“A Sad Day for Culture: Philadelphia Orchestra Declares Bankruptcy…“

From: Digital Music News
Monday, April 18, 2011

“There’s a serious debate over where classical music is headed, especially as audiences worldwide continue to gray. Well, cite this as evidence of a demise: over the weekend, the Philadelphia Orchestra decided to declare bankruptcy after years of audience declines.  “We’re in a state of shock, really,” principal oboist Richard Woodhams told the Associated Press.  “I think it’s a very, very sad day for culture in the United States and the world.”

A number of problems were cited, the biggest being less butts in symphony hall seats.   The Orchestra received an emotional standing ovation this weekend following the performance of Mahler’s 4th, though even that crowd was thinned.   Now, it’s off to the negotiating table and internal fighting, as unions, management, and even donors are likely to spar.

The big question is whether this 111-year old outfit finds a way to survive. And, what this means for orchestras and classical music worldwide.   The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the big ones – in fact, it’s one of the “Big Five” in the US.   But it seems that audiences are shifting away from the seriousness and length of classical and operatic works, and simply lacking the patience and appetite from such full-length fare.

Indeed, the more common appetite these days is for bursts of multi-tasked enjoyment, and attention spans are quickly moving south.   Which is bad news for orchestras and their hours-long performances.”

I’m flabbergasted by this tragic news.  This is my favorite orchestra in the world – an orchestra that I’ve seen and heard play countless times and every time thrilled to their musicianship and inspired playing.

What is wrong with us as a human race that we are getting so small-minded that we can’t support one of the great music institutions in the world?  I blame it on television.  It’s dumbed us down until we cannot sit and pay attention to anything that doesn’t give us a commercial break.  It has taught us that we cannot hold our attention to anything longer than an hour.

It’s a sad day for American culture and just one more step down the ladder for American leadership in the arts, American civility and American maturity.

Whether you’re a classical music lover or not, you must recognize that in this very act of defeat, the great history of music, from Bach to Beethoven to Ravel to Stravinsky, is now being further ignored and forgotten by a race of people consumed with the irrelevancies of television and the Internet.

What can we do to prevent this absolute decline of American culture?

Teach our children to love classical music.  It’s not difficult.  There are mountains of it to love.  Start with Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and help them develop their ears and minds from that point going forward.  It may even rub off on you.

Play classical music for your babies.  They’ll grow up to be better adults.  That’s a promise.  Take teenagers to classical music concerts.  Make them go.  Expand their world from the narrowing influences of Hip Hop and Rap into a world far beyond the simplistic popular.

Ed-u-cate Them!  Don’t leave it up to them.  They’re children.  What they don’t know, they don’t know.  We must teach them the finer things of life.  If we don’t, they’ll never learn and great art, great culture will disappear.

Yes, it’s possible.  Here it is happening.  The music business has failed because, for one, it has become so dumbed down.  Listening to the radio today is often a wasteland of choices.  Where do we find better music, inspirational music, music to inspire our lives and elevate our souls?

There is a great history of music just waiting to be found, to be played, to be appreciated and loved.  Find it again for yourselves.

Teach your children before it’s too late.

Save the Philly!