Will the bad news ever stop?

Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall

Quite recently I finished reading Michael Charry's biography of conductor Georg Szell, most noted for his lengthy tenure with the Cleveland Orchestra.  While it seems as though the book whitewashes some of the stories of the maestro's temperament, it proves to be invaluable as an in-depth view into the man and how he created one of the world's great ensembles in one of America's  rust belt cities.

The Clevelander's were the rage of Europe during Szell's tenure and all signs indicate that they still play at an extremely high level.  Franz Welser-Möst, its conductor, has continued the traditions of the ensemble, while expanding residencies in Miami, Lucerne, and Vienna, as well as a future excursion into Paris.  The orchestra's endowment, now set at $130 million, increased by $24 million in the past year, a remarkable feat.  However, the financial picture is not as bright as those numbers would indicate.

Deficits for the past two years have been $2 million and $2.3 million, respectively.  This fiscal year the deficit is slated to be $2.7 million, all of this with increased fundraising commitments and ticket sales at Severance Hall.

The officers of the orchestra's Board of Trustees was just re-elected for another year.  One has to hope that this same-old leadership gets its financial house in order.  This fine ensemble is in no way teetering on a Philadelphia-like precipice, but a continuing bleeding of dollars will only eventually catch up with them, especially in our present economy.