As I've reported before in a front-page story in the print version of The Capital Times, the new performing arts season in Madison got off to a slow start.

Almost all major groups - from Overture Center series to the Madison Symphony Orchestra to the Madison Repertory Theatre and the Wisconsin Union Theater - have reported slower-than-anticipated ticket sales.

They all say they have not lost money, but they also say they have not made much beyond covering costs.

In short, there are many seats to fill.

Which leads us to the programmer's dilemma.

If you program known names, even expensive celebrities, and known works, you risk getting branded as a being risk-averse, of creating a nostalgia museum that is afraid to explore the new or known.

But if you get dare to get risky with the performers and the music, you take a bigger chance on not meeting your attendance goal or your budget.

It will probably strike many people as obvious, but I think programs are far too underestimated in the equation.

Typically, touring performing artists design their programs regardless of venues or a specific public, and then agents offer maybe a couple or three different programs to bookers.

But a program can make a big difference.

Take the critically acclaimed young American violinist Hilary Hahn, who performs this Sunday night at 8 at the Wisconsin Union Theater. Sure, she is well known, even if she is no superstar like Itzhak Perlman or Pinchas Zukerman.

But she is a fabulous player.

And you could hardly ask for a better program as a violin sampler.

The familiar works include the melodious and popular Franck Sonata in A Major. Mozart's Sonata in B-Flat Major and Brahms Second Sonata. But less familiar works include Charles Ives' Sonata No. 3 and Eugene Ysaye's Sonata No. 5 for Solo Violin.

By any measure it is a great program that I expect to be performed greatly. It should attract both newcomers and sophisticates.

But the question lingers: Do programs make a big difference in what you choose to attend? Should presenters be able to request certain programs they think will attract their audience?

And what artists and pieces would you like to see and hear in coming seasons?

Let Art Talk, and the rest of Madison, know what you think.