Fast falls the Birmingham eventide
OrchestrasOn of the reasons orchestras organise choral concerts is because amateur singers have families who usually book to hear them.
Not in Birmingham, apparently.
One of our moles tells us that, with three hours to go, tonight’s concert, involving the UK premiere of John Luther Adams’s Vespers of the Blessed Earth, has sold just one-fifth of its tickets. And that’s with two choirs singing.
The upper parts of Symphony Hall are being closed off to make the place seem less deserted.
The other work on the programme is Sibelius second symphony.
This is turning into a season of great discontent.
Norman, this has to stop. This is not news, this is more stirring and CBSO bashing. There are plenty of Orchestras struggling with ticket sales at the moment – this kind of “journalism” isn’t helping anyone.
It’s funny there is no mention of the well attended, and may I say fantastic concerts from the last few weeks. I hope the CBSO players aren’t reading all this nonsense.
Most orchestras don’t have a CEO who is indifferent to music. Imagine needing a drink to get through your own orchestra’s concert? Emma Stenning is incredibly disrespectful to the CBSO’s musicians.
And then to threaten donors with a ban who question her agenda?
What made them choose a CEO with no experience of music whatsoever? Hire ignorant get ignorant.
You know who is disrespectful to the musicians? You are, for joining in with this cruel vendetta that Norman seems to have against the orchestra. Not Emma. You
Thank you Peggy
All of these concerts were planned by the previous CEO before he left.
From next year it is on Emma. Strobe lighting and videos during concerts. Increased ticket prices to over £60 to subsidise her £12 ‘black composers’ concert. Describing Mozart’s Requiem as ‘a piece of joy’. Alcoholic drinks during the music to make concerts ‘more accessible’. Bar snacks during Mahler.
Emma knows so little and her plans run the risk of killing this orchestra. Imagine playing for Emma and she can’t listen without a drink in her hand to keep herself going. Disrespecful to music, disrespecful to the CBSO.
I’m so sorry to hear you are scared for your job, what industry are you in? It’s a tough time for everyone at the moment.
Someone has given you some wrong information about the CBSO. The concert you are talking about is a family concert, and at £12 a ticket it is the same price as all family concerts have been for years. So of course ticket prices aren’t subsidising this as there is nothing to subsidise.
Drinks have been allowed in Symphony Hall now for a good few years post Covid, long before Emma arrived.
There is no strobe lighting planned for any main series concerts, and it’s unlikely to be used in anything else as it causes problems for people with epilepsy.
There will be video shown in concerts such as “Life on Our Planet in concert” and the film “Top Gun: Maverick” in concert.
There are no bar snacks planned for Mahler.
I hope this clears things up, and best of luck with your job.
I agree with Peggy. The CBSO is a fine orchestra and in these financially difficult times (for it and its audience) needs all the encouragement and support it can get.
I am pleased to be able to post a link to a very positive newspaper review of this concert:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/07/cbso-morlot-review-symphony-hall-birmingham
The fact that so many regular concertgoers are bothering to articulate their discontent is the very “encouragement and support” that is needed; it shows that they still care about the CBSO, despite their disillusionment with the management. Would you rather they just voted with their feet silently? In “financially difficult times”, it is all the more important that artistic organisations uphold the highest standards in all aspects of what they do, and engage candidly and rationally with criticism.
Dear Peggy: One can understand your passion and it is to be applauded. But I think you have missed the point Norman is making and yes, despite what you say, Norman’s comment is ‘news’. What we need are more “Normans” who tell us what is going on in our music world. We may agree with his comments or we may not. That is our choice. If he rattles a few cages, well and good. However, it is far too easy to sit by and say something like your “There are plenty of Orchestras struggling with ticket sales at the moment” – so what? There is nothing in Norman’s comment that shows he is “stirring and CBSO bashing.” He is simply stating publicly what he knows. If one does not get involved in speaking up that means doing nothing; and to do nothing means ongoing music performance could easily suffer. Wouldn’t it be marvelous if public criticism were such that the Birmingham City Council were pushed into making their orchestra more of a priority and provide a proper foundation to produce the music for which it was once well known.
Peggy wrote, “Norman, this has to stop. This is not news, this is more stirring and CBSO bashing”
I have read all the threads on this topic. No-one is ”bashing” the orchestra. What we are saying is that the orchestra’s inept management is alienating audiences and thereby threatening the survival of the orchestra and the livelihoods of the musicians.
At the same time their CEO Emma Stenning thinks she can turn this around by telling the audience they can take selfies, drink alcohol and eat ice cream during the concert. Out of her depth.
Snore. Change the record. Boring.
I am not sure that your being bored is sufficiently important for others to cease their protests at the situation. Or is it?
