tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post111971265223591523..comments2024-01-07T06:59:04.212-05:00Comments on The Playgoer: Fate of Classical?Playgoerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02994724588504353485noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1120046752128092622005-06-29T08:05:00.000-04:002005-06-29T08:05:00.000-04:00Well as Felix Ungel himself (in the person of Tony...Well as Felix Ungel himself (in the person of Tony Randall) once pointed out, the current National Endowment for the Arts is less than what the city of Vienna gives the Vienna State Opera alone. So heaven forbid federal funding indeed!<BR/>I agree that for an "elite" (I prefer "core audience") artform to persist, either the patrons have to be super rich (as with the contemporary visual arts) OR the state must deem it worthy of preservation. I dream of a day when the federal--or preferably local!--government would consider a symphony orchestra an important state institution. Why not? (We maintain military bands with taxpayer $, don't we?). NY Phil will probably keep doing alright on its own, but this will be the only solution for those struggling orchestras in smaller cities around the country. If you insist on classical concerts continuing to fill 3,000 seat halls then they'll die or you'll get night after night of "John Williams' Greatest Hits + Yanni!" (as you say "broadening appeal"...)<BR/>What's your opinion, "Anonymous". We'd like to know...Playgoerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02994724588504353485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1119972929318931502005-06-28T11:35:00.000-04:002005-06-28T11:35:00.000-04:00My dear Playgoer,If adjusting to a smaller core au...My dear Playgoer,<BR/><BR/>If adjusting to a smaller core audience is necessary for large, expensive undertakings like keeping a symphony orchestra together, how does the orchestra support itself? Does it raise ticket prices, making classical music even more of an elitist affair? Should the musicians sell insurance on their days off? Should it wait 50 years for the zeitgeist to swing away from anti-intellectualism? Or, heaven forbid, ask for federal funding? Or should the orchestras try to broaden their appeal, and if so, how? <BR/><BR/>Hey, it's not like I have any answers. I'm just asking the questions around here.<BR/><BR/>Sincerely,<BR/>Felix UngelAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com