The Orchestra's Cry for Help

2020/07/20

The Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, following the government's February 26 request to refrain from cultural events, suspended all performance activities from February 29 onwards, prioritizing the health of audiences and performers. A total of 47 performances through the end of June were cancelled. In addition, 18 performances of the "Summer Vacation Concert"—a tradition spanning 45 years enjoyed by three generations of children and families—were also forced to be cancelled.

Monthly income dropped to zero, while fixed costs to maintain the orchestra remained at 50 million yen per month, pushing management to the brink as the situation dragged on. With no prospect of resuming full-scale performance activities due to social distancing regulations and other restrictions, the orchestra faces a deficit exceeding 400 million yen for fiscal year 2020. As a result, it has fallen into an insolvency of over 300 million yen, and the Japan Philharmonic is facing a "crisis of survival."

Securing cash flow is essential to maintain the orchestra's management and continue operations. Fortunately, with the understanding of financial institutions, a loan facility of 400 million yen is expected to be secured, guaranteeing activities for about one year. There is no choice but to take the next steps during this time. The orchestra members, whose compensation was not high to begin with, decided on their own to take pay cuts and forgo regular raises and bonuses. They have begun appealing to the world for support through donations and other means, regardless of appearances, saying, "Please let the Japan Philharmonic's activities continue."

Since late February, orchestra members have been unable to gather for practice and have been striving to refine their skills individually. However, an orchestra is a group that polishes its performance by enhancing its ensemble power. We must protect the traditional sound of the Japan Philharmonic, built over 64 years, at all costs. Furthermore, all members are suffering from the inability to deliver music to the audience. The Japan Philharmonic has valued interaction with many people through music and has delivered music to familiar places. "Communication through music" itself has been severed, and there is even a sense of crisis that culture is disappearing from daily life. It can be said that the entire musical culture is facing a crisis.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, musicians around the world began streaming performances online one after another. A telework video of "Paprika" by volunteers from the New Japan Philharmonic reached over one million views, lighting a spark in the hearts of people staying at home. The Japan Philharmonic, in collaboration with TV MAN UNION, also released past performance videos as "Classic Choi-kiki" (Quick Classical Listening). Many groups without the support of television stations, such as other orchestras and choirs, also participated, creating a circle of connection.

The Japan Philharmonic's visiting activity "Music for the Disaster-Stricken Areas," which had continued 293 times since the Great East Japan Earthquake, was also suspended. However, in June, an online discussion was piloted with the Miyako High School Brass Band, with whom the orchestra had a prior relationship. High school students who had been pessimistic about not being able to perform saw their faces light up through dialogue with musicians who face their craft with sincerity. I saw a glimpse of the power of music to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.

Then, on June 10, emerging from the long tunnel of self-restraint, the "Special Afternoon Online Special" (a non-audience performance with a paid live stream) was held in co-sponsorship with Suntory Hall. This became a pioneer for the resumption of orchestral performances in Japan. Adhering to public guidelines from the government and other bodies, a "social distance ensemble" of 21 string players, conducted by Junichi Hirokami, played the first note on the long road toward normalizing concerts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally endangered the management not only of the Japan Philharmonic but of the entire orchestra industry. Each orchestra is expected to lose between 200 and 500 million yen annually, and even if they do not fall into insolvency, their net assets will be significantly damaged. The loss for the industry as a whole may reach several billion yen.

The reality of orchestra management is that total project costs cannot be covered by performance fee income alone, and the balance is maintained through external funds such as subsidies, donations, and sponsorships. For metropolitan-style self-managed orchestras that do not have large sponsors, the ratio of performance fees to income is high, reaching 60% to 70%. The cancellation of concerts naturally increases the amount of loss and raises the level of the "scream." While this is a crisis for individual organizations, the industry as a whole will also suffer for a long time with this negative legacy. This is a crisis suffered not only by music organizations but by cultural and artistic organizations in general.

Furthermore, most orchestras are public interest incorporated foundations and are bound by the "principle of balancing income and expenditure," which requires them to break even annually. On top of that, it is a strict system where an organization is dissolved if its net assets fall below 3 million yen for two consecutive years. To deal with such a situation that far exceeds management efforts, a significant injection of capital by the government is necessary, such as the setting of a grace period for loss of qualification and the provision of perpetual subordinated loans. These are means of corporate rescue, but shouldn't they be applied precisely to cultural and artistic organizations that cannot generate profit? The question now is how to minimize the damage to culture and the arts.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were reminded of how empty and dry a world without culture and the arts is. We were poignantly confronted with the fact that culture and the arts are indispensable in our lives and essential for mental health.

Some countries faced the COVID-19 pandemic by placing "society, economy, and culture" on equal footing. Is it not time to reconsider the weight of culture and the arts?