Nice Norman - you write exactly what the 4% of the population who regularly attend symphonic concerts want to read. Back in the between the 1780s to the late 1800s, orchestras were ventures funded by subscribers and rich patrons. As a result, there weren't very many of them compared to today. What's happening today is that we're returning to that old model. Government is getting out of the culture business (wisely, for government shouldn't prop up all kinds of bad contemporary composers, painters, writers, etc. as they do in Europe). Sure the orchestra will survive, but there will be about 60% fewer - at least - of them then there are today. That's fine, since excellently recorded CD's and good stereo sets will make up the slack. Besides, the future of art music isn't "orchestras" but in specialized ensembles, such as L'Arpeggiata, Orchestre Revolutionaire et Romantique, and the Red Fish cafe. The idea that every city above 100,000 people should have an orchestra or opera company is going the way of the dodo.

Living in a somewhat distant northern suburb of New York City, I find a rich local diet of chamber music along with imaginative choral programs sung by amateurs led by accomplished professionals and supported by churches. Smaller scale classical music will never go out of fashion and doesn't need large endowments. A lot of it is supplied by musicians who can't find orchestral chair jobs in the cities. Bach did fine in an environment like this with its smaller scale forces. What was OK for him is OK for us...not to worry.