Major US orchestras report audiences higher than pre-Covid
UncategorizedAccording to an LAO survey seen by the NY Times, the big beasts are doing well.
The Philadelphia Orchestra is selling 78 percent of seats this season, compared to 63 in 2019.
NY Phil is doing 85% (74%), LA Phil 89 percent and San Fran Symphony 74 percent.
No data for Boston and Detroit is down to a critical 59%.
David Geffen Hall has fewer seats now than pre-pandemic.
Such data can be misleading. Are they selling significant numbers of sharply discounted tickets to get bodies into the seats?
Most orchestras have been doing things like that for years anyway.
True. The hall seems to me to have better acoustics which should help the listening experience and sales.
“The Philadelphia Orchestra is selling 78 percent of seats this season, compared to 63 in 2019.” Wait! I thought Yannick’s “woke” programming was driving people away!
What is ‘woke’ programming anyway? I know what it means socially, but what musically? Having just checked the Philadelphia Orchestra’s website and programming I didn’t see anything ‘woke’.
Or perhaps they are learning from their mistakes and acting accordingly: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/23/arts/music/orchestra-classical-music-attendance.html.
The woke programming is toned down, if not entirely absent this and next season.
I’ve been attending PO performances for the last 50 years, god forbid he introduce new music. Performances are more exciting then ever.
I would be curious about the Boston data should it emerge as the programming this season, aside from Mallwitz in Schubert 9, has been throughly disappointing.
They have been trying different programing in Boston. When is the last time you heard the Nielsen Violin Concerto or the complete Peer Gynt? I like it. But I didn’t see that many people there the last 2 weeks. Dvorak’s Noon Witch this week sounds great to me!
NYT does not report on the Chicago Symphony, given that the article is focused on the major orchestras (i.e., the “big beasts”). Nevertheless, it is still worth nothing that, as highlighted last November, Chicago reported a terrifying drop in the number of tickets sold in the 2022/23 season (269,982) compared to the pre-covid peak of 347,502 tickets sold in the 2017/2018 season. We should consider this to be the likely true level of permanent audience loss, driven primarily by their mulish attachment to Muti and the abysmal programming. I would name the lady in charge of programming but I would not want to come across as criticizing anyone.
The number of seats sold per concert was also very low (269,982 tickets in 199 paid concerts). Symphony Hall has 2,522 seats. Does it mean the average seat occupancy was … 54%? That can’t be right, even for them.
In spite of these terrible results, the CSO marketing department continued to post exhausted (and exhausting) Muti’s clips as the main advertising vehicle – both on the website and on other channels.
In the meantime, Alexander is opening champagne (literally) to celebrate a gift which will go primarily into boosting the endowment of the Negaunee Institute itself and that of the CSOA – that is, it will do nothing to increase attendance.
“I would not want to come across as criticizing anyone.” Genius.
From my perspective in the lower balcony attending many CSO concerts, (appx 25/yr)attendance is WAY up this season from last season
Yeah , It’s the season where the overbearing Muti is finally starting to fade from the picture so people have some reason to come back
Didn’t many orchestras reduce the number of concerts because gross ticket sales were so weak?
Is this actual ticket sales or after papering?……
I hope there is a trend. The NSO concerts I’ve been to this year have been decently attended, though Baltimore still a little underwhelming. They did get good crowds for Manny Ax and for Wayne Marshall leading an American program that I wouldn’t normally expect to sell – but it had Rhapsody in Blue in his very compelling rendition.
Yes, but it coincides with the time YNS started dressing funny, so one has to be careful in interpreting the data. Correlation is not causation, you know.
I just bought tickets for 2 separate orchestral events at Carnegie Hall, one domestic, one foreign and very few available seats unless you are handicapped. They now hold an enormous amount of seats in obeyance for handicapped lest they be called out in the press for not having enough seats. They apparently do not release most of those seats until 2 days before the concert. I get holding a few, but the number they are holding seem well over the need for anything.
“So love was crown’d, but music won the cause”.