefore, I call on all those who are committed to this culture to help revive the world capital of music, as it once was in its Golden Age.
5. So I ask all musicians to join the Wiener Koalano Kai. Please create a musician business card with us. Your information will be treated with discretion and handled transparently.
Musician Business Card
This is my proposal: it is particularly important for those who work in the cultural sector, (music educators, music students, etc.) to create a CV (business card) that is succinct and easily accessible. The usual CVs, videos, etc. vary wildly in format from person to person and often contain too much advertising with too little information. One therefore seems unprofessional. If certain conditions could be made uniform, it would be easier to offer jobs and find suitable candidates for them. In any case, I feel it is important to begin to implement this concept around the world.
The details for this are still being worked on, but that would be the idea. The musician business card will be generated with information provided in the application form for the Wiener Koalano Kai.
- Musicians’s business cards will be created in the mother tongue of
the artist as well as in English with the same content.
- Recordings can be 15 minutes long, the first 3 minutes must be
Mozart (to document musical style). The remaining 12 minutes may be
selected at the discretion of the applicant.
- Up to 3 profile photos.
- CV data will be entered into a form with around 50 fields.
- The form must be filled out carefully
- Not all fields must be filled in, but if false statements are
found, penalties may be imposed.
- All information is handled in confidence.
Examples of the fields to be entered:
- First and Last Name
- Gender
- Birth date
- Instrument
- Height / Weight
- Language skills and proficiency levels
- 3 pieces that you can currently play well
- Repertoire list up to 500 pieces that can be performed in front of
an audience with 3 days notice
- 3 composers who currently interest you
- 3 musicians who currently interest you
- Average number of hours practiced per day
- Number of performances in the past 3 months
- Planned performances in the next 3 months
- List of performances in the last 3 years
- Planned performances in the next 2 years
- Up to 3 competition awards
- Up to 3 university degrees
- Up to 3 musicians (past and present) whom you admire
- Places you would like to work: Japan (regional/countrywide,)
Europe, and/or globally - Field of expertise
- Current affiliations / employment relationships
- Contact information
- How you find out about the Wiener Koalano Kai
- Your publications
- CDs and/or DVDs you have recorded
- 3 performances you attended that most impressed you
- 3 recorded (video or audio) interpretations that most impress you
- 3 musicians you trust
- 3 examples of musical literature that impressed you
- 3 books that impressed you
- 3 hobbies, besides music
- Number of CDs owned
These musician business cards will usually be available to all other members of the Wiener Koalano Kai. All information is circulated on the basis of mutual trust. If there are other organizations to which members' business cards can be sent, the Wiener Koalano Kai will do so if possible.
Members provide their data at their own discretion. This can mean that some fields must remain empty, however, I insist again that you not provide false information, as it damages this mutual trust within the association.
This is the key part in bringing musicians on the international scene. I am looking forward to it and I am counting on your cooperation.
6. The Viennese and adopted Viennese who love classical music and are particularly interested in the Viennese tradition.
7. People from all over the world who are interested in classical music and especially in Viennese music.
I am happy to welcome more and more members from categories 6 and 7.
8. The association will also assist in the presentation and introduction of literature and articles on classical music in Vienna.
9. As soon as membership has reached a certain number, I will begin to exchange members’ profiles with music organizations and agencies, and offer my own mediation services.
10. In addition to taking a more traditional approach to music agency, I will also pursue new and different methods.
In any case, this association should become the largest and most up-to-date database of musicians who are active in Vienna.
If you decide to become a member, please help the association to increase its membership. The management responsibilities of the association will be assumed by myself, whose eyesight is very limited, as well as some of my employees, which will change depending on its rate of growth and size. The association itself operates on a fee-based membership system; the exchange of data between members is free of charge.
Because I am retired, I am starting this endeavor from scratch, financially. In this first phase, the association will be funded through generous sponsorships, grants, and annual membership fees. The annual membership fee is €60 (€5 per month, or the cost of one cup of coffee.) With this structure, I think we can reach many people.
Application for membership:
Enter the data for your musician business card online and transfer the annual membership fee.
Possible services to be offered by the Wiener Koalano Kai:
- Masterclasses from retired professors
- Masterclasses from Mr. Yuasa
- Provide répétiteurs
- Provide production managers, sound engineers
- Provide tax advisors for musicians mediate support for the concert
- Provide travel support and accommodation for concert tours