Opinion: A New Deal for Early Music

Might we be on the brink of seeing the dust from Covid-19 settle once and for all? Whisper it, but it seems so. After two years of false dawns, dashed hopes and seemingly endless economic pain, the arts sector might at last be able to take stock of the havoc wreaked upon itself, and start to rebuild.

And we must, to use a cliché, build back better. Lots has been said and written about what that phrase might actually mean. There have been inspiring steps forward, chief among them the truth that yes, it is possible to plan a classical music concert at a few months’ or even weeks’ notice. But there have been just as many disheartening signs of business as usual.

Perhaps the most salient lesson learnt by instrumentalists during the pandemic was that there’s clearly a two-tier system in operation – one that kicks in during situations like that we have all endured these last two years. If you are paid a monthly salary from an orchestra or opera company, that salary will likely continue to land in your bank account, pandemic or no pandemic. If you’re a freelancer, your income will either disappear or be held to ransom by the policies of particular government help packages…