Music Director Jaap van Zweden conducts the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Concerts and arts events have been cancelled due to the coronavirus epidemic in China. Photo: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
“As China struggles to get the coronavirus epidemic under control, the country is essentially closed for business to the global arts economy, exposing the sector to deep financial uncertainty,” writes Elizabeth A. Harris in Thursday’s (2/13) New York Times. “Movie releases have been canceled in China and symphony tours suspended because of quarantines and fears of contagion…. China was the third-biggest art market in the world in 2018…. Last week, Art Basel Hong Kong … was canceled…. With China’s emergence as the fastest-growing market for classical music in recent years, the ripple effects of the virus crisis were quickly felt across that field as well. Several American ensembles, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra … canceled planned tours of China. The Juilliard School, which is preparing to open a branch in Tianjin this fall, announced that it was suspending all in-person admissions-related activities in Asia until at least March…. The Boston Symphony said that the tour it canceled was expected to cost approximately $2.1 million…. The [BSO] administration has been hoping to speak with vendors about waiving or reducing some fees, but with the crisis it has been difficult to get through to some of them.”
