Gustavo Dudamel is conducting Oliver Knussen's Violin Concerto and Mahler's Fifth at the New York Philharmonic this week. As of 8:30AM, twelve seats remain for the final performance in the run, on Inauguration Day. According to Zarin Mehta, the Philharmonic has yet to see a severe decline in donations or ticket sales in the wake of the economic crisis. Matters are different at the Metropolitan Opera, where the endowment has lost a third of its value and donations are down $10 million. The Baltimore Symphony has also lost ground. The rare bird in today's environment is the St. Louis Symphony, which reports a rise in sales, contributions, and attendance. David Robertson and the St. Louis have made a fine new recording of Szymanowski's First Violin Concerto (with Christian Tetzlaff) and Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy.
