Customer Reviews

Making Music in Looking Glass Land : A Guide to Survival and Business Skills for the Classical Performer (3rd ed)

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Ellen Highstein, longtime director of Concert Artists' Guild and now head of the summer study programs at Tanglewood, offers a concisely written, comprehensive career guide for the aspiring classical musician. Culled from and in part overlapping with material covered at CAGs live career workshops, there is much useful advice offered on everything from creating the best publicity materials, to making phone contacts, to finding venues in which to perform, to obtaining management. Highstein's remarks are backed up with authority as well as plenty of real-life anecdotes. She cannot disguise the fact that the career picture for classical music these days is essentially bleak--however, she offers the best practical tools for the artist who nevertheless wishes to make a go of it. This third edition is somewhat expanded but essentially unchanged from previous incarnations. The only drawback is that, dating from 1997, not enough is made of the rapidly expanding role of the Internet and various software in promoting oneself and one's material.

While this book provides a comprehensive listing of what needs to be taken care of if you want to perform professionally as a classical artist, it does not go beyond the bullet-type mentality. It is nonetheless useful as a planner guide and a reminder that no aspect should be overlooked to achieve success. While not fulfulling all my expectations, it has the practical use of keeping one in focus towards one's dream.