Let me share my own experience. I am a life-long classic music lover. When I lived in Philadelphia, I would attend Orchestra concerts an average of once a month (and sometime more often) beginning when I could only afford the $2 ampitheater seats that were sold the day of the performance. . . to an eventual upgrade to a season's box - as well as contributing financially. Did I enjoy all performances? Of course not. (One performance of Verdi's Requiem was a real clunker.) But over the course of each season, I was always treated to some amazing music - from the old to the new to the unexpected. I have very specific memories: the first time I heard Mahler's first (Guilini was the conductor); the complete cycle of Beethoven's symphonies and piano concertos and the Fantasia for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra (Serkin was the pianist for all of them); the world premiere of Del Tredici's Final Alice (Barbara Hendricks was the soloist); the time that Yo-yo Ma both soloed in a concerto and then played as a member of the cello section; etc, etc.
When I moved away from Philadelphia, I purchased a season's subscription to the National Symphony Orchestra; and I continued to support the Philadelphia Orchestra financially and even returned for an occasional concert. But that eventually that proved untenable. Unfortunately, over the years, the programming and performances of the National Symphony deteriorated little by little and became more and more lackluster and unenthusiastic. Unlike my experience in Philadelphia, I was rarely treated to "amazing music" - whether old or new or unexpected. Of course, there were exceptions: the NSO's performance of Final Alice (Hila Pitman bested Barbara Hendricks) and Leonard's Slatkin's educational efforts (such as the time he showed how movie scores were developed). But these exceptions were few decreased in number year by year. Eventually, going to the orchestra became an unpleasant chore; and many of my paid-for seats went unused.
Each time I cancelled my subscription, I would be contacted by the NSO; but the representative really did not hear or understand the reasons for my dissatisfaction. The calls were marketing and subscription renewal efforts and not a serious attempt to understand my dissatisfaction or learn what I would like from a symphony orchestra.
I am fortunate that I live in a city with many other performing art forms - there is more theater and jazz and dance in DC than in Philadelphia (while Philadelphia had more chamber music). So, as a cultural omnivore, I get my fix. And DC is not far from Baltimore; the Baltimore Symphony's performance of Bernstein's Mass (at the Kennedy Center) had everything that a performance of the NSO lacked.
The competition for the interest and financial support of the community is fierce. There are so many performing art forms competing for the same end. And there may not be a solution to the problems of American orchestras - especially in the current economy.
