State of American orchestras

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra reviewed the 2014-15 season in a wide range of American orchestras, and the stats are fascinating.  Highlights include:

  • the 10th most performed composer (Prokofiev) was performed about 3 times as many times as the most performed living composer (John Adams)
  • the average composition date for a piece is 1886, with pieces written since 2000 making up less than 10% of performances
  • over 98% of compositions performed are by men, but don't worry: men composed only 85% of pieces performed by living composers