CheziktheStrong

But with the new american president it is difficult not to draw the parallels

When actual German ex-combatants say this is when it gets credible.

Random questions:

Any truth to that old story that students hid razor blades between the keys of practice room pianos to take out the competition?

Is it hard to keep from geeking out with all of the legendary faculty walking around Julliard's hallowed halls?

As you move in to the accompanying world, whats your pipe dream? Do you hope to score a satisfying relationship with one particular soloist and make influential music with them? Or move chameleon-like from one soloist to another quietly making them sound 10 times better? The latter case seems to be more common in the commercial music world anyway...

Is boredom a problem with your practicing, or has it ever been? How did/do you deal with it?

Are you ever bothered by how little people care about classical music? On one hand, I suppose that an artist plays for their self, but on the other, a musician is a performer and tied to the interest of their public.

What do you think about classical music audiences today?

Thanks for doing a cool AMA

Thanks for your thoughtful response. I'm also torn between my desire to please an audience and the fact that the public at large likes what I think is really shitty music. I try to take some solace in the fact that many people move towards classical music as they grow older and maybe they'll come around.

I've been moving away from classical music since graduating school and at the same time, my mom started managing a smaller hall and symphony outside of the NYC. It's been pretty disheartening to see exactly how the classical music world works on a logistical/financial level. All orchestras run at a loss, and wealthy patrons foot the the lion's share of the bill for classical music to exist at all. Their reasons for doing so are... not what a young musician would hope for. Certainly, in her small community, they do so largely because of tax write-offs and because they like to have places like symphony halls to be fancy in.

Also, a lot of these people are older and very conservative, both musically and otherwise. So they like to hear some nice, relaxing classical music and they really don't want to be bothered by the poor or the non-white. Financially, the orchestra has to do whatever these people want in order to keep receiving their generous gifts. I'm only intimately familiar with the case of the hall my mom runs, but I understand it's a very common situation around the United States.

Most musicians on stage don't know or don't care about all this stuff. Indeed, mostly they are a young and hungry bunch making the trip out from the city, glad to have a (poorly) paying gig.

You mentioned cynicism in another answer you wrote. Are these the sorts of things that make you cynical? Or do you not find yourself thinking about them? Personally, learning about this sort of thing really discouraged me from trying to get into the professional classical career track.

Kind of an aimless reflection. If you have any thoughts of the topic, I'd be interested in what you think.

Oh, also, favorite Bach Invention?

was this for real laryngitis or famous person bullshit?

I assumed you guys were doing playback. Certainly there didn't seem to be any mics, and at least at the bar where I was at, all the acoustic instruments were totally inaudible. Any commentary on the "realness" of the performance? Perhaps you were actually playing but you were excluded from the mix? (I had this experience on a cruise ship recently)