Why don’t you use your platform to promote rather than delight when something doesn’t sell? You don’t mention the three well sold concerts last week. Shame you don’t seem to want to support your arts
A shame the CEO doesn’t support you or your music. What does it say about her respect for you if she needs a drink to get through your concerts?
Now imagine you have a CEO that doesn’t celebrate music but instead thinks a concert can be improved with alcohol, food and videos. Her priorities and her heart are in completely the wrong place.
Finally someone with some irony! Bravo Eric, very amusing
It’s also been a season of great excitement and achievement, though – in spite of the well-documented gaffes of the CEO. What I think is happening increasingly is that people are saving up their pennies to attend Kazuki Yamada’s concerts, which are always special events. And let’s not forget that, whatever good or bad signals the management has been sending out, concert tickets are now VERY expensive – as much as £118 for two people, rising to £124 next season. For often less than 90 minutes’ music…
Doesn’t this say everything? Great achievement DESPITE the CEO. How sad for our orchestra.
Yup. And remember that this was the last year of Stephen’s programming. Whatever you think of him he made sure we continued to programme exciting works such as the John Luther Adams. Things will get worse as Emma’s influence grows. Worrying and sad.
Hi. This criticism of Emma is unacceptable. Under our Respectful Behaviour Policy we have the right to deny you access to future concerts if this behaviour continues. The CBSO is a place of joy and your criticism of CBSO management affects the mental and physical health and safety of our orchestra’s staff.
“This criticism of Emma is unacceptable.”
Really? In that case, please provide us with some guidance on “acceptable” criticisms for future reference.
Many thanks.
Brummies who baulk at £58 for a ticket may like to know that top price tickets for Graham Vick’s new production (in July, at the Dream Tent in Birmingham, conducted by Alpesh Chauhan) of Tippett’s opera “New Year” are now available for £24.99. Concessions, including over-65s, pay £9.99. Details here:
https://www.birminghamopera.org.uk/new-year
Could this be due to the fact that a popular work is paired with the first performance of a contemporary one lasting about an hour, which might put some potential punters off? The other factor might be that the families of the amateur singers would not necessarily want to sit through about 40 minutes of a work in which their nearest and dearest do not feature. And would those who want to hear the Sibelius also want to hear the other work?
Finally, Ludovic Morlot, the conductor, is hardly a familiar name. He might be a big name in Barcelona, and might be capable of stunning performances, but I don’t think that the majority of CBSO followers will have heard about him.
No value judgements here – just some suggestions about why this event was woefully underbooked.
He is a fine maestro; the CBSO should book Morlot a lot more.
Agreed — Morlot has been on my radar for more than 20 years. Music people surely at least know of him.
Classical music listeners are the most reactionary, senile bunch there is – in the entre world. Apparently you don’t know John Luther Adams’s music at all – OF COURSE NOT – if you did, you’d know that his music isn’t offending anyone, and won’t pose a challenge but to the dumbest, most senile audience.
It is a shame that this concert has not sold well. However, if anything had to be said (and I’m not sure that it did), surely a more considered analysis of why that is the case would have been a better slant to take here. Ludovic Morlot is a well-respected conductor who seems to have done some good work in Birmingham before. We know that the CBSO forces are excellent. Is it the programme? Are other orchestras encountering the same situation? Is it uncertainty about new music?
There are significant individuals and organisations who, through a seemingly total disrespect for music (and the wider arts), are very happy to give artistic excellence a bashing. On these pages, surely we should not jump on this bandwagon?
I attended about a dozen concerts a year each of Baltimore and the NSO. Attendance varies widely depending on the program and performers. A number of NSO shows have been full or close to it, but 1-2 were rather sparsely attended (even one with Phylicia Rashad, of Cosby fame, narrating).
Baltimore sold out with Wayne Marshall playing Rhapsody in Blue and with Yuncham Lim playing Rocky 2. Last year with Joshua Bell. Next year with Yo-Yo Ma, no doubt (and you need to buy a six-concert subscription to be able to get tickets for that, at least for now).
So there is clearly an audience for some works/performers. But how do orchestras cultivate a trust in their audience, that every program they do is thoughtfully presented and constructed, and worth their time to attend?
John Luther Adams is an important and influential composer. Kudos to the CBSO for commissioning and performing his bold new work. This concert follows a string of recent varied performances from Dvorak to Ballet Scores to Video Games, and is a testament to the versatility of the orchestra.
It is sad that so few people in a city as big as Birmingham are interested in classical music.
Cost of tickets & cost of living MUST be playing a role in dropping numbers. It definitely is here in Australia. The average audience age is also very evident at my regular venues.
CBSO is quite simply pricing its audience out with eye-watering ticket prices. You can go to Covent Garden or even Glyndebourne for less if you book early. It was bad when Mirga was in charge but Kazuki Yamada and Emma Stenning seem to be making it worse. Wouldn’t it be better to halve the prices and double the audience?
