By David Amos
SAN DIEGO– On a recent trip, I met socially with a musician. He was highly experienced as a performer, arranger and organizer. Although successful at what he did, he was clearly burned out from his many years of being in the musical battlefield.
Although I knew of this person’s accomplishments and successes, I was taken aback when he asked me, “How many years have you been involved in music?” to which I responded truthfully, which is practically all my life at different levels and disciplines within music. And his response was, “And you still don’t hate music?”
Yes, I have met more than a few accomplished musicians who simply hate music.
That was a bit of a shock. I am quite aware that within the world of professional music there are many players who have become embittered of the system, the struggles, the low pay, and dwindling prestige and support for classical music. Feeling trapped, simply because they feel, (correctly or incorrectly) that this is the only thing they can do, they have caged themselves into becoming “musical clerks,” musicians who punch in their time while being employed by an orchestra, play with very little enthusiasm, and can’t wait until their workday is over in order to go home, be with the family and/or watch television.
This unfortunate attitude is seen everywhere, depending on the organization and its location. Musicians who were trained and part of the former Soviet Union arts machine are more likely to end up as musical clerks. That system trained young musicians as an assembly line. The talented ones were given all the education and privileges of the Soviet system, which was aimed at glorifying itself, and the less talented ones were assigned other instruments and relegated to play in various regional orchestras. They became the “losers” of the music world, and with that, not surprisingly their negative attitudes evolved. This is not to say that among them there were many outstanding talents, but they grew up being suffocated by the system.
Keep in mind that musicians everywhere start as very talented youngsters. They go on to high school music, where they are celebrated as unique and gifted. They move on to the music schools at universities and colleges, and find out that they are no longer the “top dog” as they were in their community, but part of a larger talent pool, where most of them are somewhere in the middle of the pack. They find the competition fierce, while not being surrounded by the supporting family and friends they had back home. And of course, the young musicians who move on to conservatories are usually dwarfed by even more talented colleagues. And this is only the beginning of the struggles and disappointments. The auditions, applications, competitions, travel, rejections, financial pressures, and unfair advantages taken by others, do take their toll on practically everyone.
I met many of these musical clerks in my various stints in Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia. Interestingly, when I conducted and recorded with the New Russia Orchestra in Moscow, I was met with many smiling faces, enthusiastic attitudes, humor, and an almost obsessive desire to excel. Go figure.
I did not see much of negative attitudes with musicians in U.K. orchestras, especially in London. These were well paid professionals, kept very busy, and were part of a culture of competition, quality and pride. No problems there
There are fewer musical clerks in American orchestras, but no group is devoid of them. Contributing factors include low salaries, family tensions, and a propensity to follow unionized rules to extremes, where the final artistic results are compromised.
But, some of my greatest musical experiences have been at times , when conducting professional orchestras, that a few of the musicians came up to me, with fire in their bellies and craving to do more in the field of music than their circumstances would allow. Many talked to me about guest soloing in the U.S., or with ideas of music literature, involving their chamber ensembles, and so on. And this attitude and enthusiasm, I found everywhere, including Israeli, European, Canadian, American, U.K. orchestras, and even Soviet system orchestras. Most musicians everywhere respond to enthusiastic leadership and innovative programming, which may not be part of their daily routine.
No such problems with amateur-volunteer, school, or semi-professional groups. Their execution may not have the luster of fully professional ensembles, but they more than compensate their technical shortcomings with energy, enthusiasm, intimacy, and love for every note they play. The public senses this.
Personally, I can not imagine myself conducting an orchestra, writing an essay such as this one, or giving a speech on music without giving the needed energy and passion to the many wonders of our art form.
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David Amos is the conductor of the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra and has guest conducted professional orchestras around the world. He may be contacted via david.amos@sdjewishworld.com
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