American Orchestra Forum - San Francisco Symphony

In both its difficulties and its stategies for confronting and transcending them, The Philadelphia Orchestra strikes a resonant chord with other American orchestras, large and small. This podcast was developed from a June 2012 behind-the-scenes discussion with leaders from The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Confronted with fundamental changes in their audiences, orchestras are thinking about what they do and how they do it as never before. In this chapter we explore some of the ideas, innovations, optimism and uneasiness of the American orchestra, as it finds it way toward the audiences of the future. This podcast was developed from a May 2012 live forum event with The New York Philharmonic and backstage interviews.

Like many relationships in our times, the orchestra’s relationship to its audience has changed, grown more volatile, and become anything but straightforward. This podcast was developed from a May 2012 live forum event and a behind-the-scenes conversation with The Cleveland Orchestra in April 2012.

The Cleveland Orchestra is one of the world’s great orchestras in by far the smallest market supporting such an institution. This podcast was developed from a behind-the-scenes conversation with leaders from The Cleveland Orchestra in April 2012 and an interview with Music Director Franz Welser-Möst.

Orchestras today are challenged as never before to find creative ways of making music and making it matter to their communities. This podcast was developed from the public Forum in March 2012 and a “Conducting Business” podcast by New York radio station WQXR.

Where does the marvel of musical creativity come from and how does it work? This podcast examines the ways in which creativity can flourish, or falter, in the symphony orchestra hall. Drawn from the March 2012 public Forum, participants include Michael Tilson Thomas, John Adams and Mason Bates.

No orchestra, large or small, ever has a settled relationship with its community. It’s always a thing in flux, dynamic, fluid, fragile and complex. This podcast was developed from our behind-the-scenes conversations with leaders from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

No conversation about music—-about any art form, for that matter—-gets very far these days without addressing the impact, potential and pitfalls of technology. From high-definition broadcasts of live performances, to an audience tuned in to Facebook, Twitter and other social media, classical music must find its place in an increasingly digital community. This podcast was developed from our October 23, 2011 public Forum.

The second chapter in our podcast series is about personal stories, those intimate connections between a student and a teacher that, like a pebble in a pond, send waves radiating outward. Few stories are more compelling or influential than that of Gustavo Dudamel, the Venezuelan-born conductor—and now Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic—-who found his own pebble-in-the-pond experience in his home country’s visionary music education and social program, El Sistema.

Chapter One addresses the historical and cultural roots of American orchestras and how those traditions impact and inform an orchestra’s place in the contemporary American community. Featuring content from the October 23, 2011 public Forum event during the Los Angeles Philharmonic residency and a backstage interview with Alan Gilbert, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic.