 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: beejay
Date: 2007-11-16 07:09
You might remember that a few years ago, the string section of one of the big London orchestras threatened to go on strike because they played four times as many notes as the woodwinds and brass and got the same pay. The headline in the London Times was "Strings want more brass."
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2007-11-16 07:40
But then again the strings are many many more on each part but only one on part in the woodwind and brass section.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2007-11-16 12:17
Is this about staffing numbers, or absolute hours under contract?
I was under the impression that most pros make their serious money in side work, and teaching.
A slog like this would preclude playing other charts.
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Author: William
Date: 2007-11-17 20:09
If you can's stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Who ever said that being a professional musician was easy and always fun? Love it or leave it.
(ear plugs do help)
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Author: Tom A
Date: 2007-11-19 08:38
William has nailed the problem without realising it; the pit in the Opera Theatre of the Sydney Opera House is the size of a large home kitchen, and the heat is probably the same.
While the building may be gorgeous and suit its position brilliantly, there have been problems well-known since before it was completed. The larger of the two main halls was originally intended to be "multi-purpose", including opera. For some reason, the Australian Broadcasting Commission (now Corporation), which ran the capital cities' orchestras, snared the rights to that hall and it became a 2,600-seat concert hall in a city of (at the time) 2 million people. Opera and ballet was relegated to the 1,500-seat theatre, in a pit that could fit 60 musicians.
The architect, Joern Utzon, resigned from the project as the result of a clash with the Minister of Public Works (a member of the agrarian Country Party in a conservative government), meaning the interior had to be designed without his input. This resulted in two enormous concrete shells, each with a wooden box inside it which is its hall.
There is an interesting account of its construction in a book (which I have misplaced, so I can't give publicatin info) called "The Book Of Heroic Failures" by Stephen Pile.
Anyway, enough soapbox. This article is one of many over recent years dealing with problems, including those in the pit.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/its-reno-time-for-the-citys-grandest-house/2006/11/10/1162661901835.html
Post Edited (2007-11-19 08:43)
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