If only reverence and fortitude could pay the bills. As the world's arts organizations continue to find financial strife, so does the world's finest orchestra, Holland's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
A landmark institution that has a reputation preceding it, the RCO is finding it hard to maintain financial sustenance in a musically ever-changing world. The RCO, thus, reported last year that if the government does not intervene then it will be forced to shut its doors come 2016.
This would be a serious closure for the world of classical music and it would do more damage to the genre as a whole than can be imagined.
While it is one of Holland's finest cultural exports, the RCO is not immune to the implications of low-ticket sales and unmanageable overhead. Musicians, too, are facing some serious negotiations soon.
But you're only gifted the title of "best orchestra in town" if you can back it up. Concertgebouw General Manager Jan Raes said to Limelight Magazine that "a cut in our artistic power is the last thing we will do."
Our hearts go out to you, RCO. Hopefully they find steady ground soon.
Until then, here they are under the tuteladge of Mariss Jansons.
