A certain pall hangs over the New York Symphony. It is the ugliness of fund-raising. It pervades this series. I am a season ticket holder to the Minnesota Symphony, one of the finest performing groups in the country. We just went through a strike that got incredibly ugly. It was ultimately resolved at the expense of some great artists. Fundraising is like recruiting for colleges. You have to promise the world and then get on with business. These orchestras are really expensive because of the numbers of performers, the conductors, the facility or concert hall, and on and on. It's easy to say that it's all about the art because it is a job. Actors, dancers, and other performing people ultimately are looking for a big payday and security. So what Gloria is doing here is absolutely necessary. Hailey is being used to appeal to a young crowd, one that could sustain the orchestra for many years. Rodrigo is a bit of an innocent because he sees the art first. Thomas has written a symphony and the Wallace Shawn character tells him it is derivative, getting himself thrown out of the studio. Lizzie comes back from her travels all hepped up. A new guy becomes the maestro's assistant. We are on our way.
