Posted by Aubrey Foard on October 24, 2000 at 22:58:29:
In Reply to: Are orchestras dying? posted by Scott Roeder on October 24, 2000 at 07:15:43:
Lots of good comments in this thread.
I don't think orchestras are dying... in fact, they've grown in leaps and bounds over the last century. In the 1930's to 60's, it was generally considered that most symphony musicians were 'weekend warriors' who held full-time jobs during the week. The quality of the job and the musician has certainly grown exponentially since then. The aspiring practicing-4-hours-a-day high school senior is said to be as good as if not better than the level of many professionals 40 years ago. The key to an orchestra's success (I think) lies in its marketing department and to a lesser extent, the innovations of the music director/conductor. If the symphony execs have programs to reach out to children and to introduce the younger, middle class population to heavy orchestral work, then the orchestra will thrive.
This has certainly been the case here in Milwaukee. Over the past five years, since conductor Andreas Delfs arrived, the attendance has grown to create sell-out crowds for many subscription concerts. Bulletin boards and mailings have made the orchestra's voice heard. And perhaps the most striking difference: about half the audience to evening subscription and pops concerts are middle aged and younger. The seniors generally attend Friday morning matinees and even then, the house is close to full. That said, I think it's safe to make an objective statement that the orchestra culture is thriving here in Milwaukee... as long as new innovations continue, growth seems guaranteed.
One other thing: it seems quite surprising to me that there was little young crowd at a Cleveland Orchestra performance of Shostakovich's 5th, one of my favorite symphonies. When I heard a performance of it in Florida by a youth orchestra, however, the age of the crowd was quite diverse and the house was full. But there are many people who tend to shy away from this style of writing and stick mostly with classical and romantic period music. Quite frankly, I would think that if the younger crowd just tried to listen to his music, it would become quite popular as it has with myself and many of my peers. He and other Russian semi-neglected twentieth century composers such as Prokofiev and Stravinsky may seem hard to listen to at first, but their works are actually quite brilliant and can be just as if not more exciting than Mahler or Wagner.