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What are orchestras playing?

Author: clarinetist04
Date: 2014-02-18 10:01

About 5 years ago (see this link) I did an analysis of 443 orchestras around the country, compiling their programs for the year (2008-2009) and reporting the frequency pieces were played. Here were the most played orchestral pieces that year, from a list of over 8500 performances:

10. A. Dvorak: Symphony No. 8 (played by 42 orchestras)
9. W. A. Mozart: Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter" (42 times)
8. L.v. Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral" (44 times)
7. J. Brahms: Symphony No. 2 (44 times)
6. S. Barber: Adagio for Strings (44 times)
5. P. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 (49 times)
4. L.v. Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 (56 times)
3. L.v. Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 (56 times)
2. A. Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" (64 times)
1. L.v. Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" (66 times)

I recently redid this for the 2013-2014 performance year. This year I noticed a handful of "new" orchestras that were actually just renaming defunct orchestras and, of course, there were several that have gone bankrupt or disbanded for other reasons over the past couple of years. Nevertheless, this year's list has about 450 orchestras and an increase to just over 9,200 pieces performed. The most performed orchestra pieces were/are, in descending order:

1. L. Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 (67 performances)
2. L. Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 (61 performances)
3. A. Dvorak: Symphony No. 8 (54 performances)
4. A. Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 (54 performances)
5. F. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor (53 performances)
6. P. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 (51 performances)
7. J. Brahms: Symphony No. 2 (48 performances)
8. P. Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture (48 performances)
9. H. Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (46 performances)
10. P. Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 (46 performances)
11. P. Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto (44 performances)
12. P. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 (43 performances)
13. N. Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (42 performances)
14. J. Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 (41 performances)
15. S. Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 (41 performances)
16. G. Holst: The Planets (39 performances)
17. I. Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite (38 performances)
18. L. Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (38 performances)
19. L. Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (38 performances)
20. P. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 (38 performances)
21. S. Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 (38 performances)
22. A. Copland: Appalachian Spring (37 performances)
23. D. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 (37 performances)
24. E. Grieg: Piano Concerto in A Minor (36 performances)
25. M. Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (36 performances)

The Handel Messiah and The Nutcracker should be in there too but I omitted them since they're played by about everyone during the Christmas season. I also will mention the following clarinet solos that were or are planned to be performed this year:

W. Mozart: Clarinet Concerto (15 performances)
A. Copland: Concerto for Clarinet (7 performances)
C.M.v. Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 1 (3 performances)
C. Debussy: Premiere Rhapsody (3 performances)
C.M.v. Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 2 (2 performances)
C. Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto (2 performances)
M. Bruch: Clarinet/Viola Double Concerto (2 performances)
O. Navarro: II Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra (2 performances)
A. Messager: Solo de Concours (1 performance)
B. Crussell: Clarinet Concerto in F Minor (1 performance)
C.M.v. Weber: Concertino (1 performance)
C.M.v. Weber: Fantasia and Rondo (1 performance)
C. Stamitz: Concerto for Two Clarinets in B-Flat (1 performance)
F. Krommer: Concerto for Two Clarinets in Eb Major (1 performance)
G. Tsontakis: Anasa: Concerto for Clarinet (1 performance)
G. Rossini: Theme and Variations (1 performance)
J. Stephenson: Liquid Melancholy (1 performance)
J. Williams: Viktor's Tale from The Terminal (1 performance)
J. Phibbs: Concerto for Clarinet, Strings, and Harp (1 performance)
L. Liebermann: Clarinet Concerto (1 performance)
N. Resanovic: Collateral Damage (1 performance)
R. Danielpour: Clarinet Concerto (1 performance)
S. Gryc: Dance Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra (1 performance)
S. Reich: New York Counterpoint (1 performance)
W. Lutoslawski: Dance Preludes (1 performance)

I cannot say that the compiled data is exhaustive but it's certainly extensive. I would be happy to provide any interested parties any contortion of the data, if interested. This only for the USA. One of these days I'll take a look at Europe/Asia/Australia but that's for another time.

There's always a lot of talk about this orchestra or that orchestra going out of business and the state of classical music and repertoire and all that (a couple threads recently are what spurred me to do this again) so here's some data to fuel conversation.

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