3 ms·
I don't think that's true. Orchestra is probably difficult, but you can make a living giving recitals. It's not a salaried job, so you'll have to manage yourse
by olau 7y ago
I don't think that's true.
Orchestra is probably difficult, but you can make a living giving recitals. It's not a salaried job, so you'll have to manage yourself and do the selling, building up your reputation in the right places, but it's possible.
For instance, a couple of months ago I went to the church to a recital with a cellist who was bicycling on a tour giving something like 40 recitals in a little over a month. I looked her web site up afterwards, and she charges the equivalent of 800 USD per job. It was near the end of her tour, and no, she didn't seem like she was falling apart. :)
I don't think there's any real money in recorded music these days. You're competing with absolute top stars from the whole world.
But classical music is a very different experience live. If you do the job well, introduce people to the music, help them understand it and give them a touching experience, people will want you back next year.
- robbrown451 7y agoThe fact that it's possible to make a living at it doesn't mean it is remotely typical to be able to. To do so you need to be some combination of extremely talented and extremely good at all those other things (marketing oneself, etc). Just like my ex, she could of course point to people who were making a good living as opera stars, but there were far more people who got the masters degree in operatic performance, and then did other things to actually buy the groceries. And you are right that recorded music is hard to make a living at as well. Some people do, but the vast majority fail. Whether classical or otherwise, recorded or live, everyone in music is competing against mass produced, broadcast or streamed recorded music. You can't just learn to play piano and get hired at a saloon anymore.