Iconic San Francisco Symphony facing one of its most challenging moments since its inception in 1911: Here’s why [Video]

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Even if you aren’t a fan of classical music, you should know that the San Francisco Symphony is among the top five orchestras in the country. It’s taken decades to reach that stature. But now, the symphony faces one of its most challenging moments since its inception in 1911: how to keep its prestigious title while supposedly struggling financially.

One might say San Francisco had a fairy tale moment in late 2018 when the symphony hired conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen.

“To have hired him was a public relations coup, an artistic coup beyond imaging. None of us here thought that could ever happen,” expressed Joshua Kosman, the former Classical Music Critic for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Salonen didn’t actually begin his tenure until 2020 and we all know what that infamous year meant for the world, COVID-19.

All concerts were canceled through June 2021.

By then, the two top people directly responsible for hiring Salonen had left. In …