Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra - the Auckland Philharmonia

model is still used in most formerly communist states, but a softer version of it has appeared inother countries such as Belgium, Spain and Mexico. Interestingly, in all of these cases the countriesare highly federalised, with diverse and conflicting local populations. In these countries it wouldappear to be politically expedient to form a non‐ethnic national orchestra in the capital which canrepresent the country internationally without exacerbating cultural divisions. Belgium’s mainorchestras, for example, are the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of Wallonie,the Liege Philharmonic and, arguably, the orchestra of the Flemish Opera, rather than the BelgianNational Orchestra. Spain and Mexico both support a vibrant orchestral culture at the provinciallevel and the national orchestra in each case is more an expression of the unity and centralisation ofthe state than something fulfilling an otherwise unoccupied niche.2.2 Radio OrchestrasAnother evolutionary path for many national orchestras lay through the national broadcaster. In theearly days of radio, national broadcasters, being substantial institutions in their own right, were thebest equipped to become purveyors of live and broadcast music. Most large broadcasters retainedat least one orchestra, and some, like the BBC, retained several. In Australia and Germany, eachstate had its own orchestra attached to the state chapter of the national broadcaster. Although anumber of orchestras around the world remain radio orchestras, notably in Italy, Britain, Brazil andGermany, many orchestras devolved from their national broadcasters to take on an independentexistence. In some cases where it was clearly appropriate, the former radio orchestra took on themantle of national orchestra. This has happened in places like Ireland, France, Portugal andDenmark, where “national” tends to be in contradistinction to “local” – that is to say that thenational orchestras have a specific mission to develop orchestral music, promote artists or preservethe national orchestral tradition. This is especially the case with the Orchestre National de Franceand the Irish orchestra, formerly the RTE Orchestra. This does not give them a physical presencenationally and this is not necessarily seen as part of their remit. Most of the former radio orchestrasretain connections with the radio networks, and tend to broadcast rather than tour the country,although the Irish National Symphony Orchestra does undertake one regional tour per year.3 Functions of National orchestras3.1 Ambassadorial functionIn both the above models, the concept of a “national orchestra” is primarily designed to indicate anexternal relation rather than an internal one. That is to say, the orchestra is first and foremost anambassador of sorts rather than something designed to function within the country itself. It isnoticeable that where there is a single orchestra, or a number of orchestras within a country thatcan serve the ambassadorial purpose without causing political problems, a national orchestra is notapparently regarded as necessary – see for example Holland, Norway, Finland or Canada.3.2 Domestic functionNational Orchestras with a specific domestic purpose are extremely unusual. Several nationalorchestras tour to one or more centres outside of their base. The Brazilian orchestra is based in Riode Janiero but does a series of four concerts in Sao Paolo. The Japan Philharmonic is based in TokyoContextualising Auckland and the NZ orchestral sector Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Page 2