THE CONDUCTOR of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has admitted his choice of music could have played a part in deterring audiences.
Gerard Schwarz conceded that some of his musical ideas on arriving in Liverpool may not have been what audiences here were used to, leading some to stay away.
Mr Schwarz said: "I probably should have been a little more conservative. My belief is that a community has to trust its music director. That takes time.
"In my first season's programme, I didn't think I was stretching the audiences. Obviously, everyone doesn't agree with me."
Am eric an Mr Schwarz returned from Seattle last week to find that more than half his orchestra objected to an extension of his five-year contract, blaming low audience figures on programme planning and probl e ms with h is repertoire.
Of the 64 contract players eligible to vote, it is understood 45 voted against extending Mr Schwarz's contract beyond 2006, with three abstentions.
Any final decision will be taken by the 11- strong Philharmonic board, which includes only two orch es t ral representatives.
A Philharmonic spokesperson said: "I think Mr Schwarz came with some quite ambitious plans. Our audiences are quite conservative and some may have stayed away at the beginning.
"While this was true when he first started, it is no longer the case. As he said himself, it takes time for people to adjust, and recently our audience figures have been rising steadily."
