The Cabildo of Lanzarote has described as "false" the accusations made on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero by the manager of the Classical Orchestra of Lanzarote, who accused the institution of "unfair competition" with the creation of Lanzarote Ensemble, stating that although the group was presented as the first public orchestra on the island, "it is a limited company", into which the Cabildo "is injecting 100,000 euros".
Firstly, the Cabildo points out that "art cannot be approached in any way as "business competition" and that both the activity of the Classical Orchestra Association of Lanzarote, as well as the formation recently announced by the Nino Díaz Foundation, Falla Ensemble, and the musical project itself of the first public institution on the island, are perfectly compatible because they have different objectives".
Regarding what he describes as the "most serious of his lies", assuring that "they have not received a euro from the Cabildo in four years", the institution states that the OCL has received from the Cabildo "an average of 41,000 euros per year since its creation, and specifically 166,512 euros in the last four years". "The Cabildo of Lanzarote directly will have paid to the Classical Orchestra Association of Lanzarote an amount close to a quarter of a million euros, 247,109 euros exactly", adds the institution, referring in this case to the amount paid to the OCL from 2013 to 2018.
In this regard, as detailed in an attached table, the institution would have paid the OCL a total of 247,109 euros from 2013 to 2018: 133,292 euros through the billing of the CACT, 51,409 through the billing of the institution and 62,409 through subsidies. However, the Cabildo does not clarify whether any of these amounts came from the Department of Culture, which is what the manager of the OCL criticized, who did acknowledge having had collaboration from Tourism and the CACT.
"It is not a company"
Regarding the 100,000 euros that the Cabildo will invest in Lanzarote Ensemble, the institution clarifies that they are "for the start-up of the same and for the execution of the complete inaugural season". "This includes the work of the musicians and the rest of the technical staff, as well as the expenses associated with the performances that will take place outside the island territory, planned in Tenerife, London and Berlin", he points out. In addition, the institution reiterates that "Lanzarote Ensemble is an artistic project of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and not a company as Mr. Fuentes claims".
"Regarding the Minister of Culture and his technical team, who supposedly 'forgot' to notify the manager of this association for the creation of Lanzarote Ensemble, the Cabildo of Lanzarote also denies such a statement", adds the institution, which points out that "from the beginning of the public project they spoke with one of the directors of the Classical Orchestra Association, as well as with members of other entities dedicated to academic music" and that, "so much so that today in Lanzarote Ensemble there are musicians who in turn are members of said association".
According to the Cabildo, the manager of the OCL also falsely accused Lanzarote Ensemble of the musicians "being from outside". However, in this regard he points out "that the director of Lanzarote Ensemble has the freedom to invite, under his artistic criteria, musicians who are not part of the group". "For example, for the concerts on February 16 in Haría and on March 14 in London, this project of the Cabildo will feature the presence of the British director James Blair, and in September will be the violinist David Ballesteros of the London Symphony Orchestra, which will undoubtedly enrich the artistic and musical experience offered on the island to those attending these concerts", he details.
San Ginés regrets the "ingratitude" of the OCL manager
The president of the Cabildo, Pedro San Ginés, and the Minister of Culture of the institution, Óscar Pérez, have expressed their "perplexity" at the statements made by the manager of the OCL. In addition, San Ginés says he regrets the "attitude of ingratitude" of Roberto Fuentes, because "after the financial support received in these years, directly and through its independent entities, he has dared to publicly assert such statements".
"When blatant lies are added to ingratitude, we enter a dynamic that greatly hinders dialogue and understanding with the director of this Classical Orchestra of Lanzarote", said San Ginés, while the Minister of Culture has also regretted that the manager of this group "speaks only in economic and not artistic terms, the ultimate goal that should move him and not another".
