{ Probably the same situation would prevail in Europe if there wasn't such a
{ high level of subsidy. Without those subsidies tickets would be
{ unaffordable for most of the under 40s who might e inbterested. It's hard
{ to imagine a rustbelt town like say Toledo supporting on its own anything
{ like Pina Bausch's dance company; the subsidies allow the rustbelt town of
{ Wuppertal to afford her.
{
{ Mark
And that reminds me of Louisville, Kentucky, which may not be rustbelt
exactly but is close enough. It's orchestra the Louisville Orchestra, nowadays
on the brink of financial ruin, commissioned and recorded hundreds of new
works from composers around the world. It commissioned and recorded
Elliott Carter's Variations for Orchestra, surely one of the great American
orchestra pieces of the last century. Works by Sessions, Riegger, Cowell,
and many other Americans were on their list. A number of those recordings
are being released on spiffy sounding CDs (much better than the vinyls) by
an outfit in Santa Fe. Check out their website < http://www.firsteditionmusic.com/ >.
The CDs go for about $15 per by mail.
Hal
|