Emergence, divergence, convergence: Three models of symphony orchestras at the crossroads

Beneath the pounding of the percussion and sonority of the strings, beyond the reach of the conductor's gesticulations and exhortations, behind the serenity of the crowd's spirit looms the daunting, incessant, and necessary process of funding a symphony orchestra, of creating and maintaining a public for its music. This paper, part of a larger research project designed to explore how symphony orchestras are structured, supported, and led across four countries (the United States, United Kingdom, the former West Germany and East Germany) will look at three models of symphony orchestras and the cultural policies that have helped to shape each one which have emerged since World War II.