A Modest Proposal for Musical Recovery

I'm writing this in response to an article in today's New York Times, which resonates for all musicians, everywhere.

Once this virus has done its damage, and we can safely share public and private spaces safely, people will want to participate in musical life. But we all know that nothing is going to return to the way it was. We also know that more musicians will be ready and eager to play than there are traditional venues for them to play in. We also know that musicians, like everyone else, will hope to be able to make a living from their work.

I have been thinking about "pie-in-the-sky" ways people who play in chamber music ensembles can have a new future.

People are going to want to listen to live music. The joys connected with listening to music through headphones and speakers pale to the joys of listening to people play music, particularly after these long months of isolation.

Perhaps we could find a way to encourage restaurants in large and small cities to employ musicians like they did before recorded music took over those spaces. When I was living in New York a restaurant had to have a caberet license in order to hire musicians to play. Dispensing with the need for such a license, and hiring musicians to play during lunch and dinner hours would be a good thing.

If the restaurants paid their musicians at a reasonable rate (agreed upon by the city, with funds provided by the state or federal government), and included the possibility for patrons to tip musicians and purchase CDs, that could be a good thing for everyone. And the restaurants could also help promote concerts "their" musicians give in traditional and not-so-tradtional locations (museums, schools, concert halls, parks, and even department stores).

I think it would work best if each restaurant hired several ensembles as rotating "house ensembles" that played on a schedule. This would be a way to establish and promote local culture in this increasingly globalized world.

Maybe restaurants could hold weekend concerts in the later afternoon--between lunch and dinner--for people who simply want to hear music. You could also have concert and dinner "packages," or have noontime concerts.

Make space between tables, and bring in the potted palms! Let the restaurants be judged by their patrons on the quality and variety of the music they offer as well as on the quality of their food and service.