What awaits us in the future?

This is a question that we ask ourselves frequently when we are finishing our musical
studies in the superior degree but nobody can give us a concrete answer.

The problem
When we enter the conservatory we are full of energy and eager to study and dream of
being great performers, composers, directors, etc. In addition, we have great references
that motivate us every day, as for example on the guitar we have David Russell, on the
piano we had Horowitz, on the cello at Rostropovich, among others. They are or were
our role models. But with the passage of time, this illusion is becoming a concern that
can take us to the extreme of abandoning our musical career because we don’t know
how to achieve what these artists have been able to achieve. I know some graduates a
year or two ago and many of them play the instrument a little or are frustrated because
they work in a high school or a music school after having studied the instrument for
many hours and having a good musical education.

Guilty
I think that one of the biggest responsible for this insecurity are conservatories. They are
institutions in charge of preserving knowledge and teaching it, but they don’t guide
what to do with all that knowledge and how we can have a stable and happy life with
the things we have learned. And this is something that must change in order to preserve
culture and art. I know that it is difficult to know the path of each one but the
conservatory must help to clarify that path that we cannot see.

The solution
After having spoken about the problem and the possible culprits, we must talk about the
different options we have to develop our career as musicians. We have two main
options: be part of a project or create a project.
1. Be part of a project
We know that participating in a project is related to courses, competitions and festivals.
This path is less complicated because we only have to worry about playing and doing it
well but it doesn’t guarantee our success, although it is a good option and I think it is
necessary to grow as musicians.
2. Create our own project
Before creating our own project, we have to finish first with that old idea of the perfect
soloist. This is an idea that has been with us for a long time but it’s something that the
present is difficult to accept, perhaps because it’s an idea that does not interest the
public of today. Art, true art, and people need us to make new projects that are
interesting and creative. We cannot continue thinking about playing the same traditional
repertoire to people who are accustomed to the new because the consequences are the
abandonment of audiences by the public and the distancing of art towards them.

With this I do not mean that we should play easy music to attract audiences but make
projects with quality music but in a creative and novel way. We need to make a catalog
of works for each instrument. The instrumentalists know very little about their
repertoire because the conservatory doesn’t stimulate the search for new pieces but
rather the execution of the same repertoire works.

And on the other hand, it's a lie that we can only live by giving concerts, that's why I see
it necessary to combine this life with work as a teacher. Being a teacher enriches you as
a musician and as a person.

Conclusion
Life as a classical musician will always be difficult because it’s not commercial music.
At present, entertainment is very important in society, and it’s impossible to compete
with this. When culture competes with entertainment, it ends up becoming the same.
That's why now they try to sell classical music with performers who show up with
broken and dirty pants but that's not the way. I know because this doesn’t work either.
Art is what it is and we must not lose its main objective, which is to promote the
intellect and enrich the human spirit.