Musical Chairs

A few days ago I watched the film based on the life of Judy Garland. This inspired me to buy a couple of DVD's of her singing live in concert. The particular show I watched was the Duets with Sinatra and Dean Martin. Live, and note perfect, including the camaraderie between Dean and Frank. You never got to see the orchestra, but they were on the go all the time, and not a 'fluff' to be heard. What amazing talent in those day's, so much different to the shows that are lip synced' and edited with canned applause. However reading about that era of musicians, the pressure always seemed to be tremendous. There was always someone waiting in the wings, younger and better, just waiting for you to drop a clanger. So much so, that allot of musicians hit the bottle quite heavily, to stave off the nerves and pressure. A few years ago I was talking to a French Horn player from one of the top London orchestras, and he said in the classical world ,not much has changed, as he had to put in hours and hours of practice so as not to lose his seat on top stand. Glad this is just a hobby for us lol.