This Job Is Music to My Ears

ATTENDING CONCERTS AND GOING ON TOUR: THE LIFE OF MUSIC AGENT AND ALUMNUS JACOPO SCHINAIA



"Knowing classical music is important, but not fundamental. When dealing with stars, what matters most is the ability to relate." Jacopo Schinaia is a 28 year-old from Genoa. He has Bocconi undergraduate and graduate degrees in cultural management, and works for Lorenzo Baldrighi Artists Management, one of the most important agencies for the representation of classical musicians; among its clients are absolute talents like violinists Leonidas Kavakos and Gidon Kremer, and pianist Yuja Wang. "We represent Italian artists and orchestras on a global basis, and foreign artists as far as their Italian performances are concerned", Jacopo explains. "Representing them means starting from booking the artist up to the definition of all the contract’s details, details that are negotiated one to two years before the concert actually occurs, and which can hide many traps, given the often eccentric personalities of musicians".
 
Jacopo says how he got his current job: "After graduation, I attended an eight-month internship at Filarmonica della Scala, doing a bit of everything and thus having the opportunity to understand the internal dynamics of large orchestras and learn about artists. It was there that Lorenzo Baldrighi contacted me and this I how I began my experience." In addition to organizational tasks, Jacopo also follows concert performances, "at least two or three per week, even more than that when we accompany an orchestra on tour, because both the musicians and the theaters hiring them prefer that one of us is present.” He also takes care of launching and consolidating the careers of young artists. "It is also crucial to manage the relationships with theaters and concert halls, which are our market, so that they are willing to give a chance to artists that are not established yet. We receive many requests from young musicians who want to be represented by us, and so there is also an element of scouting in my work." The fact that you get to attend first-class concerts almost every night will rouse the envy of many, but is it really such a privilege? "It's certainly beautiful but you cannot be as relaxed as you’d be if you were there in your spare time: you're always afraid something might go wrong. But if you have a passion for music, and you cannot not have it to do this work, everything is much easier."
 

by Davide Ripamonti
Translated by Alex Foti