The Orchestra of Little Hope

26.04.2010 — Analysis

The majority of Russian orchestras' existence is pitiable. They are short of everything: money, staff, instruments. As a consequence the number of concerts is extremely low and musicians from remote places can only dream of international tours. At the same time the Tchaikovsky Grand Symphony Orchestra, the Ural Academic Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Omsk Academic Symphony Orchestra are doing just fine. The RusBusinessNews correspondent has been looking into the business in the orchestra pit. 

There are 71 symphony orchestras in Russia at the moment according to the data provided by the Main Information and Computer Centre of the Ministry for Culture of the RF (according to other sources this number reaches 86). In the US, for comparison's sake, even the most modest assessment gives the figure of about 350 professional orchestras. Only a third of Russian orchestras are fully staffed, the rest are extremely short of musicians and this shortage will only grow in the nearest future. The prestige of being a musician in Russia has gone, there are systemic problems in education, the professionalism of conservatoire graduates is not what it used to be. The number of concerts given by Russian orchestras in 2009 varies from 10 to 132.

The wage of musicians in regional orchestras could be 4,000 roubles, or 20,000, but never exceeds 50,000. As a result musicians of half of the orchestras have income lower than average in their regions. In orchestras in the capital which receive grants musicians earn as much as 100,000. The average revenues of orchestras in the previous year have varied from 400 thousand to 7 million roubles. The Ural Academic Philharmonic Orchestra's revenue, for instance, was 20 million roubles. 

Aleksey Shalashov, the Director of the Department for the State Support for Art, People's Creativity, and International Relations of the Ministry for Culture of the RF, made a statement at the discussion in Ekaterinburg titled "Russian Orchestras: Today and Tomorrow" that symphonic orchestras are the core of musical life in both a given city and a country as a whole. This is why it is very important to develop this sphere. First of all we need to establish a concept of philharmonic activities in Russia similar to those already developed for theatre and circus art. However, prior to starting this work a careful monitoring of what is already in place needs to be carried out. 

Moreover, the criteria for orchestra founders must be developed. According to Dmitry Liss, the Art Director and Chief Conductor of the Ural Academic Philharmonic Orchestra, establishing a viable orchestra is a very expensive endeavour, so criteria have to be in place, in order for a person deciding to do it to have no illusions. First is the level of wages, second - the professionalism of musicians and conductors and their number, third - the number of instruments, fourth - the premises, etc. A minimum amount of money needed to establish a good orchestra should be prescribed clearly. If a person planning to establish an orchestra is unable to ensure compliance to these criteria then there is no point even trying to reach the set goal. "At the moment we either rely on the USSR-times experience or act arbitrarily", complains Mr Liss.

Ilya Derbilov, the Art Director and Chief Conductor of the Far East Symphony Orchestra, is in complete agreement. According to him, prior to trying to establish an orchestra it has to be calculated how expedient it would be. Conductors suggest that the Ministry for Culture of the RF should develop the criteria. 

A reasonable question arises: if the Soviet system was so good, why not bring it back to life? Aleksey Shalashov, Dmitry Liss and Aleksandr Koloturskiy, the Vice President of the Union of Concert Organisations of Russia spoke categorically against the reverse and not only that - they cannot think even about partial adoptions of methods from the Soviet system. "There has to be a system-level approach, same rules for all, but not those from the USSR. In the 90's, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the resolution of most important issues had been passed onto regional authorities which are responsible for the development of culture as stipulated in the Constitution. But nobody told them how to develop orchestras in the new conditions while everything had changed", Mr Koloturskiy pointed out. "Returning to the Soviet system would be impossible, stupid, and harmful", Mr Liss stressed.

All over the world orchestras are divided by the level, and the founder decides what class of an orchestra he would like to have in his region. In the USSR this had been determined by the categories system which Russia does not have. According to Mr Koloturskiy, in Russia they simply do not understand what categories could give, what functions the system carries and for some reason receive the idea rather negatively. 

However even the US has categories of orchestras. There the dollar is in charge. The category of the orchestra is determined by its budget. 90% of 350 US orchestras are of the low category and play only 5-6 concerts per season. "Why is that?" - Mr Liss asks, and answers the question himself. Because there are certain standards which prohibit paying a musician less than a certain set amount. In Russia, as paradoxical as it may be, philharmonics set the standards and monitor them, taking upon themselves the function of trade unions. 

So, Russian orchestras do not have categories, nor do they want to arrange themselves into some sort of ordinance. Practically all the participants of the discussion spoke against the establishment of orchestra rating. They did, however, speak for the organisation of a show. This kind of a demonstration of their abilities would be positive for the development of professionalism of orchestras. 

There are and there will always be some problems. The listener, however, must not be forgotten. "The society must be the priority. We have to work in the society, with the society, and for the society", said A.Koloturskiy. "We have to make classical music fashionable in Russia and remember that making money is not the core purpose of high culture". 

Anna Khorkova