IT’S often said by people in the arts industry that classical music in Britain is “under threat”. It is said so often because it is so frequently true.
Government cuts and a lack of general public interest have not hit standards so far. But money talks, even in the most high-flown industry of classical music.Its saviours are focusing their energies on London, and on England. In Wales, mismanagement and cuts have imperilled the future of its greatest opera company and the futures of the best orchestras of Scotland’s two largest cities really do lie in doubt.
Yet the bands are bastions of the places in which they are based – in their concert halls and in their community. That relationship with the community and location is in the nature of a 21st century orchestra. And it’s under threat.The exposure given to these orchestras on a UK level usually amounts to an occasional performance at the BBC Proms.
Orchestras across Britain walk a cultural tightrope. They are pressured to introduce new and challenging music to bring in new audiences, but are urged and feel the financial pressure to wheel out old favourites to fill the seats just as much.