The Orchestra's President Is In The Water скачать в хорошем качестве

The Orchestra's President Is In The Water

This is a Chinese language programme with Chinese subtitles. A short video released by the Beijing Chinese Orchestra this week has gone viral across Chinese social media, posing a deliberately absurd question to musicians and staff: if the orchestra’s president fell into a river, would you jump in to save him? The answer, delivered unanimously and without hesitation, is no. The video, produced and released within days, features players, administrators, accountants, conductors and stage managers responding to the same hypothetical scenario involving the orchestra’s newly appointed president, Wu Xuhai. Each refusal comes with a deadpan explanation rooted in professional duty or institutional rules. A wind player explains that his breath capacity is a “fixed asset” of the orchestra and must be preserved for performances. A musician says the president himself has instructed everyone to focus on their own work. A stage manager insists that “the show comes before everything else.” Finance staff ask which budget line the rescue would fall under and whether the paperwork has been approved. One manager first asks whether the river is in Beijing or outside the capital. If it is elsewhere, she says, an official permit would be required before travelling out of the city to attempt a rescue - a reference to the administrative procedures that apply to employees of state-funded cultural institutions. Another staff member warns that anyone who has been near water is not allowed into the rehearsal room, citing internal rules that prohibit bringing water into performance spaces. The humour lies in the accumulation of such responses. While the premise is clearly satirical, the justifications reflect real operating principles inside China’s public funded performing arts organisations: performance schedules are paramount, assets are regulated, procedures are formalised, and individual initiative is secondary to institutional discipline. According to the orchestra, the video was conceived, shot and released in under a week. It is among the first public-facing initiatives under Wu’s leadership and highlights a lighter, more self-aware side of an ensemble whose average age is under 35. The Beijing Chinese Orchestra is a state-run cultural institution, part of China’s public-service system, where employees are subject to detailed rules governing safety, budgeting, travel and professional conduct. Such organisations are more commonly associated with seriousness than humour. Yet the video suggests a shift in how orchestras communicate with the public, using comedy to demystify how they function while reinforcing core values. “Performance comes first, discipline comes first,” is the unspoken refrain running through every punchline. Similar strategies have been adopted by other Chinese orchestras in recent years, particularly through short-form video platforms, as ensembles compete for attention beyond the concert hall. The aim is not simply virality but visibility: using approachable content to draw new audiences toward live performances and classical repertoire. For viewers, the clip offers both entertainment and insight. For the orchestra, it doubles as a statement of institutional culture. And for Wu Xuhai, it serves as an unusual but effective introduction to leadership - one in which no one, at least hypothetically, is above the rules. The video ends with one unanswered question, left hanging for audiences to ponder: does the president actually know how to swim? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit klassikom.substack.com (https://klassikom.substack.com?utm_me...)