THE decision by a symphony orchestra to abandon white tie and tails could presage the end of traditional dress for classical orchestras.
Classical musicians will abandon their tailcoats in favour of a “smooth jazz” look under plans agreed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The formal uniform will be replaced by black suits and black open-necked shirts from the autumn.
Women will continue to wear all-black outfits but they will be free to match the men’s more casual look with dresses featuring lower cuts and higher hems. Sequinned dresses, frowned upon by some traditionalists for being distracting, will be acceptable and trouser suits, which are already permitted, are likely to become more common.
It is a surprise move for the orchestra whose conductor, Leonard Slatkin, caused uproar in 2000 for suggesting that larger women cover their arms because “you do not want to see too much flapping about”. Mr Slatkin was labelled a musical dinosaur for saying that trousers were a problem for women who were “slightly heavy in the rear-end department”.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra was also at the centre of a row about a decision by the violinist Nigel Kennedy to perform at one of its concerts in a vampire costume. Sir John Drummond, then Controller of BBC Radio 3, called him “the Liberace of the Nineties”.
Advertisement
It is the first time that a leading British symphony orchestra has dropped white tie for its mainstream concerts. Other orchestras perform in less formal clothing but revert to evening dress for symphonic work.
Paul Hughes, general manager of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, said: “We want to find something that is relevant for today. We predominantly play 20th and 21st-century music and orchestras have been wearing tails since the 18th century.”
The orchestra will wear white tie only for exceptional events such as royal performances. Orchestra members considered a number of options before choosing black open-necked shirt and black suit. Musicians rejected black shirts with dinner jackets on aesthetic grounds and said that silk shirts would be too expensive to dry clean.
Mr Hughes added: “Choosing a new look is a fine line between being gimmicky and finding something that is relevant to the music we perform. Some orchestras have made their ladies all wear one-size-fits-all dresses in green and they looked like a row of vegetable sacks. I have seen choirs of ladies in cerise frocks. I have never met anyone who looked good in a cerise frock.”
The orchestra is the first big one to follow a trend set by younger ensembles such as the Britten Sinfonia, which shuns white tie. The Sinfonia, founded 11 years ago, recently wore a uniform of silk shirts in blues, greens and purples and performed at last year’s Proms in black shirts with Nehru collars, designed by Germaine Greer.
Advertisement
Alan Davies, planning manager of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, said that it was likely that his ensemble would abandon white tie when it moved to City Halls in Glasgow in 2005. “The older audiences want the traditional look but the younger audiences regard it as stuffy,” he said.
The Hallé Orchestra in Manchester proposed a change of dress code two years ago but postponed the decision after focus groups proved more resistant than expected. The London Symphony Orchestra will review its dress in the autumn.
DEBATE
Should orchestras drop their formal dress?
debate@thetimes.co.uk