Norman Lebrecht looks at orchestral managers

My introduction to the coarse art of orchestra management came at a time when the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) was under threat of bankruptcy, with bailiffs hammering at the windows and the players remortgaging their homes to keep the company afloat.

It may not be a branch of rocket science, but there are few musical positions that are more taxing in terms of personal input, or more rewarding when the luck runs your way. It requires few qualifications, usually a stint in marketing or a previous job in funding. And the remuneration – you love it when I talk dirty – can be impressive: $1.2m for president of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, $800,000 at the Boston Symphony, $400,000 at Cleveland, and a similar sum at the Berlin Philharmonic.

All of which prompts the question of why so few of the present bunch of orchestral bosses have ever sat in an orchestral seat and, conversely, why hardly any players consider management to be a smart career move. Playing lives are, after all, getting shorter and a step upstairs at 40 could revitalise many a rank-and-filer.

The orchestral sector is entering a fresh period of financial chaos. It’s surely time for players to step up to the plate and take hold of the wheel of orchestral fortunes.