Rewards in Music

There are so many rewards in music for a conductor, it is difficult to know where to start. But the rewards for musicians in an orchestra are fewer and harder to quantify. They are horrendously underpaid, yet those in the premier orchestras are at the top of their craft. They have spent years studying and have reached the pinnacle of orchestral playing. When they do a live concert, they have a 3 hour rehearsal on the day in addition to the concert (so let's say 5.5 playing hours); got to the venue either by public transport or their own car/bike; parked the same and paid for the privilege. They have had to pay for refreshments/meal, provided their (expensive) instrument and their concert clothing. All this for a fee that is sometimes scandalously in the low one hundred pounds. No, the rewards in music are not of the pecuniary sort for the musicians in an orchestra! Rather, they come in the performance that goes to a level others don't reach. And when the audience react in a way that makes you realise they too have experienced the out-of-the-ordinary, the rewards are of a different kind. This it has to be said is not a regular occurrence, the majority of performances being merely wonderful. Wonderful is good, wonderful is rewarding. But wonderful should be rewarded better, and not just by the reaction of the audience. Wonderful should be financial security. The problem we have here, is that an orchestra is labour intensive. You can't just drop a trumpet because the box-office figures don't stack up. It would be like only booking 2 original members of The Who because you can't afford all 4! Actually that's a bad example, because there are only 2 out of the 4 now left, so only 2 of the original group ever turn up! But those 2 are the originators of their music and have rearranged their music to cater for the band being cut in half, or added extra players to take the parts no longer played by the 2 original members. We can't get in touch with Beethoven and tell him to cut a trumpet and some violins! Then you have to balance the loud instruments with the soft and make sure you have enough of the soft instruments to balance with the loud! No, we are labour intensive and cannot cut. What is the solution? Performance related pay? Only get paid by the numbers in the audience? Sadly, it would be wall to wall Mozart and Tchaikovsky and then only limited pieces. Music would die and we would be thought of as a museum experience. We must experiment to find the next composer; we must experiment to be creative. The best way forward to achieve good audience numbers is for the orchestra, soloists and conductor to take the audience on a journey together. A journey of discovery and creativity. Then ensure they stay with you for life as you perform the interesting and the challenging alongside musical favourites. The problem with all that is the people who are prepared to do that, stay with you through thick and thin of the journey, are not infinite in numbers. In fact quite the opposite. This is where government and the Arts Council step in. Which may be where my next blog takes me. Meanwhile, reward better the musicians who bring you that great art with their huge talent and expertise. Otherwise, fewer musicians will be able to afford to learn an instrument, knowing their financial security for them and their family is pitiful.