LA Phil 2016-17: By the Numbers

I do this every year: leave the punditry to others and tally up the stats. Here’s what 2016-17 looks like at the LA Phil. Unlike in years past, I have only included performances by the LA Phil–no visiting artists.

• 21 commissions, 14 world premieres, 5 U.S. premieres, and 5 West Coast premieres. This beats last year’s world premiere record by two and shatters the commissions number from last year, which was 12.
• In 2016-17, the LA Phil will present music by 1 Baroque composer, 7 Classical-era composers, 24 Romantics, and 46 composers from the 20th/21st Century. (Yes, I realize that “20th/21st C” is a broad category that doesn’t tell the whole story.)
• That’s 1% Baroque, 7% Classical, 24% Romantic, and 46% 20th/21st Century.
• Of the 78 composers on the 2016-17 season, 7 are living. That’s 9%. If you include the Green Umbrella concerts, that number increases to 17 of 88, or 19%. This represents a steep decline from the current LA Phil season, which features 42 living composers out of a total of 107, or 39%.
• Of the 78 composers on the 2016-17 season, 0 are women. If you include the Green Umbrella concerts, that number increases to 2 of 88, or 2.3%.
• The LA Phil will perform 97 different works in 2016-17: 1 Baroque, 9 Classical, 36 Romantic, and 51 20th/21st Century.
• That’s 1% Baroque, 9% Classical, 37% Romantic, and 53% 20th/21st Century
• Of the 9 Classical-era works, all are either by Haydn or Mozart.
• The most-performed composers of the season will be Schubert (8), Sibelius (6), Mahler (5), and a bunch of composers tied at 4, including Beethoven, Mozart, Ravel, Brahms, and Stravinsky.
• Of the 42 different programs (including Green Umbrellas), 41 will be conducted by men. The one female conductor is the LA Phil’s Associate Conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.
• 74 visiting artists: 43 men; 31 women. Of the 31 women, 22 share the solo spotlight with a male soloist. Nine get the stage to themselves (all with male conductors).
• In 2016-17, the LA Phil turns 98 years old, Walt Disney Concert Hall celebrates its lucky 13th birthday, and Gustavo Dudamel has five years remaining on his recently-extended contract as Music and Artistic Director.