Norman you’re behind the times as we got a new frontage to Symphony Hall several years ago. The Hall last looked like it does on your photo before the pandemic.
How does it feel knowing we are spending this much to subsidise Emma Stenning’s ‘Black composers’ concert that has all seats £12 each?
You mean the Family Concert next year, that is programmed by the Education Department and is exactly the same price as all other family concerts?
This I guarantee will not bring In any new audience members and put off many. A few years ago we went to hear the Symphony Orchestra of India during their tour of the UK, we didn’t notice any from India in the audience. This was not in Birmingham.
Nice try Emma.
You seem to have a hangup about Black composers; second time you’ve mentioned this. You really think Black people can’t write music?
This is not very accurate.
I am at Symphony Hall now and the Upper Circle is still in use – I have a ticket.
The Grand Tier hasn’t been used for concerts, unless demands for tickets is high, for over two years.
I don’t know who your more is, but he’s wrong on this occasion!
‘Upper parts’ = the whole of the Upper Circle with the many hundreds of seats there. Apologies for any confusion.
The Grand Tier hasn’t been used for the vast majority of concerts since the pandemic. Not just for CBSO concerts, but for all visiting orchestras as well. I was sitting in the Upper Circle myself tonight.
The point still holds right? Ticket sales are so low that hundreds of seats at Symphony Hall are blocked off. Even worse it is a common situation in Birmingham for most concerts.
This criticism of Emma is appalling. Old white men who go to concerts think they know better than she does. She has years in theatre, what do you have?
Emma has a revolutionary way to make concerts better. Drinks and food are only a first step. Her ambition is to lower institutional barriers that uphold racism and elitism. She is updating classical music for the modern era.
We read the complaints and see misogynists who are stuck in the past. Emma is in charge at the CBSO, not you. Why don’t you give it a chance and eat your words later?
Finally: being a ‘donor’ means you support Emma. Your money does not give you a bigger say. That is the definition of power and elitism.
There is only one word needed to reply to this comment.
Garbage.
No. Being a donor means we support the CBSO, as many of us have for decades. If the orchestra as an institution is unable to control a crazed new CEO who is hell bent on destroying all the things that made so many of us chose to donate to in the first place we will cancel our direct debits in droves. There are plenty of other good causes starting with BRB just down the road and while I feel awful for the musicians in saying this Emma is making the experience of being a CBSO member a misery.
Old White Men. That’s a refreshing argumentation. Would you dare argue that certain views are held only by young brown women?
Some very prickly people around here.
The whole gamut there:
Old white men
Institutional barriers
Racism and elitism
Modern era
Misogynists
Stuck in the past
Power and elitism.
FYI, some of these “old white men”, and this old black woman, have been going to concerts for decades and have heard it all before. If significant numbers of people have not developed a reasonably serious interest in classical music by the time they have started working and can afford to buy tickets on a regular basis (which is what an orchestra needs), there is little that an orchestra can do about it. It doesn’t have the reach or the resources. Food, drink, pizza, vuvuzelas, dancing in the aisles, or whatever she comes up with next, will make little difference.
Look at schools and the media.
I’m neither old, white nor male, but I (like many who just want to enjoy the music without disruptions) do stand with performers like Ian Bostridge who also found Ms Stenning’s “innovations” disruptive at concerts.
If she wants to feel like she is running concerts that look like events at Glastonbury or the shops at Bull Ring (which often has free performances for the public), where you can eat, drink or wave your phone while the performance is happening, she should apply to Michael Eavis or the Bull Ring management for a job, not bring chaos to CBSO concerts.
The proof of the pudding – the box office receipts – is that her policies are failing and she is just extremely lucky that the popular and talented Maestro Yamada accepted his post before she took up her job. PS it’s also incredibly racist of you to say that people who aren’t white won’t buy tickets to CBSO or Symphony Hall unless they can eat, drink or play with their phone during a performance!
Actually, drinks were allowed in Birmingham years before that Emma took office. This isn’t a new thing.
I guess, I guess, guess, I guess people, people are, are, people are just fed up, up fed up, with Adams
Wrong Adams, I suspect? I too am fed up with John Adams, for the reason you illustrated. However, the piece played by the CBSO was by John Luther Adams, whose music I haven’t yet heard.
Apparently you can’t tell the difference between John Adams and John Luther Adams. I’m not surprised.
A couple of decent seats at Symphony Hall will set you back over £100 – plus getting there and back (oh plus the drinks you’re now invited to take in). Not for the average punter I fear. A wonderful orchestra – that goes without saying.
