Widely regarded as one of the world’s finest orchestras, it would be easy to assume that Holland’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a cultural institution immune to the financial struggles facing many arts organisations around the world. However in its 2013 annual report, released this week, the RCO has announced that without immediate intervention by the Netherlands government its financial reserves will be rapidly depleted by its unmanageable overheads, and it will be forced to disband by 2016.

The dilemma faced by the orchestra is that the rising costs in the wages of its players and administrative staff has exceeded the maximum revenue the orchestra can generate from its performances. In an interview with Holland’s daily paper, NRC Handelsblad, Concertgebouw’s Business Director David Bazen spoke of the increasingly difficult situation in which the orchestra has found itself, “Our position is still very strong, but it is rapidly weakening”.

Even in spite of the orchestra’s highly acclaimed world tour last year, which included the orchestra’s Australian debut at the Sydney Opera House in November, Concertgebouw reported an eye watering deficit of €863,461 ($1,213,896AUD by today’s exchange rate) in their 2013 financial summary.

The orchestra’s financial plight has been further compounded by the limited...