At interval I had a choice: stay for the rest of the concert, return to a friend’s birthday party, or go home. Each option had its own appeal, but inertia and a vague sense of obligation kept me at the concert. As has been observed elsewhere, the TSO’s Sydney tour (sorry, "Sydney Season") has not been attracting anything like the audiences this feisty orchestra deserves. Tonight, there were maybe 200 or 250 people there, in a hall that seats 1200. ("Three men and a ferret," as a former colleague of mine was fond of describing small houses.)
This is a great pity. I like the TSO, they've done good things and, especially during David Porcelijn’s time as chief, they've demonstrated a commitment to Australian music that's often seemed far greater than that of the big guns. They’re small – what I would describe as a “theatre” orchestra, combining the double woodwinds of a classical orchestra with the standard brass of a romantic orchestra (4.2.3.1), basic timpani plus percussion, and a guest principal harp when required. The string section is modest (they toured with 16 violins, five violas, four cellos and three double basses) but it can really make a sound. Everyone has to pull their weight, and consequently there’s a real vigour to the sound. Add to that a long-standing and genuine involvement in realising historical style on modern instruments (or in the case of the courageous horns and trumpets, period instruments), and you have all the makings of exciting and interesting concerts.
So why were listeners staying away in droves? You’d be hard-pushed not to have heard the orchestra on air: the TSO more than any of the Australian orchestras has been keeping up a pretty steady stream of recordings, both on ABC Classics and Chandos (with pianist-conductor Howard Shelley). Diverse too. And the timing of the tour was ok, coinciding with international tours of the SSO and the ACO, so no nasty clashes.
I’m willing to hazard two guesses:
First, attempting a three-concert festival on consecutive nights is a big risk. Even when it’s the home team and the concerts are a little more spread out, there just aren't enough Sydney concert-goers who will come out for a whole set of concerts around a single composer or theme. For a touring orchestra without a local base, it’s madness. Their potential audience is simply spread thin over three performances instead of coming together to fill a hall for one.
Second, the festival was evidently thought-through (with thought being the operative word), combining pairs of Mozart symphonies with Mendelssohn concertos. There’s an intellectual logic to it – with Mendelssohn the “19th-century Mozart” and two composers who died too young. It looks very nice on paper. But to be honest, it’s only the Mendelssohn violin concerto that pulls a crowd, not the piano concertos, and although the piano soloist is a very interesting musician and definitely worth hearing, his is not a recognised name in Sydney. As for putting two Mozart symphonies in every concert? Great as they are (tonight was the Paris – I was tempted to buy an icecream – and No.40 in G minor), it doesn’t lead to enough contrast of style or approach. I firmly believe that audiences are, on the whole, much smarter than many orchestra managements allow, and there is a collective and instinctive wisdom about concert programs that reveals itself again and again in ticket sales.
PS. The programs were free. I think a trend has been set…