Posted by Steve Marcus on March 25, 2003 at 17:07:02:
In Reply to: Accompanist Payment Issue Advice Neede posted by Matt A on March 24, 2003 at 07:56:26:
Although I much prefer playing tuba, I do serve occasionally as an accompanist on piano. As such, this is my humble viewpoint on this issue:
If a soloist shows the music to the accompanist well before rehearsals are scheduled, and the accompanist agrees to the time table, pay schedule, etc., then it is solely the ACCOMPANIST’S responsibility to have the music learned COLD before the first rehearsal with the soloist. It is the accompanist’s responsibility to assess whether he/she can handle the level of difficulty of the music within the time period granted. Asking for more money because the music was more difficult than originally anticipated is unprofessional and borders on unethical.
In your case, Matt, if the accompanist couldn’t master the piano parts to Effie and Strauss (assuming that you meant the Strauss Horn Concerto #1), she wouldn’t have had a prayer with the piano part to Hindemith or many other pieces in the tuba repertoire!
Busy accompanists are busy because they’re good at what they do. It makes sense to secure an accompanist months in advance for many reasons, not the least of which is courtesy and respect. Students are assigned their recital dates as early as the beginning of the semester, if not at the beginning of the school year (aren’t they?). Is there any reason why locking in an accompanist as soon as the recital date is known shouldn’t be a priority? (Not having chosen every piece on the recital is not an excuse—the soloist should have at least a rough idea of which pieces he/she is going to play as soon as he/she is scheduled for a recital.)
As an adjunct to this thread, or perhaps as a thread in and of itself, it might be helpful and informative to list some of the finer accompanists in various cities. This would be useful to soloists who perform in the city where they reside or study, or when they are traveling to other cities to perform.
There are some accompanists who are known particularly for their work with low brass soloists, such as Caryl Conger and Barbara Young. Who else belongs on this list?
In Chicago, Melody Lord is a well known accompanist. Not as well known, but a fantastic musician, is Yoko Yamada-Sevaggio. She is an incredible pianist who is very familiar with the tuba/piano and euph/piano repertoire, and is very easy to work with. For example, I heard Rex Martin really push the tempo on the 3rd movement of the Hindemith Sonata, and Yoko was right there with Rex, never missing a 16th note!
Who are the fine accompanists in other cities (and others in Chicago)?