Professional pianists on this forum

[franz_]

Who is a professional pianist here? Do you have a website? (please post it than)
How many concerts are you giving in a month/year? Solo, Chamber music,... ?

I'm still a conservatorystudent but I'm hoping to get a professional...

[retrouvailles]

There are a few professional pianists on here, most notably Jonathan Powell, who posts here semi-regularly under the name jpowell.

[thalberg]

Per Tengstrand also posts here once in a while.  Not too often.

[invictious]

Koji Attwood
Tengstrand
Meiting (used to, I think..()

[ganymed]

and thalberg who has a doctorate in piano perfomance

[gyzzzmo]

I havent done a conservatory pianostudy, but im earning all my money with playing piano wich makes me a professional pianist i guess :p

[invictious]

Definition of Professional Pianist:
1) must earn less than $2000 USD per month (that's pretty high for a professional pianist already)
2) must practice 14 hours a day
3) no girlfriend
4) no social life
5) practice another 3 hours

etc

[gyzzzmo]

Definition of Professional Pianist:
1) must earn less than $2000 USD per month (that's pretty high for a professional pianist already)
2) must practice 14 hours a day
3) no girlfriend
4) no social life
5) practice another 3 hours

etc

Im afraid i dont meet ANY of the definitions above :S

[schubertiad]

I can tick boxes 1,2,4 and 5...

[mike_lang]

I can tick boxes 1,2,4 and 5...

And the checked status of box 4 is, no doubt, due to the unchecked status of box 3, not the checked status of boxes 1, 2 and 5...

[richard black]

1) must earn less than $2000 USD per month (that's pretty high for a professional pianist already)
2) must practice 14 hours a day
3) no girlfriend
4) no social life
5) practice another 3 hours

1) I earn about that from piano playing but I do have a couple of relatively lucrative sidelines
2) I'm a repetiteur (mostly). It's considered bad form to practise.
3) I'd better not, I've got a wife!
4) Pass
5) See 2) above.

Joking apart, I'm professional - do practically everything that a classical pianist may do except playing solo. And I've never yet done any ballet repetiteuring.

[schubertiad]

If i were being cynical i'd put 2 and 5 down to 3 as well...

[avguste]

Definition of Professional Pianist:
1) must earn less than $2000 USD per month (that's pretty high for a professional pianist already)
2) must practice 14 hours a day
3) no girlfriend
4) no social life
5) practice another 3 hours

etc

1.Looking to earn that
2.Given my current schedule I practice about 3-4 hours/day,except sundays
3.no girlfriend and I wish I had one
4.no social life
5.Pass

My website is located at https://www.avgusteantonov.com

[dora96]

G'day

I have some question to professional pianists/ concert pianists. I past my grade 8. I haven't studied for 5 years and I am going to do  dipolma exam next year. How to get good memory? I am trying to play the piano without the music in front of me. All these years I play the piano, the hardest thing is to preform without the music. I always think how embrassing if someone ask me to play the piano, I can't play because I haven't got the music in front of me. Or just play little bit but cannot finish entire music.  I try to play Beethoven sonata pathetic. It is so hard to memorize if I make mistakes I can't continue playing. I can't concentrate on such long sonata specially playing 3 movements. I play in sequence, I can't remember each section if I make mistakes or losing concentration or nerveness. How do concert pianist playing in front of crowd without losing concetration or embrassing themselves by making mistakes. Can you share your experiences? and how to overcome mantle block. Please help me !!

[avguste]

I think this is on the wrong board
I responded to you by pm

[lostinidlewonder]

A professional musician fits no real mould. It is just like those who run their own businesses, there are those who are billionares from it, there are those who barely make enough to feed themselves, both are professional businessmen though. You do not measure the "strength" of your profession by your sucess but by your desire to do it.

A professional musician is someone who makes their main income from teaching/performing music. There are many of us on here that fit that category.

I earn my main income from education but I also do concerts. Concerts are the fastest way to make money as a musician but they are also the area of our musical profession which has really nothing to do with how well we can play the piano! As a freelancing musician you must organise the business side of your concerts extremely carefully, planned and thought out. This business side to the musical industry bewilders most musicians and is the reason why you do not see many freelancers doing solo music concerts these days. I am not world famous yet I have earn world class concert pianist earnings in single night concerts taking home over $10,000 many times in the past.

The best idea is to make many smaller concerts 100-300 people. Once you get use to organising these (and you should take a bare minimum 2 month to sell your tickets) you can try the bigger halls. The thing is you must sell the tickets yourself, that means playing for free in public and promote yourself. It is a hard run the first times you do it but I assure you if you hit the same town periodically you will start to be known and word of mouth will sell you a lot more tickets the more times you return. Of course you need to have stage presence and be interesting/informative to listen to when you speak in your concerts, if you are boring and simply play you might not attract many people back.

To tell you the truth most laymen do not know the difference between a uni musician and someone like say... Hamelin. Success in concerting is all business related.... Look how rich Richard Claderman is from his music, and how many professional pianists would say his technique and playing ability is supreme??

[cherub_rocker1979]

I make a little over $15,000 a year by playing music.  It's nice to have make some money while I'm still in school by working in my field.

https://www.myspace.com/raulmanjarrez

[richard black]

To tell you the truth most laymen do not know the difference between a uni musician and someone like say... Hamelin.

I wouldn't be so sure. The public may not know much about technique, but why should they? They know whether they've been moved by a concert. Clayderman may not have a Hamelin-level technique but he's a damn fine entertainer in his style and people appreciate that.

[amelialw]

Definition of Professional Pianist:
1) must earn less than $2000 USD per month (that's pretty high for a professional pianist already)
2) must practice 14 hours a day
3) no girlfriend
4) no social life
5) practice another 3 hours

etc

that would be sad...and I don't agree with you

[dora96]

I am just wondering how much Lang Lang, Dong dyke Lim , Freddy Kumpf earn? If people are as good as them, how do they maintain relationship if they are married? and  due to their high profile, performance around the world. Besides, not to mention the hours and hours they need to pracitce. If possible for female pianist become as good as them, mostly in your tube male pianists dominate, I am mother of 4 kids, what hope do I get and how to cope with the distraction and busy life to be professional pianist. I am dipolma level, should I go on or just stop. I never have a preformance only in the exam. I teach my daughter to play piano. She is in grade 2.  How far should invest? I would like to go to conservatory.  How do they manage for married with children of the professional pianists?

[invictious]

that would be sad...and I don't agree with you

It's just a little joke i made with my friends, you know, stereotypes and all..