Aarhus has appointed a new conductor for its symphony orchestra, a development that has attracted considerable attention. Dmitry Matvienko, a 34-year-old Belarusian conductor, is currently featured prominently across the city in an expensive advertising campaign. The Aarhus Symphony Orchestra has spent 237,000 Danish kroner (approximately 35,000 USD) on this campaign, which accounts for one-fifth of their overall marketing budget.
Jesper Nordin, the artistic director of the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, defends this significant expenditure. He compares the role of a chief conductor to that of a head coach in the sports world, emphasizing Matvienko’s star potential for achieving global recognition. Nordin believes this investment will benefit the orchestra in the long term by enhancing its international profile.
The budget for the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra stands at around 52 million Danish kroner (approximately 7.7 million USD) annually, with nearly 90 percent of funding sourced from public support. In 2023, the Danish government contributed 24 million kroner, while the Municipality of Aarhus provided 22.5 million kroner. The remaining budget is supplemented by grants and the orchestra’s own revenue.