On the same subject...
In case you missed it, here's a link to a letter in today's enquirer from longtime symphony supporters Anne and Bob Olson of Lebanon.
And arts consultant Drew McManus, who observes orchestra management on his blog, has two relevant essays that deserve a look. One is about concert etiquette, in which he states, "The pretentiousness in classical music is so engrained that it is nearly a part of the collective DNA, but that's not a good reason for it to continue" and notes that it's probably driving potential fans away.
In "Perhaps less is more," he wonders if it's time to re-examine the concert-length formula.
posted by Janelle Gelfand at 4:13 PM
8 Comments:
at 10/11/2006 12:09:00 AM 
Primavera said...
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at 10/11/2006 01:30:00 AM 
Primavera said...
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at 10/11/2006 05:42:00 PM 
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at 10/11/2006 05:59:00 PM 
Primavera said...
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at 10/12/2006 07:59:00 AM 
Anonymous said...
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at 10/12/2006 07:20:00 PM 
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at 10/15/2006 05:15:00 PM 
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at 10/16/2006 06:09:00 PM 
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Post a Comment*I think a big part of the marketing problem lies in the fact that it is -- as far as I can tell anyway -- totally print-oriented. "What's this--more junk mail?" Where are the TV or radio spots? The only TV spot I can remember came in Paavo's first season and it was great -- he was conducting, there were flames dancing around and the music was an excerpt from the CSO's recording of "Firebird". I would hope that this spot, along with new ones, might play with some regularity on the new Macy's jumbo screen as a public service.
Also, as far as I know, Tony Luensman's interactive sculpture installation, "Paavo's Hands", is still on exhibit in the
Contemporary Arts Center's "Unmuseum" for kids. It's been there ever since the new CAC building opened and uses a muci clip from the CSO's "Symphonie fantastique", but it doesn't seem to have really been exploited by the CSO as a kind of classical music-friendly device to help children demystify the experience of conducting. Plus, it's a hilarious way of spending some spare time watching people (adults!) who have clearly NEVER seen a classical music concert in person!
Just a couple of random thoughts.
Or how about taking a leaf out of the Cincinnati Reds' book and offering students in grades 4-12 two free tickets during the season if they have a certain grade point average (is it 4.0??). It's not like there isn't a surplus of tickets and it's likely there would also be a crossover audience involved of people who may have never attended a concert--or been inside Music Hall. It's so important to get inside kids' heads early and let them discover how exciting and moving classical music can be--and that they do not necessarily have to know anything about it to enjoy listning to it.
Just in case anyone was curious about what Paavo is up to this week, take a look at how Frankfurt, Germany is welcoming him as the new chief conductor for the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. With a marketing campaign theme of "Classical music is not music for an elite, but for everyone!" and a 90 foot (!) high Paavo attached to the side of a huge Frankfurt building (just take a look at these pictures!), they are certainly attracting a lot of attention to his new tenure there--as well as to his work here with the CSO.
http://paavoproject.blogspot.com/
Janelle,
The caption on that photo of Paavo accompanying the letter to the editor states that he is in his 7th season here. That's incorrect. This is his 6th season.
These two articles are very interesting. I do believe the traditional "romantic" concert format is dead. Not only should orchestras look at concert length but also length of pieces. In our immediate, media frenzied world our culture has ADD to some degree. Consideration should be made to perform selected or single movements of symphonies and concertos and should watch the length of single movement works to keep around 10-15 minutes. I am a musician in my early 30's and I have trouble maintaining focus through the hugh symphonies of the romantic era even though they are such great pieces. Most of the audiences have grown up listening to 3 and 1/2 minute pop songs on the radio. I think McManus hit on a great point how orchestras are afraid to change because they think they will lose the their dying core audience. Those people may complain, but I don't think they will stop going or giving because they have habits of their own. That audience is afraid of change as much as the orchestra administrations. No reward comes without risk. I like the one post idea of the Dallas symphony with mingling and drinks. that sounds fun, especially for those members of the audience who may not want to hear a particular piece on the program.
Concerts must be fun. Concerts must be interesting. Catering to the small handful of symphony elites is a sure way to keep common folks away.
Time to realize that.
A European conductor who never talks--wake me up when its over...
My Wife and I are in our late 30’s and are frequent patrons at the CSO, as well as the Opera and CCO. I have been very distressed at the poor attendance of late, and have given some thought to the issue. I think that the CSO is facing several problems.
First, concerts simply start too late, 8pm on Fridays & Saturdays, and last a bit too long. You can see direct evidence of this by the amount of people who leave at intermission. Starting the concert at 7pm and ending by 9pm would be an improvement. You can still catch a late dinner at several restaurants at 9pm, but after 10pm you’re out of luck, unless you are willing to eat fast food.
