US conductor Leonard Slatkin says future of orchestras is secure
US conductor Leonard Slatkin thinks the future of symphony orchestras is secure, but new works for younger players would help, writes Alexis Alrich
For anyone worried about the future of symphony orchestras, speaking with American conductor Leonard Slatkin is heartening. He's optimistic about the role of orchestras in our society, positive about young players and doesn't worry about the classics disappearing. As long as society exists, there will be orchestras to reflect it, he says.
Slatkin, who is the music director of the Orchestre National de Lyon and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, visited Hong Kong just before its December 29 mainland tour, which ended on January 4.
The genial 69-year-old was casually dressed in jeans, and with his sandy white hair and boyish face, looked just like an ordinary tourist, except for an unmistakable air of authority.
The orchestra’s health is doing very well. But there is still a need to be careful
Some attention inevitably focused on his role at the Detroit orchestra, as the US city has been declared bankrupt. But Slatkin wasn't unduly worried about the dire financial straits.
"Detroit is doing very well, at least the orchestra is. Because we are a private institution, we are not related to the bankruptcy," says Slatkin. "That doesn't mean it doesn't affect us. Of course it does. But we've seen a massive spike in contributions, in ticket sales, and in virtually all aspects [of revenue]. That's because we have worked very hard."
He says the orchestra went on strike a couple years ago for six months, but now it's expected that the new contract will be settled six months before the old one expires. "So the orchestra's health is doing very well. But we are also conscious of a need to be careful.
"There's a point that you reach where you can't increase the ticket sales any more," he says. "During the big [economic] downturn, if contributions weren't coming in, there was an accident waiting to happen. Either nobody saw that, or everybody saw it, but they didn't want to believe it, so they ignored it."