You can learn a lot by reading an out of town newspaper. Yesterday I came across an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer about how The Philadelphia Orchestra's late summer European tour will affect not only The City of Brotherly Love, but our very own Saratoga Springs as well, more specifically The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). Most of us knew about the Philadelphia Orchestra's bankruptcy filings, but it appears that there is much more to pay attention to with the drama going on at the orchestra.
According to the article, "The Philadelphia Orchestra, though in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is proceeding with a European tour in late summer, which has forced a jostling of its normal summer dates, including concerts at the Mann and in Saratoga Springs, N.Y." The article further stated about both the Mann Center (the Philadelphia venue of the orchestra) and SPAC "The Mann may be continuing its nine orchestral concerts this summer, but programming is gravitating - both here and at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center - toward lighter repertoire, and the use of orchestra as background music to visual spectacle or as a secondary factor to other artistic ideas."
Interesting stuff. Just what does it mean when the writer, Philadelphia Inquirer Classical Music Critic Peter Dobrin, reports that the tour "forced a jostling of its normal summer concert dates...in Saratoga Springs, NY"? Are these dates something that have already been "jostled" months ago, or is there an announcement about schedule changes forthcoming? Besides numerous entries about the Chapter 11 filings, Dobrin's blog includes information about recent departures of key musicians and there are discussions about possible labor strikes by the orchestra's musicians on there as well. The Wall Street Journal, in a recent article entitled "The Death of Classical Music in America", listed the Philadelphia Orchestra as number one on their list of "Most cash strapped classical music organizations".
I admittedly don't know a lot about the orchestra and it's history here at SPAC, but I suspect some of you readers do, so comments are encouraged. In recent years I have just started to appreciate both the New York City Ballet as well as the Philadelphia Orchestra's connections to SPAC, and I realize how valuable their presence is not just to the arts scene, but as an economic factor as well. Here's hoping things stabilize with the orchestra and we can keep enjoying our treasured annual three weeks with these world-class musicians year after year.
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