Bombshell in Providence

Symphony orchestras are constantly in trouble, artistic as well as financial. Last week some 400 delegates including representatives of 75 orchestras attended the American Symphony Orchestra League Convention in Providence to try to find out why. Influential U.S. Composer Aaron (Appalachian Spring, El Salon Mexico) Copland pointed out the nature of the problem: orchestras are not playing enough music of their own day to attract music lovers. Year after year, he said, major U.S. orchestras play only five or ten out of some 150 new orchestral works composed in the country.

"If present policies continue," said Copland, "then we're all headed for some kind of dead end." Most orchestras seem "just happy to get by" with programming that is "repetitious and unexciting." No other art form shows such an imbalance between the old and the new, he said. Business always seems to find time and money for research and development; orchestras never do. "You can't make a living art on great masterpieces of the past. You can create a kind of museum, but not a living art." Copland said he knows one talented young composer who has won eight prizes, but not a one of his works has ever been performed by an important music group.

Why is modern music neglected? The answer traditionally given by orchestral conductors, managers and boards of directors is that the public does not like the stuff. But before the meeting was over, the league turned up figures suggesting that the public may like contemporary music better than officials think. Some impressive statistics came from Manager Ralph Black of Washington's National Symphony Orchestra. Highlights: P:In five seasons, the proportion of new works performed by the National has increased from 18% to 30% of the total number of compositions for the year; 14 out of 20 concerts last season included new works.

P:Single-ticket sales for events featuring new music increased from about half the season's average in 1951-52 to better than average last season.

P:The presence of contemporary music has become almost as much of an attraction as a name soloist, pulling in about 15% more listeners than a concert with neither soloists nor novelties.

Although Washington's figures settled little--until backed up by other orchestras --they were called a "bombshell" by many delegates, who wondered if they had not been kidding themselves about modern music and modern music listeners.

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