The New York Chamber Symphony (NYCS) has cancelled its upcoming season
and has no plans for future concerts, according to the members of the orchestra
and sources close to its administration.
Under founding music director Gerard Schwarz, the orchestra had established
itself as one of New York's leading advocates of contemporary music,
commissioning works from composers such as David Diamond, Bright Sheng, Richard
Danielpour and Aaron Jay
Kernis. But after Schwarz announced last year that he would resign his post
after the 2001–02 season — the ensemble's 25th — a
successor could not be found, and according to orchestra members, the ensemble
has not been able to secure funding to continue performing.
Sharon Griffin, the NYCS's executive director, declined to comment on the orchestra's plight, promising an official announcement at the end of this month. But she acknowledged that subscribers had been notified that the orchestra had canceled plans for the 2002–2003 season.
Itzhak Perlman's name was frequently mentioned as a possible successor to Schwarz, according to violinist Krystof Witek. "It looked like there was a chance he would take the job," said Witek says, "but that didn't happen." According to a source close to the negotiations, the parties couldn't agree on terms and the orchestra could not meet Perlman's salary requirement, which insiders say was close to $200,000.
Reached in Baltimore, where he was conducting at the National Orchestral Institute last week, Schwarz said he was disappointed at the orchestra's demise. "It clearly was my hope that it would continue after I left," he said. "It's really sad to me. Sometimes things need to die, and other things need to come and take their place; there's a life cycle in arts institutions. But I didn't feel that this was the time for this orchestra to die. It had 25 great years, and I felt it should have continued. I hoped it would."
In recent interviews, members of the orchestra said they maintain hope that backers will revive the orchestra for future seasons, but they are already making arrangements to play with other ensembles.
"This is a tremendous loss," said violist Jack Rosenberg, a 20-year member of the orchestra and leader of the orchestra committee. "To see a great cultural institution going by the wayside is sad, and it's sad to see the way things have unraveled. This orchestra meant a lot to these musicians' lives. Most of us can replace these concerts, but we can't replace the artistic value that's been lost."
Schwarz and Omus Hirshbein founded the NYCS in 1977 as the Y Chamber Symphony, a resident ensemble at the 92nd Street Y, where Hirshbein was director of music programming. The orchestra changed its name to the New York Chamber Symphony in the early 1980s and in 1996 moved to Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. Over the last two decades, the NYCS made more than 20 recordings on a variety of labels, earning three Grammy nominations. In 1993, the NYCS won an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for its commitment to new music programs. The group frequently performed with well-known soloists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham and Yefim Bronfman; Musical America named Schwarz conductor of the year in 1994. But these honors and awards weren't enough to keep the orchestra on a firm financial footing.
"The official word is that we're dead," said Witek, who was surprised and disappointed to find that the orchestra didn't have a stable foundation of support that would assure its survival after Schwarz's departure. "Since I joined five years ago, there were rumors about financial difficulties, but that's not foreign to any orchestra," Witek said. "I feel it's a shame. It's especially disappointing for those musicians who have played here for so many years. Twenty-five years means a lot in the life of a musician."
The orchestra's board and a few key supporters of Schwarz provided the bulk of the orchestra's funding throughout much of Schwarz's tenure, according to members of the orchestra. As recently as June 2000, the Knight Foundation provided the orchestra with a challenge grant of $100,000 for an audience development project. But members of the orchestra said that the ensemble relied heavily on a small pool of dedicated backers who gave to the orchestra because they respected its conductor and his artistic vision. When Schwarz left to focus on his new position as director of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and his ongoing commitment to the Seattle Symphony, the funders' support waned and the orchestra found itself financially strapped.
In a city where more than a dozen part-time orchestras compete with a major symphony orchestra and two popular opera companies for the public's attention and financial backing, the NYCS ultimately proved unable to distinguish itself sufficiently to remain viable. In Manhattan alone, the orchestra had to compete for scarce private funding with Orpheus, the EOS Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke's , among others. And in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, it has become even harder for arts institutions to raise money, according to Schwarz: "I'd love not to have to bring it up, but since September 11, it's been a tough time for the arts and for the city as a whole. Funders have never gotten this many requests."
Schwarz believes that New York needs a permanent resident chamber orchestra, but that the limited number of prominent performance venues makes it difficult for a group such as the NYCS to thrive. "New York has become a very small city, in a sense, with the important concerts all happening at either Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall," he said. "There are lots of other performance spaces, but they just aren't primary venues. And it's very difficult for all of these groups to get into the main halls."
Like the NYCS, the Jupiter Symphony and Prometheus are Manhattan chamber orchestras that have struggled this year as a result of losing their music directors. When conductor Jens Nygaard died last year, his Jupiter Symphony perished with him (although some of his former musicians have formed the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players), and Wilson Hermanto's recent departure to pursue other conducting opportunities left Prometheus without its founding director.
"In New York, if an orchestra goes, there are still many others to take its
place," Rosenberg said. "But the Chamber Symphony was unique. It had an
incredible history of premieres, tours and recordings. Jerry [Schwarz]
accomplished amazing things with this group. And I still have hope that it will
be revived at some point. It would just mean so much to New York's musical
community."
