Everywhere you look right now, it seems like American symphony orchestras are fighting for their lives — strikes, lockouts, bankruptcy. Perhaps the biggest example is the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra, which is just coming out of its own bankruptcy. Tonight, its new 37-year-old music director takes the podium as the venerable orchestra begins a reboot.
The Philadelphia Orchestra has been one of the world’s greatest orchestras since it was founded in 1900. Thanks in part to famed music directors like Eugene Ormandy and Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia’s historic recordings feature a rich, warm sound that remains the hallmark of the orchestra to this day.
In spite of its storied past, the orchestra fell on hard times. It had lost 40 percent of its audience, its endowment had dwindled and donations were down. Still, when the orchestra declared bankruptcy in 2011, the news was met with disbelief, says Peter Dobrin, music critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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