Orchestras seem to be pulling away from adventurous programming as a knee-jerk reaction to short-term fiscal problems. But Norman Lebrecht fears that such decisions will only hasten the demise of orchestral relevance. “While a programme of family favourites may stabilise finances and reassure creditors, it casts into acute doubt the survival of the symphony orchestra in the modern world. Who, after all, needs so many orchestras if they all play the same music and none of it is new? It is a question that is starting to trouble hardcore supporters of live music.”