Klarinet Archive - Posting 000668.txt from 1999/09

From: KlarBoy@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Orchestras & the free market (Philharmonia)
Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 18:21:04 -0400

Greetings,
I have eagerly read the many posting concerning the Philharmonia's terrible
work conditions and who is responsible for them. This month I saw a BBC
production made on the Philharmonia. It is currently airing on the American
cable station "Ovation." It is a documentary that follows the lives of these
London musicians, showing the ensemble in rehearsal and in performance with
conductors such a James Levine and Christoph von Dohnanyi. The documentary
also explores personal traumas such as performance injuries, and alcoholism
which seems to be a terrible problem with several of London's finest
ensembles. The show spends considerable time with the orchestra's principal
clarinetist (who is a member of this list apparently) discussing his work
load with the orchestra which is considerably greater than that of his
American colleagues. He is also featured in an excerpt performance of
Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin.

The Philharmonia plays 600 services while the average American workload is
around 352 services (calculated by an 8 service week for 52 weeks less an
eight week vacation) These are of course ballpark figures, but I do have an
ICSOM scales and wages book here. The question is why do these Londoners
make so little for so much. The answer is, competition and the free market.
This orchestra is in the most competitive city (for symphonic classical
music) in the world. There are simply too many musicians and orchestras.
The Chicago Symphony would not be making the money they do if they didn't
have a monopoly on their city's symphonic musical scene. This holds true for
all of America's great orchestras. They face little to no local competition.
London's orchestras seem to be having a war of attrition. This can only get
worse before it gets better. The only ones who benefit from this is the
city's concert goers. These orchestras need to book highly respected
conductors and soloists to attract their audiences. These soloists and
conductors (along with their agents) are receiving between $30k and $60K per
concert. It's these artists who keep the pay for the average musician low.
Since the Phiharmonia is self run, they are the ones paying these people.

What is the solution? Consolidate some of these orchestras, perhaps. Stop
the conservatories from pumping out more musicians? Tell James Levine you
aren't going to pay him $100,000 for a weeks worth of work? Perhaps these
free market Brits should learn that doing things like the Yanks might help.
It's just ironic that the American model is one of monopoly, while the rest
of our country waves the flag of free enterprise and capitalism, in these
economic HIGH TIMES

--Mario Estrada
Florida West Coast Symphony
Sarasota

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