The day the music died

The scheduling of live Proms concerts is cheering, as are other individual enterprises, but this masks a desperate situation for musicians both professional and amateur. Are we heading for a silent winter, asks Pippa Cuckson

- Pippa Cuckson

TENOR Ian Bostridge and violinist Tasmin Little were recently on Radio 4’s Today previewing the socially distanced concerts to be piloted at Snape Maltings in Suffolk. An hour later, Boris Johnson shelved the re-opening of concert halls; Snape was off, another jolt in the rollercoaster ride for musicians during the pandemic. They are hurtling down a very dark tunnel indeed.

Professionals are now allowed to rehearse under strict conditions, but this is pointless when concert halls remain closed indefinitely. Most managements calculate that socially distanced audiences will (eventually) occupy a mere 15% of ticketed seats. It’s cheaper to mothball.

‘All my friends are bemoaning their lack of motivation, wondering where their mojo has gone,’ says Miss Little. ‘It’s not that we don’t want to play, but there’s none of the excitement, the looking towards the end product. It’s almost painful.’

Deborah Annetts, chief executive of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, predicts an ‘exodus of talent’. With no paid work until at least spring 2021, many gifted musicians are resigned to a permanent career change. Others have fallen back on teaching via Zoom, aware that the next generation is querying the point of taking up the oboe or vocal studies at all.

Music has been doubly bludgeoned because most professionals are freelance. The Musicians’ Union says 38% have fallen through the cracks of furlough and self-employment support (SEISS.)

It’s still a struggle to persuade Whitehall that bespoke treatment is urgent for an industry that normally generates billions for the Exchequer.