Comments on: Musician History: Court Musicians

By: David J. Hahn

David J. Hahn — Tue, 10 May 2011 19:32:20 +0000

Thank you Christabel. My understanding is that these numbers are yearly salaries.

By: Christabel

Christabel — Tue, 10 May 2011 16:34:48 +0000

Hi David, thanks so much for this research!

But are the figures on the charts of 18th Century musician salaries monthly or yearly amounts?

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:36:06 +0000

Great post, David. I have often thought it must have been easier back then. You know, minus the extended periods between baths and no climate controll…Anyhoo, Good job!

By: Suzanne Lainson

Suzanne Lainson — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:36:57 +0000

Very interesting. And the fact that you post salaries from back then is even better.

By: William Ostler

William Ostler — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:54:18 +0000

Thank you, David. A very interesting article. I’ll pass it on to the guys in our quintet.

By: David J. Hahn

David J. Hahn — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:34:14 +0000

Thanks Marion, I’m glad you dig.

Thanks for the link. That also reminded me of a great feature that the Lehrer News Hour did last week on Handel. I’ve posted the video here:

George Frideric Handel’s Business Savvy

By: Marion Harrington

Marion Harrington — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:42:46 +0000

What a fascinating post! As an adjunct to this, I came across a really interesting article by the BBC last year about Handel and business. It seems he was the first to break out of the "paton" pattern. There's a link in the post if you want to read in greater detail: Classical Musicians and Non-Classical Business Models

By: Jason Parker

Jason Parker — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:54:03 +0000

Great article, David! You sure did your homework. Interesting to see how similar the challenges were hundreds of years ago.

And all hail the trumpet players! ;)

Jason