William Osborne mentions the restrictions I cited: “Only [Anna Lelkes's] hands were allowed to be shown during television broadcasts, her name was not included in programs, and she was excluded from most of the orchestra’s official photos. In some cases, she even wore a gown made to look like a Frach.”

http://www.osborne-conant.org/ten-years.htm

The Guardian for 10 January 2003 reported that “In the past, the [Vienna Philharmonic] has been forced to temporarily accept a female harpist, Anna Lelkes, because of the shortage of male harpists. When she performed, she was not mentioned in the programme or shown on television. The cameramen were told to focus on the male performers and only Lelkes’ hands made a momentary appearance.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/jan/10/gender.arts

Radio Bulgaria reports that Albena Danailova “has so far taken two prominent seats as a concert-master – in the London Philharmonics and Bavarian Opera in Munich.”

http://www.bnr.bg/RadioBulgaria/Emission_English/Theme_Music/Material/Albena_Danailova.htm

According to the 8 May 2008 AFP report I used in preparing this item, “Albena Danailova … will become the first-ever woman to lead the orchestra of Vienna State Opera. Danailova already plays first violin in the orchestra and in the Bavarian State Opera orchestra in Munich.”

http://www.france24.com/en/20080508-vienna-opera-albena-danailova-first-female-concertmaster-austria

This is the same link that I cited in the original entry.

I could have misunderstood the news item, or it may have been carelessly worded. However, in this context, “plays first violin in the orchestra” seems pretty clear to me — it would indicate that when named as leader of the Staatsoper, Danailova was a current member of the Staatsoper’s first violin section. Thus, making her concertmaster would constitute a promotion at the Staatsoper.

Whether you consider it a promotion or not, the point of the piece is that the Staatsoper has taken on a woman as concertmaster, a most welcome change in attitude for Vienna. I doubt that many people (other than the most staid Vienna orchestra members) would argue with that!

I did refer to “Orchestrating Impartiality,” a paper published in 1997. There authors Claudia Goldin and Cecilia Rouse report that of the eleven major orchestras they studied, 4 had fully or partially screened final audition stages. That’s over one-third. Of course, eleven orchestras is a pretty meager sample from which to draw definitive conclusions about percentages screening finals.

Goldin and Rouse assert that “For female musicians who made it to the final round, the individual fixed-effects regression result indicates that the screen increases the likelihood of their winning by about 30 percentage points.” Thus, I’d say it’s definitely worth noting that the Phil gave the initial nod to Plaichinger in 2001 despite the absence of the screen in the final round.

Perhaps it is “important to see what musicians look like while they play,” but I have to wonder what kind of appearance would legitimately disqualify someone with outstanding technique and musicianship.

As for your second point, I don’t think it’s incorrect to say that the Staatsoper is “traditionally a training ground for the Philharmonic,” but thank you for clarifying the personnel relationship between the two.

1. “In most cases, for example, prospective players now try out behind screens that hide them from the judges.”

While it is true that most orchestras have some part of their auditions screened, very few actually go through the entire process without seeing the applicant. Most, like Vienna, remove the screen for the final round. The later quote about the Philharmonic believing it is important to see what a player looks like seems intended to make the VPO seem outlandish for making such a statement, when many musicians (male and female) would likely agree.

2. “the Vienna State Opera Orchestra (Wiener Staatsoper), traditionally a training ground for the Philharmonic.”

Actually, the Staatsoper is the ONLY way into the Philharmonic.

From wienerphilharmoniker.at:
“In accordance with Philharmonic statutes, only a member of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra can become a member of the Vienna Philharmonic. Before joining the Philharmonic therefore, one must first successfully audition for a position with the State Opera Orchestra and prove oneself capable over a period of three years before becoming eligible to submit an application for membership in the association of the Vienna Philharmonic.”