VIENNA – For the Austrians the Vienna Philharmonic is not “just” an orchestra. it is the sense of a historical investiture and an object of worship. it is the incarnation of a mission: to be the intermediary, the privileged interpreter, of that Austro – Germanic arch of thought and musical sentiment that from Bach, through Mozart and Beethoven, reaches up to Richard Strauss. it is the only active testimony of Austria Felix and of the time before Mayerling, before the collapse of the empire and the defeats. it is a bulwark of the past and pride of the present. How does this live monument react to the sensational rise of the right in Austria? “We do not have official positions”, says Wolfgang Schuster, spokesman for the orchestra. “A symphony orchestra has a task: to perform symphonies.We provide our contribution to the elaboration of a near-glorious past May 7, we will play in Mauthausen, in the former concentration camp, on the program the Beethoven Ninth, symbol of promise of a better world “. Yet, in spite of the intentions, the physiognomy of the Wiener is historically marked by a halo of extreme conservatism expressed above all on two sides: sexism and anti-semitism. In the years of the III Reich the Filarmonici were among the flowers in the eyelet of the Fuhrer. Concerts and tours took place according to Nazi propaganda, and not only because circumstances dictated: up to ’45 half of the Wiener were active members of the party, and the secretary of the orchestra, Wilhelm Jerger, was a non-commissioned officer of the SS. It is not surprising that in the Anglo-Saxon countries the Philharmonic deserved the name of Naziorchester. And the Jew Bernstein, often a fine guest on the Viennese podium, was delighted to call it “my favorite Nazi orchestra”. Today the accusation sounds unacceptable: “We are not xenophobic or anti-Semitic,” Schuster protested. “The orchestra is formed at 14 per cent by foreigners”. How many of the 142 members are Jews? “I think they are three”. Percentage not comforting, we observe. But Schuster flies over and smiles. As for sexism, until ’97 the orchestra excluded women, then was forced by the rules on “equal opportunities” to withdraw the rule from the statute. Nevertheless, not even a musician appears today among the Wiener files. There should not be a harpist contest, an instrument entrusted by tradition, rare exceptions apart (there is Harpo Marx among the brightest), with feminine hands? “The fact is that the last competition for harp” announces Schuster complain and irresistible “was won by a boy”. (L. b.)