Conducting for bucks, or, how much is that music director in the window?

David Robertson conducting the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

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We've all seen the news stories about how inflated salaries have become at the highest levels of the American corporatocracy. Whether the performances of the companies they manage is good, bad, or indifferent, compensation for those at the top continues to rise. Honeywell made headlines earlier this year when it was revealed that its CEO made 333 times what the average worker did, for example, and other companies commonly pay the big shots 100 times what their employees make.

As revealed in a recent article by New York Times classical music editor Zachary Woolfe there's a similar (if much less outrageous) trend in salaries of the music directors of America's major orchestras. At a time when many orchestras are experiencing financial difficulties, he notes, "the amount orchestras pay their conductors is increasing. Another marker has been passed as the average compensation for the music directors of 64 American ensembles analyzed in an annual report by the arts consultant Drew McManus topped $600,000 for the first time."

A glance at Mr. McManus's report, which is based on 2015/16 data, indicates that the list of orchestras with the highest-paid music directors includes our own St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, which paid David Robertson $1.04 million. That made him one of only nine conductors who made over $1 million.

Mr. Woofle notes that "national debates about chief executive compensation have included sobering discussions about how much that pay has skyrocketed compared with an average worker's salary. Perhaps orchestras should consider anchoring their music directors' packages to a sane multiple of their players' base pay: "Ten times what the musicians make," [former Seattle Symphony Orchestra music director Gerard] Schwarz said. "That to me sounds reasonable."'

Stéphane Denève

So how does Mr. Robertson's salary measure up by that standard? Fairly well, as it turns out. A recent article at Slippedisc.com points out that SLSO musicians are making just under $100k annually right now and will make over that in 2021/22. Unless Mr. Robertson's compensation increased significantly after 2016, that would make it more or less in line with Mr. Schwarz's suggestion. I don't know whether Stéphane Denève's paycheck will be significantly different when he takes over officially in 2019, of course.

Fortunately, the SLSO can afford to pay well. Unlike many American orchestras, it's on a fairly sound financial footing these days . It ended the 2017 Fiscal Year with a small surplus and signed a new five-year contract with the American Federation of Musicians. Ticket revenues continue to grow and the orchestra's Live at Powell Hall events, featuring movies and guest appearances by performers from the world of popular music, continue to be very popular.