Janelle Gelfand

jgelfand@enquirer.com

In the past few days, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra reached a settlement with its players after a 10-week lockout. It was contentious – Atlanta's season-opening concerts were canceled, and federal mediators had to be called in.

Now, the 70th anniversary season of the Grammy-winning Atlanta Symphony will open on Thursday with Beethoven's life-affirming Symphony No. 9, conducted by Robert Spano. The orchestra's musicians and management came to terms on a new four-year collective bargaining agreement this week.

Cincinnati may not know how close it came to downsizing, potentially even losing, its own major orchestra a handful of years ago. Arts patron Louise Dieterle Nippert's gift in December 2009, an $85 million arts fund benefiting mainly the Cincinnati Symphony, was more than timely. The orchestra was strapped with a large structural deficit and pondering big cuts. It was headed to becoming a much smaller organization.

Why is a symphony important to a cultural landscape? An orchestra, says Cincinnati Symphony music director Louis Langrée, "is part of the soul of a city."

"Great cities have a great orchestra both for what the orchestra does onstage, but also for what the musicians bring to the community off the stage," says Trey Devey, the CSO's executive director. "The CSO is a cultural cornerstone that elevates all of the musical arts throughout the region."

It's true: From the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, to the May Festival, the ballet, the opera, Pops, World Piano Competition and private teaching studios, that ripple effect is felt throughout the region.

Does Cincinnati realize what it has in its arts? In other cities, there recently has been turmoil. The 110-year-old Minnesota Orchestra returned to the stage in February following a financial crisis and a bitter 16-month lockout. The drama included the departure of some principal players, as well as the CEO and the music director. Celebrated conductor Osmo Vänskä is now back with a two-year contract.

In San Diego last year, the city's opera company nearly folded. And recently, a federal judge in Detroit found a way to save the cherished art collection in the Detroit Institute of Arts from being sold off during the city's bankruptcy proceedings.

Since the 2008 recession, American orchestras have struggled to raise the private donations, foundation money and corporate grants that keep them playing.

Some blame these troubles on the ongoing weak economy. I believe that there is a cultural shift in our nation that has marginalized the arts. It's nothing new; it has been happening over decades. It started with the erosion of music education in schools. We are bombarded with pop culture – on television, in the media, on the Internet. Even in Cincinnati, some view Music Hall as a place for only a privileged few.

A major bone of contention in Atlanta's negotiations was the orchestra's size. Its new contract will begin with a complement of 77 musicians in year one, with a goal of growing to 88 musicians by the end of year four. That orchestra had 93 players before taking concessions in its last contract in 2012.

The Cincinnati Symphony has decreased its complement of players, too, in recent years, but is aiming to build back under new music director Langrée, largely thanks to private donations. Currently, the CSO has 76 full-time, tenured musicians, plus another 10 players on single-year contracts.

Why does size matter? To maintain a world-class orchestra, there must be a consistency of playing, knowledge of repertoire and style. It has to do with the musicians knowing "the identity of the orchestra and building something together," Langrée says. "It can be a lifelong artistic relationship."

Devey adds: "The Reds would never take the field without nine players. Likewise, a great orchestra requires a minimum complement of musicians."

Any chamber of commerce will tell you that the arts help cities flourish by adding to quality of life, retaining creative talent and attracting business to the region. But maybe it's simpler than that. Maybe it's about 45,000 people from all walks of life sharing a collective experience at Lumenocity last summer. Or about being able to slip into the gallery at Music Hall to hear a major orchestra perform Beethoven or Mahler in one of the best halls in the world, just about any weekend of the season.

"We are in a world where everything is about speed. It's even more precious now to have Music Hall and to have an orchestra for 52 weeks," Langrée says. "It's important to reconnect with yourself, and at the same time to take all of our daily life and leave it outside."

You can be sure they will be celebrating in Atlanta this weekend. With luck, they will continue to appreciate what a treasure they have.