As with much baroque music, it has become fashionable to perform Rameau on the period instruments he might have used, but things are changing: modern orchestras are embracing the baroque again, armed with the knowledge and experience that specialists in period performance have given them.
The coalition has taken this one step further: not content just to pull away resources, it keeps on changing the orchestra.
Attendees can change the tempo by playing with IV nozzles, move around the IV stands to alter the mix, and manipulate audio effects, creating an ever-changing orchestra of overlapping rhythms.
The New Jersey Symphony finds itself looking for a new conductor at the same time as the nation's most prominent orchestras are changing music directors.
With so many music-director jobs changing hands at American orchestras these days, Ms. Alsop will probably look westward out of the corner of her eye while enjoying her European success.
Sexism in orchestras Over the past several decades, orchestras have started changing the way they hire musicians.
For whatever reason, the chemistry between Mr. Dutoit and the orchestra began changing for the better in the 1990s, and now the interaction has a striking elegance and naturalness.
As the climate for classical music in America adjusts to challenges (like the decline of arts education in public schools) and opportunities (the instantaneous availability of music on the Web), the role of the music director of a major orchestra is changing as well.
"When you have new anatomy, it's like changing instruments in the orchestra.
"We're not cutting back on classical music, we're just changing the focus from big orchestras to chamber groups," insisted Mr. Inkles, whose schedule includes seven classical music concerts and recitals -- and the Hong Kong Ballet, Janis Ian, "Titanic the Musical" and the Garth Fagan Dance Company.
