Why doesn’t the PSO have concertmaster? And what is it?
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is about to enter its fourth season without a concertmaster — the second most important leader in the ensemble after the conductor and often one of the most recognizable musical figures.
The concertmaster is often the highest paid musician in an orchestra, with the top-earning concertmaster in the U.S. raking in nearly $600,000 a year. But what the devil does a concertmaster actually do to justify this sort of salary?
In short, the concertmaster — principal violinist in the first violin section — acts as a liaison between conductor and musicians. These players are the lieutenant generals to the conductor’s general.
The PSO’s previous concertmaster left three years ago, and the orchestra has yet to fill this key position. Various violinists will continue to try out for the post during the coming season, including a host of new candidates as well as returning guest concertmasters Alexi Kenney, Robyn Bollinger and Kevin Lin.
Without a consistent concertmaster, concerts at the PSO last season varied in character and quality depending on who was sitting in the principal chair. Not every guest concertmaster was trying out for the position.
“I don’t think the PSO is actually going to slip in quality, but might be harder to jell the longer this goes on,” said Charles Stegeman, concertmaster of both the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Ballet Orchestra. “I think this is fairly normal. It might take another year or two, but they’ll be fine. It’s like a marriage. It’s a very complex thing.”
Orchestral hierarchy has existed unchanged for roughly 200 years, with the chain of command running from the conductor to the concertmaster to individual principal positions to section instrumentalists.
Concertmasters walk onstage and stand to tune the orchestra before the conductor appears. He or she leads not only the first violins but also the entire orchestra alongside the conductor, and it is typical for the concertmaster to perform solos with the orchestra on occasion throughoutthe concert season.
In ye olden times (pre-1800s), concertmasters often led orchestras sans conductors. Before this composers often led performances of their work from a pianoforte or harpsichord. Concertmasters’ were the most visible bow at the very front of the orchestra; other principal players followed the concertmasters bow, and section players follow their individual principals.
(Principal parts in any instrument are generally the higher pitched melody or harmony lines, which makes theirs the easiest to hear and follow.)
Through body language and bow movements, these players can convey a host of other information besides rhythm, such as phrasing, emotivephrasing and more.
Due to this added responsibility, concertmasters are often compensated at a higher rate than their fellow musicians, and they are often althoughnot always the highest paid musician in an orchestra. The top-earning concertmasters according to IRS data from 2016 perform in — from high to low — Cleveland, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston and Philadelphia, with salaries ranging from $621,510 in Clevelandto $428,372 in Philadelphia. (Cleveland recently suspended former concertmaster William Preucil due to allegations of sexual misconduct.)
The PSO’s previous concertmaster, Noah BendixBalgley, left to become concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2015 after just four years in Pittsburgh. (His reported salary in 2013 was $304,613 plus an additional $12,348 in other benefits, according to the orchestra’s public disclosure documents.) The organization has been searching for a replacement ever since but has little to report after three years of searching.
The PSO took eight years before naming a new principal flutist in 2011 after the former player left in 2003.
“It would be easy to say, ‘OK, good enough,’ but we aren’t looking to settle,” said Christopher Wu, who has been a first violinist with the PSO since 1988 and is on the search committee for the new concertmaster. The committee comprises 13 musicians including wind and brass players plus the orchestra’s music director, Manfred Honeck.
Concertmasters must play at least a single weekend of concerts with the orchestra as well as an audition, which makes coordinating schedules and tryouts difficult given the busy schedules of the calibre of players the orchestra is looking into.
“I don’t think how important that position is can be overstated,” Mr. Wu continued. “When it’s right you know it’s right. There are many, many violinists that play well enough to be concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. But just because they play well doesn’t mean they’ll be the right fit.”