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Hi,

you lot in Europe, and I suspect North America as well, just may not appreciate how fortunate you are.

I was in Italy and Greece over the month of March and snapped this picture of a poster advertising piano recitals in Florence (Firenze) for March, April and May. I can tell you all that in order to get just one of these artists to visit our part of the world would require me to sell my soul to the devil AND offer up a new born!

Enjoy, you lucky lot.



Gerard

Yup, that's quite a season lineup. Wow.

This is definitely not a Greek poster... Nobody comes to Greece!

But you were in Greece and Italy over March? First of all why don't I know about this ( : grin: ) and how come, if I may ask?

Why doesn't anyone come to Greece or New Zealand? Both seem like fine places to visit. Maybe there isn't a huge piano following there?

1. Lack of serious concert hall places.
2. Lack of audience.
3. Lack of business understanding (renting a hall of 500 people in the Athens Megaron Hall costs 5000 euros, for example).
4. Lack of initiative.

That's for Greece. I've no idea about NZ.

I guess all of those could be overcome except the lack of audience lol.....can't do much about that unless you have a seriously amazing promoter.

Just out of curiosity, what does any ONE of those artists charge to give a recital? What's the fee range?

I don't think any of those pianists would get out of bed in the morning for less than $$$$$ for that evening's concert - unless it was a prestigious venue like the Verbier Festival or similar.....

To cover the costs of a first-class air ticket to down under, you're talking serious audiences (4000+) and high ticket prices.

GeePee,

Out of curiosity - on that poster, was there also mentions of WHAT the pianists had on their programs, or not? It looks like only a part of the poster is in the picture, so I can't tell for sure. But I do find it interesting what is being prioritised, if indeed there was no mention of the program.

It's the other way around if you go to, say, a contemporary music concert. Most often, there'll be mentions of composers being played, but not necessarily performers. (or rather, they will appear in the program leaflet)

Nikolas,

my wife and I try to make a decent overseas trip every 2 years. This year was her turn to choose where, but due to her work commitments March was the only month she could be away. I know it wasn't the ideal time of year to travel through Europe but the plus side is the lack of mass tourists. We actually had pretty good weather minus a couple of rubbish days.

I still managed to squeeze in a musical offering though ... I bought 2 tickets for front row box seats at "La Scala" in Milan, for Verdi's Aida.

In 2013 it was my 50th so my choice was to arrange a private tour through Bosendorfer's workshops in Wiener Neustadt just south of Vienna, and Grotrian's in Braunschweig, Germany. Unfortunately Steinway were closed for the 3 week summer break. I'd have added more manufacturers but it's my wife's holiday as well so I can't be too selfish. But we'll be back in 2017 so will see to that then.

Gerard

fnork,

sorry, I didn't take a photo of the entire poster but I do recall that it did not show any programs.

However, after a bit of searching I discovered this link to the 2014/2015 season for the "Opera di Forenze". If you move through the pages you will find each of the pianists and their programs for the dates indicated on the poster.

I started typing them out but soon realised it would take all day, so I hope the link works for you.

Gerard

Somehow I got the idea that a top level pianist gets paid in the $10k - $20k, but I can't remember where that idea came from.

I'm trying to understand the mechanics of how the business works. For example, is it LL who says "I want to play in Disney Hall" or is it the Disney Hall B of D's who calls LL and says "We want you to play" or is the his manager who calls the halls around the country and says, "LL is touring this circuit. Do you want him to appear?" And does the hall say, "We want LL to play these works" or LL negotiates with the board a high-higher fee depending on how difficult the program is? For example, I don't think LL would charge the same fee for Mozart's Concerto No 19 as he would Rach's 3rd.

This is a fascinating process that I've always wondered about.

He should charge a set fee per note played, and then just double as many bass lines as possible in octaves to cash in.

The entry level with a community orchestra used to be $3,000 to $5,000. That was 20 years ago.

I have heard that a specific and very famous performer's fee is $75,000 - that was only a rumour, but given the source it likely is, if not true, suggestive of the reality. This also can be placed many years ago.

I'm just so glad I recognise some of the names. Phew!

If a performer can fill a 5,000 person concert hall with tickets selling for $50 each, then $75,000 doesn't seem unreasonable, I guess. Who gets the rest of the money?