Budget woes
July 6, 2011
Many musicians in Germany's state-financed orchestras have a dim outlook on the future, especially in smaller cities like Wuppertal, Hagen, Remscheid, Solingen or Herford. All five municipalities located in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia are deep in the red and have little financial leeway.
For example, cost concerns will force Wuppertal's theater to close after its upcoming season. Musicians in the city's symphony are left wondering whether they'll be the next victims.
One of a kind
Despite some troubling reports, the situation of German orchestras is far from bleak on a larger scope. Alongside 133 professional ensembles that are financed with public funds, the country houses numerous other, privately organized orchestras. Together, they build an orchestral landscape that is unique in the world. Some music enthusiasts would even like to see it named to the World Cultural Heritage list.
But the last 20 years have brought a number of changes to this musical landscape. Many state orchestras from the former GDR could no longer be sustained after reunification due to cost concerns. Some were combined - a move also made by certain orchestras in western Germany - or dissolved completely, leaving holes in the region's cultural offerings.
The future still doesn't look good for some of the surviving ensembles in eastern Germany, said Willibert Stffens of the German Orchestra Association. Continually dwindling public funding in many sectors has been a source of concern for years, and the trend has likewise impacted the financial well-being of the state-funded orchestras.
Ways out of the misery
Around 80 percent of public funding for orchestras goes to personnel costs, according to Patrick Schmeing, head of Cologne's Gürzenich Orchestra. That leaves little room for experimentation.
"We just have to strive for excellence both in an artistic respect but also, in terms of management, finances, qualification and competence. It's simply unacceptable when popular concerts or also more challenging programs that we do are performed for a half-empty room," Schmeing said.
Intense advertising, balanced concert planning and engaging with young people aren't just on the program in Cologne's orchestras. Those issues are at the top of the agenda throughout the country.
The fight to survive
In recent years, more German orchestras are turning to partnerships with private sponsors in order to bring in the financing they need. It's a move that has long been standard in the United States, where state support for musical ensembles is extremely limited. That means that Americans who want to take in a good concert or opera usually have to head to big cities.
In Germany, that's not necessary - not yet, at least. And both Willibert Steffens and Patrick Schmeing hope that the German orchestra landscape is able to remain the way it is.
"We have to maintain what we've got, because there are no alternatives to it," stressed Schmeing.
"The richness of German orchestral and musical culture is a one-of-a-kind phenomenon worldwide, and it's important that we also recognize and support that at the political level. Once this richness and scope are disrupted or limited in some way, they will never return again," he added.
Author: Klaus Gehrke / gsw
Editor: Louisa Schaefer