譯/王麗娟 There is a stark reality increasingly facing American orchestras: They are now charities, relying more, on average, on philanthropy than on the ticket sales that used to buttress them.
While orchestras have always required subsidies — whether from monarchs, the church, governments or patrons — the balance has shifted to the point where they generally get more revenue from donations than from selling tickets, according to a report released Tuesday by the League of American Orchestras, an industry association. The report also found that orchestras had reached a tipping point in how they sell tickets: In 2013, for the first time, ensembles no longer earned a majority of their ticket revenue from the subscription packages they have depended on for decades.
美國管弦樂團正日益面臨一項嚴峻的現實：它們現在已變成慈善樂團，因為平均來說，它們對慈善捐助的依賴程度已高過售票所得，而後者一向是樂團的主要收入來源。
雖然管弦樂團一直都需要補貼，無論它來自君主、教會、政府或金主，根據同業協會「美國管弦樂團聯盟」周二公布的報告，兩者的消長已轉變至通常慈善捐款多於售票收入的地步。報告還發現，管弦樂團在售票上已來到拐點：2013年，樂團首次無法再從套票訂購上賺取大部分的售票收入，數十年來他們一直十分仰賴這項收入。
These changes have forced orchestras to change everything from how they organize their staffs to how they define their missions. The new report and interviews with players, administrators and union officials paint a picture of a field in transition, with some ensembles struggling, some doing well, and nearly all trying to adapt as classical music's footprint in the broader culture shrinks. This season has already had a long strike by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in Texas; a 48-hour strike by the storied Philadelphia Orchestra; and a bitter, continuing strike by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, a top-notch ensemble that raised this city's profile even during the most painful days of its deindustrialization.
這些變化迫使管弦樂團做了徹底的改變，從如何組織員工，到如何界定任務。透過前述報告以及對樂手、樂團管理人員、工會官員的訪談，可以勾勒出一個領域正在轉型的景象，有的樂團在苦撐，有的經營良好，但隨著古典音樂的足跡在更廣泛的文化中逐漸縮小，幾乎所有樂團都在努力適應變化。本季已經出現的狀況計有：德州福和市交響樂團的長期罷工；知名的費城管弦樂團發動了48小時罷工；而匹茲堡交響樂團也仍在進行慘烈的罷工，而即使在匹茲堡經歷去工業化的最痛苦年頭時，這個頂級樂團仍然發揮了提升該市形象的作用。
Orchestras (and their growing marketing departments), for example, must now spend more to sell single and group tickets — at a time when it is harder to fill seats. (Attendance declined by 10.5 percent between 2010 and 2014, the study found.) And as ensembles and their development departments work to appeal to philanthropists, many are now going beyond merely making music, offering more educational programs and community engagement initiatives. Finally, there is increasing pressure from many boards and administrators to try to curb growing costs, which can lead to labor disputes like the strike in Pittsburgh.
The question of how effectively orchestras can attract philanthropic support is increasingly the key to their survival. The report found that in 2014, an average of 43 cents of every dollar orchestras received came from contributions, while 40 cents came from ticket sales, touring, hall rentals, parking and other sources of earned income; and the remainder from investments.
舉例來說，管弦樂團（及其不斷擴大的行銷部門）如今必須撒出更多銀兩，在音樂會很難滿座的此刻，全力推銷個人票和團體票。（前述研究發現，2010年到2014年，觀眾人數下降了10.5％之多。）而在樂團和發展部門努力向慈善家招手之際，許多樂團現在不僅不再只製作音樂，也提供更多的教育課程和社區參與計畫。最後，許多董事會和管理者越來越迫切想抑制成本的增長，而這可能會導致像匹茲堡罷工那樣的勞資糾紛。
管弦樂團如何有效吸引慈善機構的支持，已日益成為它們生存的關鍵。前述報告發現，2014年，管弦樂團收到的每1美元當中，平均有43美分來自捐款，40美分來自售票、巡迴演出、音樂廳出租、停車場以及其他收入來源；其他剩餘部分來自投資。
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文/張佑生
美國管弦樂團（orchestra）面臨惡劣的處境（stark reality）。現代管弦樂團編制從50到100人，40人以下的一般稱作室內樂團（chamber orchestra），通常沒有指揮（conductor），營運成本都很高。源自日文的卡拉OK中的OK是英文管弦樂團的諧音。舞台、劇場正前排的貴賓席，美語稱為the orchestra，英語是the stalls，用複數。
Stark有好幾個意思，像是完全的（stark naked, stark mad）、荒涼的、以及本文所指「嚴峻艱難的」。菲律賓總統杜特蒂嚴厲警告指控他剷除毒梟違反法律程序的人：Duterte gave a stark warning to those who accuse him of extrajudicial killings.
Ensemble指一組人，可能是舞者、樂手、演員，或整套家具、服裝，為可數名詞，通常用單數，也指整體效果。堪稱是珍奧斯汀最不浪漫且最務實的小說《曼斯菲爾德莊園》（Mansfield Park）中，亨利突然發現主角Fanny Price整個人都不一樣了：And then, her air, her manner, her tout ensemble, is so indescribably improved!
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