The Council advocated a less elitist funding policy that pays more attention to contemporary music such as hip hop, R&B, dance and electronic music. In 2017, the influential Dutch Council for the Arts chastised government funders for their bias towards elite pastimes such as classical music and opera. Government funding was under pressure as well. The solemnity of the old concert hall and the classical repertoire no longer seemed attractive to young art lovers. A considerable part of its audience was ageing, but a new generation of listeners remained conspicuously absent. This major succession challenge at the top came at a time when the orchestra was confronted with the pressures of a new Zeitgeist. Adding to the exodus, Artistic Director Joel Fried announced his retirement, taking effect in 2020. After a successful 11-year run, Managing Director Jan Raes was about to leave the orchestra, just months after both the chairman and the treasurer of the Foundation board had completed their terms in office. Only two years after joining the orchestra, chief conductor Daniele Gatti had been forced to step down following allegations of ‘inappropriate behavior’. In the fall of 2019, things were in disarray. For these reasons, the long-serving (and late) chief conductor, Mariss Jansons, spoke of the ‘universal orchestra’. The Orchestra performs timeless works of art, keeping the canon of classical music alive for the next generation. It delivers the magic of live concerts, creating a sense of the ephemeral. The orchestra has developed a distinctive sound, conserves specific orchestral genres (passion music and late Romantic music) while developing a hitherto unprecedented stylistic flexibility through covering classical, twentieth-century, contemporary music and mastery of both the Germanic and the French schools. The Concertgebouw Orchestra performs symphonic music at the highest level and across a broad spectrum of canonical and avant-garde orchestral music. The chapter shows how a balance was found between financial pressures and artistic demands, preserving this cultural institution in the face of strong headwinds. It analyses how the institution eventually found a productive way to channel the perennial conflicts into its governance. It discusses the artistic leadership of conductors and the commercial strategizing of business managers-the key actors in shaping the institution. It describes how growing pressure on subsidizing authorities have made the orchestra increasingly dependent on sponsors and donors. Over the years, the orchestra had to deal with an ageing public and changing audience demands. This chapter describes how the orchestra evolved into a public institution with an adventurous repertoire and international allure. The Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, founded in 1888, has consistently been rated among the world’s best symphonic orchestras.
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