I don’t normally pay much attention to what the musical iconoclast Norman Lebrecht writes, but I found some comfort in these uncomfortable times in his most recent column – here’s the relevent paragraph:
Orchestras, too, flourish in depression. London went from one symphony orchestra to three in the post-crash period of 1930-32 and from three to five in the austerity years of 1945-57. In the US, working musicians found comfort in bands and new lines of work in Hollywood studios. No matter how tight the money got, the public demand for music shows an exponential increase whenever financial confidence fails.
The whole column is a pretty fascinating read – find it here.