Historically, major professional orchestras have been mostly or entirely composed of male musicians. Some of the earliest cases of women being hired in professional orchestras was in the position of harpist. The Vienna Philharmonic, for example, did not accept women to permanent membership until 1997, far later than the other orchestras ranked among the world's top five by Gramophone in 2008. The last major orchestra to appoint a woman to a permanent position was the Berlin Philharmonic. As late as February 1996, the Vienna Philharmonic's principal flute, Dieter Flury, told Westdeutscher Rundfunk that accepting women would be "gambling with the emotional unity (emotionelle Geschlossenheit) that this organism currently has". In April 1996, the orchestra's press secretary wrote that "compensating for the expected leaves of absence" of maternity leave would be a problem. COUNT 5
QSN1 What gender of musician has historically made up a large amount of professional orchestras? ANS1 male QSN2 Women were first hired in professional orchestras for what position? ANS2 harpist QSN3 What year did the Vienna Philharmonic first accept women? ANS3 1997 QSN4 Which major orchestra was the last to appoint a woman to a permanent position? ANS4 the Berlin Philharmonic QSN5 Who was the principal flute for the Vienna Philharmonic in 1996? ANS5 Dieter Flury