Second, the marketing for the CSO is an absolute shambles. There is no marketing as far as I can see. When Mann Bukvic Olsen was handling the marketing for the CSO we had TV and radio ads, and the great ‘Bravo Paavo” slogan. As another poster points out, the only ‘marketing’ I have seen are direct mail ads to previous concert goers. The management of the CSO simply must reach out to the tens of thousands of potential customers and entice them to come to the symphony. Young 20 and 30 something professionals might make a good target audience. How about free or discounted tickets for children? That might prompt people to bring their children to the symphony and expose them to classical music. Since music education has all but disappeared from public schools this might be the only means by which children get exposed to classical music these days.
The management should also look at some way of making the concert experience ‘warmer’ and more approachable for newcomers without compromising on the artistic integrity of the symphony. Perhaps having Paavo come out and address the audience and talk about the pieces before the concert might be one approach. Another thought is putting an ‘ABC’s of classical music’ (kind of a ‘classical music for dummies) segment in the program given out to patrons. This might make the whole notion of attending a concert less intimidating for novices.
Some symphonies, such as the Kansas City Symphony, are experimenting with ways to incorporate a visual element to enhance the auditory experience of the concert. Possibilities range from having visuals on flat screen monitors to renting wireless handheld devices that could allow users to view everything from lyrics to information about the composer, performers or the piece being played.
Shaking up the Symphony’s repertoire a little might bit be might not be a bad idea. Baroque music has enjoyed a revival of late and is hugely popular. Incorporating some baroque symphonies would be a very welcome addition to the CSO’s play list.
And to the poster who wrote that “the traditional romantic concert format is dead”, I would like to inform him or her that they are wrong. Many symphonies are showing major improvements in attendance. The Oregon Symphony has had record breaking attendance this year. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has posted record revenue and ticket sales increases this season. The Chicago Symphony’s attendance is up by nearly 10%, and they are regularly at 85-90% of capacity. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra has had a dramatic increase in attendance over the past two years. Opera attendance in the US is the highest it’s ever been, and there is good news about the sales of classical music. This is from an article entitled from the NY Times entitled “Check the Numbers: Rumors of Classical Music's Demise Are Dead Wrong “:
http://tinyurl.com/y6f2sc
“Has American culture given up on classical music? The numbers tell a very different story: for all the hand-wringing, there is immensely more classical music on offer now, both in concerts and on recordings than there was in what nostalgists think of as the golden era of classics in America.
In the record business, for example, it can be depressing to compare the purely classical output of the major labels now with what the industry cranked out from 1950 to 1975. But focusing on the majors is beside the point: the real action has moved to dozens of adventurous smaller companies, ranging from musician-run labels like Bridge, Oxingale and Cantaloupe to ambitious mass marketers like the midprice, repertory-spanning Naxos.
Similarly, someone shopping anywhere but in huge chains like Tower or Virgin might conclude that classical discs are no longer sold. In reality the business model has changed. Internet deep-catalog shops like arkivmusic.com offer virtually any CD in print, something no physical store can do today. The Internet has become a primary resource for classical music: the music itself as well as information about it.
On Apple's iTunes, which sold a billion tracks in its first three years, classical music accounts for 12 percent of sales, four times its share of the CD market. Both Sony-BMG and Universal say that as their download sales have increased, CD sales have remained steady, suggesting that downloaders are a new market, not simply the same consumers switching formats. “
Something else that is obvious is that action needs to be taken to make the hysterical suburbanites feel safe in the area around Music Hall. A larger and more prominent police presence is absolutely needed. Perhaps having a cadre of the Downtown Ambassadors in the area (it has helped Downtown) along with closer/cheaper/safer parking would help make the pusillanimous denizens of the suburbs more open to attending the symphony. All I know is that the CSO has to do something, and has to do it PDQ or we are going to lose this valuable institution. There is no way that Paavo is going to renew his contract with this kind of attendance, and his loss would be a major blow to the CSO, and the area as a whole.
If 23 people on the marketing staff cannot improve the symphony's ticket sales, they need to find some smarter people. In this country people will buy anything, and they can be made to believe that they need just about anything. There is also a great deal of money spent on luxury items and entertainment in all income brackets. Case and point is the fact that summer travel was up even though gas prices were extremely high. I think that in an arts organization such as the Cincinnati Symphony, the creativity cannot stop with the musicians, it must extend into every area of the organization.
Finally, I do not think that the music can be sacrificed just to appeal to minescule attention spans. The fact that people can't pay attention for longer than 2.5 seconds is ridiculous. Also, the musician that posted earlier that he or she could not sit through a symphony and suggested that the programming include single movements of symphonies, does not have a great deal of knowledge about music or musical compositions. A symphony is composed as part of a unit, and while some movements may sound as though they are self-contained, they are not complete without the accompanying movements. This is not the answer.
Maybe we should consider educating the public and intensifying the fight, with the arts in the forefront, against the degeneration of our culture. How are we really going to sit back and let "reality" tv, fast food, music of little worth on the radio, and the like become the culture that we pass on to future generations when there is so much that is worthwhile out there to give them.
May the fine arts never die, and let's all start going to the symphony more, even if it means cutting back on eating out and blowing money at the mall.
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