Are Orchestras Really Committed To Their Cities?

Last month, the Philadelphia Orchestra nearly had to call off a series of free “neighborhood concerts” for lack of sponsors. A last-minute sponsor stepped in, and all was well, but Peter Dobrin has a question. Shouldn’t we be able to expect that an orchestra, which spends a good amount of time asking for financial and moral support from the community, be committed enough to its home city to put on a few free concerts every year, regardless of sponsorship? “Maybe it’s too easy to interpret this situation as one of those rich-sticking-it-to-the-poor episodes, but what the orchestra has done with this year’s cancellation interlude, intentionally or not, is to reinforce the old cliche that classical music is something only for the wealthy.”