New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
February 28th, 2005 at 12:19 pm by David FarrarBrian Rudman writes about funding for the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra and raises the usual Auckland whine about the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Referring to the NZSO as “the Wellington band” is pitiful stuff. The NZSO plays all over New Zealand. The location of their home base is pretty insignificant. I wouldn’t think different of them if their base was in Christchurch, as long as they still played in Wellington.
Incidentially the NZSO will play in Auckland 13 times this year.
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February 28th, 2005 at 12:51 pm
You’ve just seen the quality of jounalism which causes me to not read the Herald.
Vote:February 28th, 2005 at 12:52 pm
I’ve had this arguement with a classic music lover just recently – why are taxes funding classical music at all? Modern (dear I say “popular” i.e. people want to listen to it) music is self funding and only recieves grants from NZ on Air for videos.
If classical music has enough followers it shopuld be able to be self funding – someone told me that the taxpayer subsidises each and every NZSO ticket by $90 (?) or some ridiculous sum similar. I really enjoy rugby, but my ticket gets no government subsidy at all.
Vote:February 28th, 2005 at 12:53 pm
You’ve just seen the quality of jounalism which causes me to not read the Herald.
Vote:February 28th, 2005 at 1:13 pm
One has to wonder why Wellington has 400,000 people and the NZSO, RNZ Ballet, 4 professional theatres, the Sevens, and the New Zealand Festival of the Arts for the last 20 years. Wellingtonians get off their bum go to these events.
Auckland has 1.2 million people and, um, a casino with a tower that looks like a heroin needle.
Vote:February 28th, 2005 at 1:22 pm
The difference between Auckland and yoghurt is that yoghurt has got culture.
Rudman is a chardonnay socialist. Mind you, so are a lot of others.
Vote:February 28th, 2005 at 1:42 pm
of course the capital, and all the funding that allows beaurocrats to afford/indulge in, all those cultural extravagances, should move to auckland.
wellington will still have a future as a slightly larger picton; catering to the flow-through tourist industry. (possibly a jackson themed amusement complex in the old parliamentary building would help draw out those tourist dollars.
no longer needed buildings could be turned into backpackers hostels; or, low cost studios/accomodation for the artists so loved by the inhabitants/cultural giants, of our temporary capital.
these artists; they could then get those new flexipass bus pass things, and travel north to the capital, to lay their offerings before us.
and what would we do with them? all these politicians and beaurocrats?
we would park them out in our own little canberra, albania.
they will be out of our hair; and handy to paul.
cheers
Vote:February 28th, 2005 at 2:46 pm
Phil U – did you know that the wind makes all the trees in Wellington lean to the north? Cause AUCKLAND SUCKS!
Seriously, if Auckland got 200,000 extra people overnight it would collapse under it’s own weight.
Vote:February 28th, 2005 at 3:21 pm
no, michael. they are trying to get away, to move to the paris of the north…
cheers
Vote:February 28th, 2005 at 4:21 pm
// Modern (dear I say “popular” i.e. people
// want to listen to it) music is self
// funding and only recieves grants from
// NZ on Air for videos.
And new recordings, album grants, and rebates for radio hits.
Not to mention the sorts of musical enterprises that Creative NZ also coughs up cash for.
Vote:February 28th, 2005 at 4:25 pm
Thirteen times in Auckland versus how many in Wellington for a matter of interest?
Vote:February 28th, 2005 at 4:37 pm
I’m with Anonymous above. Stop govt funding of all music. This is not a core govt responsibility, if I want to listen to music by old dead white guys played by a mediocre orchestra (by world standards), then I can buy a CD of the Albanian orchestra or similar.
OK, maybe not quite that bad, but surely we could make do with some unpaid or sponsorship supported orchestras and the occasional tour from one of the really good international orchestras?
Vote:February 28th, 2005 at 5:23 pm
Grant – 17 concerts in Wellington. As has been pointed out Wgtn has very high turnouts to cultural events. Christchurch has five concerts.
Anon – many years ago as a Young National I proposed a remit that the Government stop funding 33 different quangos including the NZSO. My God – the fury from the purple rinse brigade was incredible – never mind that I wanted to privatise the entire health system, how dare I propose no subsidy for the NZSO. The civlised world was ending.
Vote:February 28th, 2005 at 7:10 pm
Simple arithmetic shows that every seat at the NZSO is currently subsidised by taxpayers by about $90. Assuming the requested increase is approved in the budget and patronage remains constant, the subsidy in the coming year will be $102 per seat.
Vote:A further calculation shows an average $38 price for a ticket ($4.3M/112,000).
Given the affordable ticket prices, it is obvious that Kiwi’s don’t give a toss about the band. I have never attended and never will, and I resent the gov’t dipping into my pocket to subsidise other peoples unpopular social activities.
Cast the band adrift and buy some more hip operations for Grannies with the $11.5M.
I am also annoyed when told it is important culturally. Bollocks. What has a centuries old work in Italian/German got to do with 21st century culture in NZ? And frankly it is not worth the money to have them play the national anthem etc from time to time.
February 28th, 2005 at 11:03 pm
Wellington is the capital city it makes perfect sense that the National orchestra should be based in the same city.
Vote:March 1st, 2005 at 9:08 am
They are located in Wellington because they are finded by the taxpayer and they need to schmooze with the government to get money. If they were located in Auckland they will have to get more money from the private sector. I think all the Government arty things should all be ordered to locate to Auckland and stop looking to the taxpayer all the time for money.
Vote:March 2nd, 2005 at 7:47 am
David -
Rudman’s just done another rant in today’s O’Herald, so I’ve e-mailed him to ask if he knows how much APN spends on arts sponsorship in general, and the APO in particular. It’s rather ironic that in our supposedly booming economy, every arts organisation will tell you they’re chasing a shrinking pool of corporate sponsorship.
And if Rudman is so “bored” with roads, how the fuck does he think people get into Central Auckland to go to concerts and plays and football matches? Magic carpets and Star Trek transporters?
Vote:March 2nd, 2005 at 11:00 am
There is no technical reason for the NZSO to be ‘based’ in wellington. Or the RNZBallet for that matter.
Vote:Australia had the federally funded Australian Opera in Sydney ( not Canberra), and the Australian Ballet in Melbourne.
I would move the NZSO to Auckland which would solve two problems.
A recurring theme seems to be arts organisations geeting themselves in a hole about 7 years after they said they wont make the same mistakes. This is the time it takes for a new board to get all enthused over high art,but couldnt balance their own checkbooks.
There isnt the growth in ‘high culture’ to justify extra funding, I would guess the same numbers turn out now as did 25 years ago, and Auckland has increased in population by 30%. You can see it in newspaper circulations- static. Even TV audiences are a shadow of the % available of what they were 25 years ago. Now 15% is thought of as ‘wildly popular’
April 7th, 2005 at 6:50 pm
you guys need to get a life
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