How Classical Orchestras in Europe Adapt to a Changing Environment

Abstract

Classical music has formed an essential part of Western culture for more than four centuries. Every day of the year, many thousands of live-performances are given worldwide by musicians, without whom classical music cannot come to life, and one of the strongholds of classical music is the classical orchestra.

In the twenty-first century, classical orchestras are faced with major challenges: Classical music—although widely spread and accessible—has lost its eminent position as the leading music-culture. Consumer behavior is changing at a very fast pace, and orchestral performances today are competing for a public with a large number of other cultural offers and an even higher number of other high-quality leisure activities. Another major challenge for many orchestras is the growing difficulty in securing sufficient funding for the orchestra.

Traditionally, governments in most European countries subsidize orchestras and other cultural organizations because of their artistic value and their role in preserving the cultural heritage as well as in keeping it alive. Dramatic cuts on public spending on culture intensify the existential threat for the orchestras. Faced with a fast-changing environment, shifts in consumer behaviors, and a decline in political support, orchestras have to reconsider their business model at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

This chapter describes how orchestras can react and how they can survive without giving away the central qualities of their culture. It shows developments by using the example of two very different European orchestras.