Like the Titanic: Lebanon’s orchestra keeps playing as country sinks

As Lebanon’s national orchestra geared up for its season-opening concert with half of its musicians missing, conductor Lubnan Baalbaki found himself in a quandary – whether to attempt a piece designed for a full ensemble or prepare a scaled-down version. On the concert day, three additional musicians braved the economic crisis that had caused many colleagues to quit, allowing Baalbaki to conduct the original score.

Describing the situation as reminiscent of the Titanic sinking, with the orchestra insisting on playing despite the challenges, Baalbaki acknowledged the uncertainty of their future. The National Symphony Orchestra has not escaped the repercussions of Lebanon’s financial crisis, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut blast in August 2020, which damaged the city, including the conservatory where the orchestra practices.

As the country’s currency plummeted, the approximately 100 musicians saw their wages dwindle from $3,000 to around $200. Most foreign musicians departed. Previously capable of grand productions covering the entire classical repertoire, the orchestra now faces difficulties. Wages barely cover fuel costs for weekly practice sessions, prompting Baalbaki to reduce the number of concerts from dozens to a handful.

This decline mirrors a broader trend in Lebanon’s cultural spaces, including summer festivals, once beacons of the arts featuring jazz legends and Arab icons, now struggling due to the crisis and the pandemic. Mona Kusta Semaan, a violinist with the ensemble since its re-founding in 2000, expressed nostalgia for past performances with Placido Domingo but now chokes up at the sight of an orchestra on TV, hoping for a better future for Lebanon and the return of foreign musicians.

Even before the crisis, Lebanon’s conservatory faced challenges from the sectarian quota-sharing system, where political appointments, often based on loyalty rather than merit, paralyzed the institution. The seven-year absence of a permanent replacement for conservatory head Walid Gholmieh exemplified this dysfunction, exacerbated by religious considerations.

Bassam Saba, who took over in 2018, succumbed to complications related to COVID-19 in the previous year, leaving a void. Baalbaki fears a prolonged delay in appointing a successor due to political hurdles. Despite these challenges, he emphasizes the musicians’ determination to persist, viewing their role as creating solutions and opportunities for art and music in Lebanon, regardless of the political obstacles imposed by the sectarian system.