The charismatic Quebec conductor Yannick Nézet-SéguinGraham Hughes/The Canadian Press
They haven't yet asked him to ride in on a white horse, but the cash-starved Philadelphia Orchestra is taking extraordinary steps to enlist help from incoming Canadian music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin as it tries to convince its public that the orchestra deserves to be saved.
On Monday, the orchestra announced that it has changed its schedule for the coming season to get two more fall concerts with Nézet-Séguin, who does not take on his full responsibilities as music director for another year. The orchestra, which filed for bankruptcy protection in April, is straining to meet a year-end deadline for a matching-grant fundraising campaign (target: $17.5-million U.S.) and no doubt hopes that extra face time with the charismatic young conductor from Montreal will bring in more dollars.
"As we collectively navigate this important period in the ensemble's history, I felt that it was imperative for me to volunteer more of my time and energy to the incredible Orchestra and Philadelphia community," said Nézet-Séguin in a statement. It was also imperative for another eminent conductor, baroque specialist Nicholas McGegan, to agree to postpone his scheduled shows to make way for a second November program with Nézet-Séguin, who will now have two straight weeks to seduce the public.
The Philadelphians signed the fast-rising Nézet-Séguin to a seven-year contract in June, 2010, after only two visits as guest conductor.
The rescue mission in Philadelphia got even tougher last week, after a large majority of the orchestra's musicians signed a letter denouncing a strategic plan released by the board and management in May. "The document and its suggestions have serious flaws," said the letter, whose 80 signatures (out of a total membership of around 100) seemed to refute management's claim that the plan was drawn up with the musicians' participation.
The players' union, meanwhile, continues to fight with management lawyers in bankruptcy court about whether any part of the orchestra's $120-million endowment fund can be seized by the players in the event of a bankruptcy. The musicians are worried that their pensions, which could represent a liability of between $23- and $35-million, may be at risk if the orchestra folds.
The endowment fund, which looks huge by Canadian standards, has played almost no other role in the crisis so far. Management claims that the terms of the gifts it contains forbid any withdrawals of capital. That put the money out of reach when donations and ticket revenues began to fall far behind expenses. Last year, the board had to cobble together an emergency fund of $15.3-million just to meet payroll till the structural revenue problem could be solved.
Ironically, management's bankruptcy lawyers have so far been unable to show documentation of the terms governing 12 per cent of the endowment money. It's possible that those funds could have been used to keep the orchestra out of bankruptcy court, though now the union has targeted that undocumented cash for the players' pension relief.
There has been some good news: $11.2-million in donations came in the door after the strategic plan was announced in May, along with an opportunity for $16.3-million in challenge grants. But the musicians' letter, and the institutional discord it reveals, could seriously hamper efforts to claim those grants with matching donations.
Hence the importance of Nézet-Séguin's extra shows in November. Before he gets near the podium, however, chief conductor Charles Dutoit is taking the orchestra to Europe. That's right: With financial disaster lurking at home, the Philadelphia Orchestra is going on a three-week tour of 11 European cultural capitals, starting Thursday. You can bet that any good reviews will be broadcast loud and clear back home.