It's Been A Really Bad Week For Classical Music

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In Minneapolis, demonstrations in support of musicians have drawn regular support during the yearlong Minnesota Orchestra labor dispute. Euan Kerr/Minnesota Public Radio hide caption

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Euan Kerr/Minnesota Public Radio

In Minneapolis, demonstrations in support of musicians have drawn regular support during the yearlong Minnesota Orchestra labor dispute.

Euan Kerr/Minnesota Public Radio

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The world of classical music has had a very turbulent week. Carnegie Hall's labor dispute with its stagehands led to the cancellation of its opening-night gala. The Minnesota Orchestra, already one year into a labor dispute of its own, just lost its music director and the leader of its Composer Institute. And the New York City Opera, after a last-minute fundraising effort fell short, filed for bankruptcy.

To help sort through the wreckage, NPR Music classical producer Tom Huizenga joined All Things Considered host Arun Rath to discuss what went wrong for these ensembles and venues, and why their problems represent a larger and more troubling trend. Hear their conversation at the audio link.