Lame

I hate to start this blog with the title, "Lame," but there is no other way to describe the current Atlanta Classical Music scene. It is not my goal to belittle or detract from greatness. However, it is my goal to expose the frauds and lame institutions that proudly boast their prowess and grandeur. This is the current bar that all organizations in metro Atlanta strive to maintain instead of thinking outside the box to create exuberant and life altering performances.

Let’s start at the top. The Atlanta Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Atlanta and the southeastern United States. They are consistent and they perform very often. The problem is simple: If their product is directly related to their budget, then one can deduct that each time that orchestra steps on a stage costs almost $1,000,000. First of all, that is ridiculous. I am yet to hear a million dollar performance from them. I can barely muster up the will to pay $30 for a single ticket. That organization sucks the funding life out of the remainder of the innovative arts organizations in metro Atlanta. Many arts organizations felt the blow of the ASO’s $300,000,000 fund-raising efforts for their new hall. Now, they have changed their mind for a third time and want to use those naive people’s money to put that vagina-looking building on top of a MARTA hub.

The ASO has very well paid personnel. The conductor, who is decent at his job, makes about a half million dollars a year. That is much much more than any other arts group in the southeast. He isn’t worth that kind of money. How hard can it be to conduct most of the classical and baroque repertoire? Sure, there are many pieces that are very difficult to conduct, but the vast majority of pieces they tackle can be addressed by your local high school band director. The romantic period and more modern works are very hard. If the ASO plans to cater and be dumbed down to appeal to the most generic of audiences, then why pay so much for the product? It can be done for far less money with increased creativity and a higher artistic level.

Every now and then, they will tackle some new pieces and some mildly controversial pieces, but it is rare. That “middle of the road” mentality is safe but boring as hell. Shame on them for acting like they are fresh, new, and innovative. They are as stale and outdated as Lawrence Welk. I know very few classical music professionals who frequent ASO performances. The few times I have been in the last year, I see a sea of blue hairs peppered with a smattering of young kids who have never been to the symphony before. On the lame-o-meter, they score an 8.

More to come about other groups later….