How much do professional classical musicians earn?

[B_cereus]

I have no idea, although I am sure it varies widely.

To try to break it down into categories (and I imagine there will be subcategories within those)

1) top tier artists
(established big names; e.g. Argerich, Barenboim, Brendel, Uchida, Bell, Repin, etc)

2) second tier artists (e.g. fairly well known/rising young stars, usually with a record contract, and concertizing internationally)

3) third tier artists (eg. the lesser-known,  concertizing at smaller venues and music festivals)

4) conductors / musical directors contracted to an orchestra

4) members of top-ranking orchestras (eg. VPO, BPO, NYPO, CSO, etc etc)

5) members of lesser-ranking orchestras


So what kind of fees or salary do they command? Thanks in advance if anyone in the profession, or who knows, can satisfy my curiosity. 

[PerfectWagnerite]

I
4) conductors / musical directors contracted to an orchestra

4) members of top-ranking orchestras (eg. VPO, BPO, NYPO, CSO, etc etc)

Maazel and Michael Tilson THomas both made more than a million from the NYPO and SFSO respectively.

Members of the NYPO make from a tad over 100k  (regular members) to 250k (section leaders like Cynthia Phelps and Philip Smith) to almost $400K for concertmaster Glenn Dicterow.

Members of "smaller" orchestras make about $70k (St. Louis for example). Not sure how much their section leaders and/or concertmasters make.

[Lilas Pastia]

Way too little IMO. Especially singers, whose 'instrument' has the highest degree of wear and tear among soloists. For every singer who is still singing on the major scenes past the age of 50, there must be 100 who don't make it past their mid-thirties, if that. Most top instrumental soloists attached to a local symphony orchestra can make extra money by pitching in chamber music appearances, as well as teaching in the local music faculty, but when you break it down to $/hour, it's clear it's a labour of love . What most irks me is the obscene amount of money paid to pop singers and professional sports players .

[PerfectWagnerite]

What most irks me is the obscene amount of money paid to pop singers and professional sports players .

Why does that irk you? FOr every baseball player that is playing in the majors there are at least 10 thousand who never got within sniffing distance of Yankee Stadium. There was a statistic that something like 1 out of every 10 thousand kids who play in the little leagues will ever play in the majors, forget about getting big multi-year contracts like Alex Rodriguez. So as in any high paying profession the ratio of people who actually make it to those who don't is extremely low.

[Benny]

It has become a function of public support (subscribers and concertgoers). If you were playing on a regular basis for the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra this year, your salary would amount to less than fifteen K. Even that salary is at issue right now:

Since 2001, full-time musicians have taken at least 27 percent in pay cuts, based on the Orchestra Players United of Shreveport-Bossier's Web site. Salaried section players earn $12,623 annually. Principal players make slightly more. Part-time players earn $60.15 per concert or rehearsal, whether they have a contract guaranteeing they play a certain number of services or are hired as needed.

[Gustav]

What most irks me is the obscene amount of money paid to pop singers and professional sports players .

There is nothing obscene about it, it's just economics.

[Brian]

I know that members of the Houston Symphony also receive about $70k yearly - but in San Antonio, the number is closer to $20,000 because the orchestra emerged from bankruptcy only a few years ago, with the musicians agreeing to the measly pay in the hope that eventually the orchestra would be able to generate enough money to repay them.

[Brian]

What most irks me is the obscene amount of money paid to pop singers and professional sports players .

Well, sports and pop are glamour professions - if you "make it" you get paid in the gazillions, but if you don't (and 98% don't) you get a pittance. The vast majority of folks in baseball are those who stay in A or AA all their careers and then just leave, having never hit the jackpot. In a sense classical music can be a bit like this - for every Lorin Maazel earning six figures, there are a hundred Mark Wigglesworths or Larry Rachleffs or David Bowdens. None of those guys are blatantly inferior in any sense - I think Larry could play the pants off anything written in the 20th century, though that may be because he teaches here and I love his style - it's just that they haven't hit the jackpot yet.