Ten days ago, London's Philharmonia Orchestra roared out the end of Mahler's Symphony No. 1, closing the Concert Association of Florida's season on a resoundingly successful note.
But there are minor-key discords on the horizon.
When Al Milano took over as the Concert Association's chief after Judy Drucker's retirement last summer, the goal was to run the organization more tightly, with a greater emphasis on the bottom line. Milano would increase fund-raising and eliminate a lingering $2.4 million deficit, while maintaining the Concert Association's tradition of bringing top international orchestras and classical artists.
Eleven months later, Milano's record of achievement is mixed. He has had to deal with several factors that have made his job difficult: a nose-diving economy, the downward trend in ticket sales and continuing programming problems due to the inability to get dates at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
CANCELED EVENTS
Most crucially, Milano's record on artistic matters is causing concern among some subscribers.
Last week, the Concert Association canceled three classical events scheduled for the 2008-2009 season at the Broward Center. In January, Milano announced the formation of a local ensemble, the Florida Symphony, to fill gaps in the Broward series.
Some Broward subscribers, used to hearing the world's top orchestras, were not impressed with the Florida Symphony project, even with a Beethoven concerto series that boasted worthy soloists like Horacio Gutiérrez.
Further, it was announced that pops programs would replace those canceled classical events, which could further alienate the traditional subscriber base. The one pops event announced last week was guitarist-singer José Feliciano, which doesn't exactly show a cutting-edge knowledge of today's Latin pop scene. Also, the National Philharmonic of Russia and the Czech Symphony will be performing at Fort Lauderdale's Parker Playhouse, an odd venue for a world-class orchestra.
''I know the musical world is on hard times, but if the best they can do is five [classical] events a year . . .'' said Robert Kaufman, who, with his wife Mercedes, has been a Broward subscriber for nearly 15 years. ``Maybe one light-classical event is fine, but if they're going to where half or a third of the events are pops, we're not interested. We won't take the series. We'll pick individual concerts.''
For his part, Milano says the changes were necessary to bring in more audience revenue when it became clear that the Florida Symphony classical initiative had flopped.
''Folks up in Broward made it very clear that they like orchestras coming in from around the world,'' said Milano. ``They made it abundantly clear.''
Broward subscriptions are ''are not doing well,'' Milano says, citing a 50 percent renewal rate. With a more consistent and starry lineup, subscriptions for the Concert Association's Miami series at the Arsht Center's Knight Concert Hall are doing much better, running close to 80 percent. There are no changes planned for the Miami series.
Milano attributed the subscription drop in Broward to the large number of solo recitals and chamber events last season, before he arrived, stating that those audiences prefer orchestral events.
MONEY MATTERS
But a closer examination of the numbers shows that the drop is more directly related to recent increases in Concert Association ticket prices. After generally holding steady, the Concert Association hit subscribers with a 33 percent increase in 2005-2006, followed by 35 percent in 2006-2007.
Miami subscribers dropped from an already low 470 in 2004-2005 to 392 this past season, a decline of 17 percent.
In Broward, where the Concert Association once drew its largest audiences, the drop is even more precipitous. From 909 subscribers in 2004-2005, subscriptions plummeted to just 440 this past season, a downward spiral of 48 percent.
Milano has addressed the issue, decreasing the prices of all but the most expensive seats by more than 45 percent. The second half of this past season, the Concert Association has offered seats for some events at drastically reduced prices as low as $20, a move that Milano says has been ``unbelievably successful.''
Speaking last week, Milano was ambivalent about the unenthusiastic reaction to the proposed Florida Symphony classical events, at one point calling the initiative ''historical'' and ''necessary,'' then a few minutes later saying he never thought it would be that successful.
''The heart and soul of the problem in Broward is the availability of dates in the Broward Center for visiting orchestras,'' says Milano.
Milano says the Concert Association's commitment to classical music remains, though there may be more pops music than in the past. ''What we're trying to do in Broward is put a greater emphasis on the touring orchestras and pops because that's what some people want to come hear.'' Future seasons will bring ``classical and light-classical -- anything with a full-orchestra on stage.''
For subscribers like Kaufman, the Concert Association remains ``on probation.''
''They seem muddled, like they don't know where they're going,'' he said. ``They have to get their act together.''
