Much like their executive counterparts, Music Directors saw a large artificial decrease in average compensation thanks to several high paying positions being filled for only part of the season. Non...
How much an orchestra has to play with, and how much goes to the Music Director, is strongly tied to the number of seriously deep pocketed patrons available in the community.
If there are a large number (and some with especially deep pockets), it then can become a competitive game to attract “the very best.”
The compensation range (from lowest on totem pole to highest) is quite large.
Music is a fickle master. Those who have a gift and follow it into a career often find it necessary to compromise on lifestyle, work multiple jobs, and otherwise bend. The reward is the beauty created by performance and the unique experience of being a participant rather than a patron.
A great musical director of an orchestra can shape and alter the future of that orchestra for many years after they have gone and as conductors then also by informing the players in developing a tradition in the interpretation of classical music. Then also in terms of attracting both great performers and new audiences. They can be deeply influential beyond that in terms of the direction and development of new music as well by exploring new programs and in championing new works and up and coming composers. Whether or not this translates always in terms of the profitability of orchestras might be another aspect but certainly in terms of development of music culture they can be a remarkable ingredient for the culture of not just the orchestra they work for but also classical music across the board.
When I was growing up, there were the big five orchestras in the US. Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Chicago. In the sixty or so years since then Los Angeles and San Francisco have moved way up. You can see that Dudamel at LAPO and MTT at SFO were ranked 2 and 3 behind Muti at Chicago.
The strangest salary is for the NYP which is much lower than the other top orchestras and lower even than Minnesota and Dallas. Not sure why that would be - maybe the transition between Alan Gilbert and Jaap van Sweden which occurred about that time. The concertmaster of the NYP was making close to as much as the music director.
One major duty of a music director that most orchestras impose is that of assisting with fund raising. So a music director who is good with the community and especially major donors can be a great asset and bring in a substantial part or even more than their compensation in donations.
Also in the old days the major orchestras had quite lucrative recording contracts and orchestra members could make a substantial additional compensation from recording sessions. Under Karajan, the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra members could earn more than their base salaries fom the recording sessions.
Much like their executive counterparts, Music Directors saw a large artificial decrease in average compensation thanks to several high paying positions being filled for only part of the season. Non...
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