October 31, 2022
Happy Halloween from your Ludwig Van! We wish all of you a night full of frights and a bag full of delights.
In today’s email:
- The big idea: New report sounds the alarm over ‘talent exodus’ in classical music as parents struggle
- Classical waves: Researchers uncover a new clue to Stradivarius’ exemplary sound
- Playlist: Classical music for a creepy mood
- Cartoon of the week
- Around the web: Why Paul McCartney hated his piano lessons, the major chord that can cure nightmares, a flautist who plays a scary organ duet with herself, plus more curious internet finds.
CLASSICAL CHARTS
THE BIG IDEA
New report sounds the alarm over ‘talent exodus’ in classical music as parents struggle
When classical performers play on stage, it’s understood there are family members in the background, but we seldom consider the impact their home life has on the music. Unless, of course, you are also a working musician and parent.
A report released in the UK in October 2022 is the first to document the impact that caring for children and others (including older and/or disabled relatives) has on working life, and careers overall.
Key takeaways
The key points brought to light in the report titled Bittersweet Symphony, put together by the Parents and Carers in Performing Arts (PiPA) in collaboration with the Department of Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London may be stark, but hardly surprising.
- 40% of those juggling a career in classical music and parenting or caring for others are considering leaving the world of performing altogether;
- 85% of self-employed women in classical music also care for children or the elderly;
- Caring for kids is costing women about £8,000 a year ($12,605 CAD) in lost opportunities vis-à-vis their male counterparts;
- Women who care for children and/or others are twice as likely to forego opportunities because of a lack of support in the classical music world.
The challenges
A career in classical music is tough to sustain to begin with. Add parenting or caregiving to the everyday routine, and it becomes exponentially more difficult.
The report considered data from 410 participants, along with three online focus groups (25 participants), and in-depth interviews (eight participants). After gathering information, the numbers were analyzed according to gender, and by whether or not the participant was a parent or caregiver.
The specific challenges outlined in the study include:
- The rigours and demands of touring and staying away from home;
- Schedules that are both unpredictable and inflexible;
- A lack of affordable childcare that is also flexible;
- Balancing the demands of keeping performing skills at top-notch level without outside support;
- Juggling teaching and other duties necessitated by irregular income.
The effects were particularly acute for women, who tend to take on the lion’s share of parenting, and as a result, work less, and earn less for it. As the report points out, the world of classical music can’t be truly diverse and accessible to all if it effectively excludes many parents, and disproportionately affects women and other disadvantaged groups.
Mental and physical wellbeing are both impacted by the stresses of having to try and balance both worlds, particularly for single parents/caregivers.
What’s next?
The classical music world is still largely built on the old model, where it’s assumed that parenting duties, if applicable, are handled by someone else outside the frame of the music industry. What’s needed is a change of focus when it comes to those HR issues, and some adjustments are relatively simple. In Scandinavia, for example, rehearsals are scheduled for family-friendly hours in order to attract more women to work in orchestras.
In the UK, work is underway to act on the report’s findings. PiPA has created a working group to develop best practices that will address the many systemic challenges faced by parents working in classical music. The group includes prominent UK organizations such as Black Lives in Music, Help Musicians, Independent Society of Musicians, Liverpool Philharmonic, Musicians’ Union, Phonographic Performance Limited, Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera and SWAP’ra.
As the report’s authors point out, music is the original gig economy, and the current landscape sees fewer and fewer long-term contracts or stable employment opportunities except at the very top of the classical music stratosphere. It’s not only musicians who are impacted; promoters, technicians, and administrators, among others, share the same kind of unpredictable hours and workload.
THE LATEST
Competition: Ukrainian pianist crowned winner of 2022 Honens Competition
Recording: Decca Classics to release unreleased Jessye Norman masters
Opinion: Classical Music still matters, especially during times of war
In Memorium: Musician and conductor Libor Pešek
Moving up: Metropolitan Opera’s names violinist Angela Wee principal associate concertmaster
Piano: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra gets a shiny new Steinway piano
Interview: Toy piano virtuoso Margaret Leng Tan: ‘I played Beethoven in Beethoven’s house – eat that, Schroeder’
CLASSICAL WAVES
New research shows a protein-based layer between the wood and the varnish coating of two Stradivarius violins. (Photo: Analytical Chemistry 2022)
Researchers uncover a new clue to Stradivarius’ exemplary sound
A new research paper sheds more light on the craftsmanship of Stradivarius, with clues that take a look inside his venerated craftsmanship.
Despite some evidence to the contrary, the violins of Stradivarius and Cremonese violin makers of the 17th and into the 18th centuries are still prized above that of more recent instruments. Musical and scientific sleuths ever since have been trying to decode the secrets of their craft.
What makes them sound so heavenly?
That quest for answers got a boost from Italian researchers in a paper published by the American Chemical Society that outlines the findings of their chemical analysis of two venerable violins.
As the researchers pointed out, the way that ground coats and varnish layers are treated on a string instrument directly affects “the vibro-mechanical and acoustic behaviour of the violins”.
The researchers had unprecedented access to analyze a very thin strip of material from two known Stradivari, the Toscano 1690 violin (permission granted from the Accademia of Santa Cecilia in Rome), and the Munetsugu Foundation and M° Sota Nakazawa (Nippon Violins, Tokyo), conservator of the San Lorenzo 1718 violin.
Optical instruments alone cannot provide a clear picture of the layers intact. However, due to its age, a slight fracturing between the layers could be detected. Previous testing of various kinds on Stradivari has yielded some evidence of collagen from animal-based glues, and other traces of protein.
What the test protocol — called an infrared s-SNOM punctual analysis — clearly shows is the spread of a “thin proteinaceous layer” between the wood and varnish.
- Three layers were detected: wood, preparation layer, and varnish;
- The system of applying the coatings was complex, and involved extremely thin layers of a few micrometres each;
- The materials are mixed together between layers.
The results were fascinating for a number of reasons. There were differences between the profiles revealed for both instruments. It suggests that the layer of protein that was applied to the Toscano in 1690 was either thinner than the one used in 1718 on the San Lorenzo — or, that it simply penetrated farther into the first layers of wood.
Above all, the chemical analysis shows the painstaking level of detail in Stradivari’s craftsmanship.
As the researchers point out, this type of infrared analysis is the best way to move forward in attempting to provide answers to the questions that have been debated about the Master’s practices for more than two centuries.
PLAYLIST
Check out this playlist of strange and creepy pieces to help you get into the spirit of Halloween.
Follow along [HERE]
AROUND THE WEB
☠️ On this day: In 1926, celebrated magician Harry Houdini dies in a Detroit hospital after being punched in the stomach.
🛌 Interesting: Scientists say this major piano chord can help cure nightmares.
🎹 Life lessons: Paul McCartney ‘Couldn’t Ever Get With’ his piano lessons as a kid.
👻 Fun: Play Google’s free Halloween game, “The Great Ghoul Duel 2”
😱That’s amazing: Flautist plays ‘Danse Macabre’ in a spooky organ duet with herself.
🎃Neat: This house in Markham, Ontario is freaking everyone out this Halloween.
🧠 Smarty pants: How talking to strangers can make you smarter.
CARTOON OF THE WEEK
Source: Daniel Beyer/creators.com
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