Reinventing a German Classic

As the director of the Berlin Symphonic Orchestra, Andreas Moritz had hoped to celebrate the orchestra's 40th anniversary this year. Instead, he's likely to announce the ensemble's demise in the very near future.

"If we cannot find a major partner within a few weeks, the orchestra will be gone forever," he said, adding that he's not angry at Berlin's city government for revoking millions of euros in subsidies last year.

"We're not entitled to anything," he said, adding that he's not had much success in attracting private sponsors so far. "It's our own fault that it got to this point."

Working for next to no money, the orchestra has maintained its regular program, including school concerts with seriously reduced ticket prices. It's their only chance to convince potential investors of the orchestra's qualities as a musical ambassador, Moritz said.

"If we don't continue full speed ahead, if we don't show what we can do, we're not going to find anyone," he said.

Losing public support

It's a problem many of Germany's 136 professional orchestras are facing. Just recently, Potsdam's German Film Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra in Munich have been threatened with closure.

Germany's miserable overall economic situation has meant cuts in funding, after decades of plentiful state sponsorship. Now, ensembles across the country are waking up to the fact that they can no longer take the government's money for granted and need to do more to attract a younger audience that has private sponsors in tow.

"It's absolutely necessary to free culture from elitism," Moritz said. "It's the only way to prevent further cuts in public funding."

Gerald Mertens, the director of the German Orchestra Union, agreed. Orchestras in competitive markets such as Berlin, Munich or the Ruhrpott region in North Rhine-Westphalia will be particularly pressured to distinguish themselves, he said.

"They have to become more active in documenting their societal value," Mertens said, adding that while Germany remains the world's No. 1 market for classical music, it lags far behind Britain and especially the US in terms of innovation.

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Getting kids excited again

US orchestras on average receive about 4 percent of their budgets in public funding. Germany, on the other hand, has doled out so much public money to its orchestras that private money makes up only 13 percent of their budgets.

"No one thought (innovation) was necessary," said Martin Maria Krüger, the president of the German Music Council, the world's largest national music organization. "There was a belief that the state would always be there to maintain cultural offerings."

Krüger added that his organization would soon push for a renewed emphasis on musical education in the country's schools to reverse the trend.

Sparking children's interest in music is exactly what Hermann Bäumer, the musical director of the Osnabrück Symphonic Orchestra in western Germany, is already trying to do. He has introduced youth programs that go beyond traditional school concerts. He takes children to the city's defunct coal mine, lets them record the sound of an old steam machine, which they use to compose their own music in collaboration with orchestra members.

"It's a way to secure our future," he said, adding that his city-sponsored ensemble has no financial problems so far.

"If you want to get kids excited about soccer, you don't take them to a game but give them a ball instead," he said, quoting Sir Simon Rattle, the director of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and a strong supporter of interactive youth programs.

Corporate tailcoat linings

But while Berlin's city government covers about half of Rattle's €30-million ($39 million) budget, even Germany's most famous orchestra has turned to a private sponsor to pay for its educational offerings: Deutsche Bank's logo is prominently displayed on its Web site.

The Berlin Symphonic's home page is currently under construction, but Moritz wouldn't think twice about adding a company logo once it's done.

"You're not doing anything bad if you're funded by a firm," he said, adding that he could even imagine orchestra members wearing tailcoats that are lined in the corporate color of a sponsor.

But so far he's still trying to find a financial savior. One selling point is a prestigious award the German Critics Association gave to the Berlin Symphonic this year. Moritz will pick it up on April 16. He's hoping his orchestra will still exist by then.