Author: JEG ★2017
Date: 2019-09-05 20:20
Reminds me of a conversation I had with my sister many years ago - she asked why symphony musicians didn't move around more like chamber music players.
The current question has been well-addressed by many responders here, and I agree with Ed Palanker about the seriousness of the profession. And I agree with Karl about the importance of education and exposure to the music in schools.
I was at Tanglewood this summer for a weekend of concerts plus the Tanglewood on Parade activities. Tanglewood is high-pressure - three separate concerts a week for eight weeks, plus extras such as teaching, chamber music, and concerts like Tanglewood on Parade. But they don't sit there looking like they dread the conductor's downbeat.
If you watch some of the fundraising programs that pass for classical and other music genres that are now regularly on stations like PBS you can see musicians, some at the top of their profession, playing with the most blissful looks on their faces, or else striking some kind of pose to show how "serious" they are. For many viewers, this is how they form an impression of art music, for better or worse. And portrayals in the movies and on TV don't help either.
I was fortunate to have a short and only moderately successful symphony orchestra career which didn't pay much, but I wouldn't trade that experience for anything, pressure and all.
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