Bloomin Untidy Musician

I seen a wonderful BBC television documentary showing behind the scenes of the Berlin Philharmonic last week. As well as showing the interesting way in which the BPO is run, it interviewed many of the musicians upon their thoughts and feelings about professional working life. The program demystified and brought a very open and honest perspective upon a world which many amateur musicians aspire to and sometimes glamourize. For me it highlighted some interesting issues about world class musicianship which i had never thought about before.

Firstly playing in an orchestra with so many "big personalities."

The feeling of isolation and critical (sometimes bitchy) ears when a new person is on trial.

The feeling of isolation and critical (sometimes bitchy) ears when you don't feel as though you are at the same level as your colleagues.

The fact that it never gets any easier when you rise to that top level. Some of the musicians stated that they found it more difficult maintaining the BPO level of musicianship, than actually becoming a professional musician and getting into the BPO.

The fear that a conductor feels (in this case Simon Rattle) when trying to harness and exploit the massive potential of a bunch of big personalities. Indeed ego-centric by there own admissions.

My questions to you are:

What is/was the most pressurized situation that you have had to face as a professional musician?

How did you deal with it?

What things do find most difficult about being a professional musician?


Sorry for the gloomy questions.

Nanoo Nanoo


Esquire B.U.Musician

ecarroll

BUM Esq,

I'm just wrapping up a very glamorous two weeks and will reply soon, I promise.

Best,
EC

ecarroll

B.U.M.,

I suppose that it's all in how each of us defines "glamo(u)r". Difficulties increase exponentially as you play in ensembles greater than one. Personalities don't always jell and expectations differ. As one that has, perhaps shamefully, never had a job outside music the "glamo(u)r" is in facing such a multi-faceted and interesting profession day in and day out. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose, but it's the game that counts.

Quick answers to your questions above: 1) advancing round after round in a principal trumpet audition in Boston that I knew in my heart I wasn't quite ready for.
2) By folding in Schumann #2 in front of Ozawa (everyone else did too)
3) Traveling great distances to do the work that I love. It's a choice that I made when I chose to live where I live and one that I'm comfortable having made.

A note on pressure: Lee Trevino, a great Mexican American golfer of years back, stated that there is little pressure in making a big money putt. Pressure is "playing a $2.00 Nassau with $1.50 in your pocket". Amen to that.

What we do is easy on many levels. We're surrounded by others that can do it too. It's just complicated when we're playing in groups larger than a duet.

Cheers and thanks for waiting for me,
EC

ps: I remember "nanoo nanoo" well. Robin and I were classmates at Juilliard and his Mork character was mostly developed in the cafeteria.

Bloomin Untidy Musician

Thanks for the answer EC.
By the way thanks for pointing out my American-English spelling mistake. If you check out a dictionary you will see that glamorous can be spelled
glamorous (USA)
or
glamourous(UK)
Unbloominfortunately after many years of Microsoft brainwashing my spelling has deteriorated.

Illiterately yours

B.U.M.

ecarroll

BUMlet,

You should write in the original, Americans in our dialect, and I'll meet you half way over the Atlantic (where I stand on most issues anyway). Shall we call it Greenlandic? Greenlandesque?

Oh look. . . an iceberg. All ahead full.
EC

PINT-O-MURPHY'S

"ps: I remember "nanoo nanoo" well. Robin and I were classmates at Juilliard and his Mork character was mostly developed in the cafeteria."

awesomeness!!!!