{"id":144,"date":"2006-09-18T10:16:10","date_gmt":"2006-09-18T10:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2006\/09\/18\/update-mahler-was-definitely-underpaid\/"},"modified":"2006-09-18T10:29:28","modified_gmt":"2006-09-18T10:29:28","slug":"update-mahler-was-definitely-underpaid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2006\/09\/18\/update-mahler-was-definitely-underpaid\/","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE! Mahler was definitely underpaid."},"content":{"rendered":"

This just in, as a follow up to my post<\/a> and that of Alex Ross<\/a> on Mahler\u2019s salary as conductor of the New York Philharmonic\u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn reply \u2026, the salary proposed to Mahler by the Guarantors’ Committee of the New York Philharmonic in February-March 1911 for 80 to 90 concerts was $30.000, not $90.000. I do not have the time just now to search through the English volume of Mahler’s letters to <\/span>Alma<\/span>, but I was one of the original editors of the German volume and I worked together with Antony Beaumont throughout the whole time of the revision.\u00a0<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, I do not believe that such a shocking error could have crept in. \u00a0If I am wrong I would be grateful to know the reference so as to inform Antony Beaumont and the American publisher that the figure is erroneous and must be corrected as soon as possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Henry-Louis de La Grange<\/a>\u00a0 *\u00a0<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Interesting then that Mahler\u2019s salary in modern numbers would be about $600,000 for 90 concerts, or a meager $6,600\/ concert- about a 10th of what top earning conductors might charge today.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Alex Ross was not mistaken in his original post; according to the English version of “Gustav Mahler: Letters to His Wife”, on p. 391 is the following quotation:\u00a0<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

“On 8 March he wrote to the Committee accepting their proposal of 90 concerts for a fee of $90,000\u201d\u00a0<\/span> <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So the error is in the book (assuming that Prof. de La Grange is correct). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What amazing times we live in, when a scholar like Professor de La Grange can uncover a mistake like this through the power of a couple of blogs and an email list.<\/span><\/span> <\/span>Thanks to Deborah Hess and Peter Sheldorn of Mahlerlist for helping get to the bottom of this as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>* For those of you who are not Mahler nuts, Prof. de La Grange is\u00a0a leading biographer of Gustav Mahler- the author of a multi-volume biography on the composer.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

c. 2006 Kenneth Woods\u00a0<\/span> <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n