Selling Orchestras Online
Private ownership of musicians from Haydn's Farewell Sympony No. 45 to Belgium's Beethoven Academie today.
Though selling orchestras on eBay is a new phenomenon, the private ownership of musical groups has a long history. In Haydn's case, it even inspired a symphony.
You can buy just about anything on eBay these days, and since a recent lack of funding threatened to close down the Beethoven Academie chamber orchestra (which operates out of Belgium) and forced them to seek more creative financial support, you can even buy an orchestra on this online auction service, too.
The bid as of June 29 had risen to 8, 300 Euros (approx. 10,600 USD). A brief description and picture of the orchestra members can be found on eBay, and the auction closes July 4th. Thanks to the egalitarian form of the eBay system, you don't have to be a city or large corporation in order to own a classical music group: anyone has the opportunity to purchase an entire chamber orchestra for the price of a nice piano (of course, the bidding isn't over yet and maintenance of the group will require long term financial commitment).
The private ownership of orchestral groups has a long history. In the case of Franz Josef Haydn, it even resulted in musical inspiration. Haydn's Symphony No. 45 (or the Farewell Symphony) was composed in 1772 during an unusually long stay at Prince Nikolaus Esterházy's summer palace in Eszterhaza.
The prince, whose support of the orchestra also required that the musicians be at his disposal, was effectually keeping all the musicians away from their families. Not above playing a musical joke, Haydn thought that a subtle hint might just remind Esterházy that it was time to return home to Eisenstadt.
As the orchestra performed the final movement of the symphony, each performer in turn blew out the candle illuminating his sheet of music and walked away. The movement concluded with two violins played by Haydn and the concertmaster Alois Luigi Tomasini. Esterházy wasn't dense: the next day the entire court moved back to Eisenstadt.