This is not true: admittedly, I block book, but with discount, I get excellent seats in the stalls for £12.50. I also avoid drinks/ice creams etc – fripperies (I am there for the music) – and pre-parking with CBSO discount is just over £5. Fuel costs me £10 there and back – whole evening £36 tops – for two. I think the problem with this concert was the programming: a great commission but in this climate, audiences are regretfully just not going to tip up for that. There has been very good support for the last few weeks – on the whole. The infamous Bostridge concert was 3/4 empty, sadly. This is not just a CBSO problem- remember there were plenty of empty seats last year at the Vienna State Opera… And this CBSO season is not a Stenning season – though she has timetabled some pretty batty woke stuff next year, on top of some excellent stuff, and she has lost many hearts and minds en route, I am afraid. That this is misogyny is nonsense – it is silly to suggest otherwise. She is Mary, Mary Quite Contrary. Btw, the commentator above has a point re people attending Kazuki concerts – audiences love him.
Indeed, and you’re less inclined to pay that kind of money if your experience is liable to be interfered with by people next to you taking the photos, surfing the internet (as happened to me during the premiere of a piece recently), or indeed slurping on an approved beverage.
It would be nice if this sort of “reporting” didn’t have such a tone of childish glee. For someone who is suppose to “love” classical music you take too much delight in this sort of thing – which is sad for you.
Spot on. This childish glee is very cruel towards a fantastic orchestra. It’s all very sad and unpleasant.
It would be better journalism if the article reported or tried to analyse why tickets didn’t sell well for this concert despite a decent programme, conductor, and choirs. One reason could be that CEO Ms Stenning has told potential ticket buyers to expect phone flashing, texting and posting, and noises of slurping wine and munching snacks during the performances.
Another more obvious reason: look at the prices for this event. Tickets were £26 to £59!!! No wonder hardly anyone, family and friends of choir members included, bought tickets. London concert prices do not start at such an eye wateringly high amount, despite higher rents and costs of living in London. Even Wigmore Hall,
despite having no subsidy, offers tickets starting at £10 or £15, even with big name performers like Andras Schiff, Christian Gerhaher or Ermonela Jaho. Even with big stars like Anne-Sophie Mutter, Seong Jin Cho or Vikingur Olafsson performing in the symphony concerts, there are still many tickets starting at £15, £14 or £10 (with child or disabled discounts, and discounts for multibuy)- and these musicians’ concerts sold out. Top prices range from £60 to £75.
If this article was meant to help CBSO spread the word, it would have been a better idea to post it online with a few days to go rather than a few hours to go.
Fact check: actually, the Wigmore Hall *does* receive Arts Council funding, although it forms a small percentage of the budget (and the management are fundraising for an endowment to cover the contingency of losing such funding), and ticket prices start at £18 typically (although there are various concessionary schemes sometimes in effect for under-25s, under-35s, and OAPs).
It was pretty full in Northampton for the RPO’s recent performance of Verdi’s Requiem with the Northampton Bach Choir
Ticket prices have gone up sharply pretty much everywhere but of course that doesn’t fit some people’s agenda does it?
I shall never subscribe to SlippedDisc – I used to respect this site, but no longer. I thought this was a site for music lovers? Shame on you.
Stop being so vindictive, Norman. I was singing in last night’s excellent concert (as reviewed by Andrew Clements). If you’d attended you might have enjoyed it too.
I’m not a SD subscriber, but I applaud it for having provoked the discussion above, even if I don’t agree with all the contributions. But the key issues are all there to see – especially, in my view, in the wise observations by Adrienne. I’m a Brummie, and though I have not lived there for decades, I remember my teenage visits to hear the CBSO at the Town Hall – experiences which were the origin of the importance of classical music in my life now. No projected images – but I will never forget the sight of a sizeable school party in the seats behind the band spontaneously and lustily waving their Aston Villa scarves to the “big tune” at the end of Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien. Not all stuffy old white men in them days.
OMG WHY ARE YOU ALL STILL GOING ON ABOUT EMMA DOING ALL THESE THINGS WHEN SHE DID NONE OF THEM, YOU JUST HAPPENED TO START READING WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN’T DO NOW. IT’S SO BORING!!
Stop dramatising it all, if you want a drink, have a drink, alcoholic or not, I would. As a musician, I’d rather you didn’t take a vuvuzela into a concert as that will ACTUALLY change the music for other people listening. I can guarantee however that Emma has never suggested that and never will (unless I suppose we’re doing a World Cup themed concert!)
Please stop doing this on this forum as this is what is damaging for the reputation of the CBSO. There have been so many brilliant, varied concerts recently for all types of people. Come to the concerts that appeal to you, what’s the problem with there being something for everyone – share the joy!
We do an amazing amount of concerts every year and nobody can come to them all, probably not even 50% of them. Choose what you think you’d like and I’m pretty sure you’ll have a great time listening to a great orchestra who is passionate about guaranteeing the future of classical music!