Posted by B.G. on July 04, 2003 at 14:32:41:
In Reply to: "How to Kill Orchestras" follow-up posted by Tracy on July 03, 2003 at 23:52:36:
I think both extreme views are flawed. The fact is, orchestras spend more money than they take in. They're a lot of people to pay, and ticket sales do not cover all of the expenses. In many cases, ticket prices may actually be too low, but I'll let others debate that point. Check out what it costs to go see some over-amped, over-hyped rock n' roll act sometime! Anyway, orchestras depend on some form of welfare - whether it's endowments, corporate gifts, public tax money, or a combination of any of those things. What I think is being lost is the notion of the symphony orchestra as an institution of local civic pride. Since many American orchestras sound very much the same, albeit extremely good in quality, it's a sort of "who cares?" situation. What does it mean to have a good local orchestra, if the orchestra in the next town over sounds pretty much the same? Also, many people who listen to classical music in one form or another, actually don't go to symphony concerts. To give an example: I'm currently working and living (sort of) in Reno, NV. I listen to tons of orchestral music, simply because I like it. Yet, I haven't gone to a single concert of the Reno Phil. (I wanted to go see their "Planets", but couldn't go). I've only gone to one program of the S.F. Symphony this year. Normally, I go to about four concerts a year - sometimes more. There must be hundreds, if not thousands of more examples just like me. Of all the people who bemoan the loss of symphony orchestras, how many of them actually go out and buy a season subscription themselves? So, if I'm not going to see the Reno Phil., then what am I doing? I'm listening to my vast record collection, which includes recordings by ALL of the top name orchestras in Europe, the U.S., and even Japan. I don't have a need to go see the Reno Phil. (sorry Russ), and they're usually not doing the music I want to hear anyway. Yes, it's true that recordings can't replace the real thing. But what about repertoire? What if you have scheduling conflicts (most of us do)? What about the expense of driving and parking, etc.? None of these things are impediments, but they do make listening to recordings vastly more convenient and less expensive. Besides, I don't want to go hear the Beethoven "Pastoral", if I'm in the mood for Bruckner 6 - plain and simple.
Also, what about people who are into chamber music, or early music? Many of them don't even like symphony orchestras. In S.F., Davies Symphony Hall and the War Memorial Opera House are right across the street from each other. Yet, they have almost entirely separate clientele. Many opera buffs don't care so much about symphony concerts. I rarely go to the opera. My point is that these situations are more complex than all of the standardized answers and solutions to the problems suggest. Yes, any orchestra can go out and do a ton of pops stuff. If it helps to pay for Bruckner and Mahler symphonies, then great. But don't expect me to go hear "God Bless America" and the "1812 Overture" for the millionth time either.
In the S.F. bay area, it was very sad when the San Jose Symphony shut down. It was probably the oldest orchestra in the bay area (San Jose was once the capitol of Ca). However, there are a ton of orchestras in the bay area, including a number of fairly good amateur/semi-pro orchestras. In addition, another professional south bay orchestra has started up to, more or less, take the place of the S.J. Symphony. That's not to mention orchestras at the local universities. If you look at the totality of things, symphonic music is hardly dead! But professional symphony orchestras as we've always known them, may be in jeopardy. In many cases, conductor's salaries may need to be re-evaluated, and possibly renegotiated. The idea of importing very expensive guest soloists may need to be looked at as well. If there are more trained musicians coming out of the Julliards of the world than there are listeners for them, then that's going to drive down the demand for them. Hence, their salaries are not going to be what they once were - plain and simple. But if comes to a choice of being a travelling soloist, or working at Tower Records for the rest of your life (like me), I'll bet they'll take to the road almost every time. Those are the economic realities.
The answer, in my opinion, is that there is no answer. Or, to be more precise, ALL of the answers that have been given are the right answer. Orchestras need to cut their costs, whether it's administrative costs, conductor's salaries, soloist fees, or a combination of all these things. At the same time, orchestras need to lobby for money, plain and simple. They need to bang on corporate doors, rich patron's doors, beat up their local politicians - any and ALL of these things. Who cares if they take some of the public's money in the process? How much other truly expensive crap do we pay for, yet never question for a moment? Symphony orchestras are a tiny blimp on the map of public waste, so why fret over it?
As a last and final comment on this current economic/orchestral crisis, I want to pose a question to those who bemoan the loss of orchetras and jobs (and believe me, so do I). How many of you would actually go out and buy a season subcription to your local professional symphony orchestra? How many of you wouldn't honestly rather have a subscription to your local professional sports franchise of your choice instead? How many of you get your orchestral jollies from a local university orchestra, or semi-pro orchestra instead? How many of you simply just don't go put on a recording instead? I'm willing to bet that many of you are not being terribly honest with yourselves. It's all well and good to prescribe that your neighbors should get season subscriptions, but you may need to lead by example yourselves first (and I'm speaking of myself too). Otherwise, hold thy tounge. On that note, I think I'll go out how the Atlanta Symphony sounds doing "The Planets" today - all I have to do is walk over to my stereo. I can eat at the same time.
Barry Guerrero