Classical music entertainment ideas for any event
(with folk tunes too)

Do you need a few ideas for classical music entertainment? Maybe you never thought about it and wonder how it could be, so read something here.

Music entertainment ideas (repertoire)

Solo viola - Viola and piano

How much?

wonderful to hear a solo viola
(& played so well)

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The shortest history of
classical music entertainment

• Bach apparently composed his Goldberg Variations for Count Keyserlingk, to be played to entertain him by night as he couldn't sleep
• In Don Giovanni, one of most famous Mozart's operas, Don Giovanni sings a serenade to seduce one more lady, with his servant Leporello playing mandolin; later in the same opera, you can find him having dinner with a small orchestra playing there for him
• Beethoven played piano at a political conference such as the Congress of Vienna
• Paganini used to play his quartets at his solicitor's home with him and other friends

This is a reception in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, a really awesome venue where you can surround yourself and your guest with antiquities and art masterworks! See here some Greek and Roman sculptures. Did you know it? It's available for conferences, meetings, corporate events (and you also help to support the museum).

Something different?

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Music entertainment ideas

For your reception, function or party, the choice of music is vast and free. It's nice to have a variety of music genres, styles and moods, therefore I play a mix of classical and folk music, lively and slow, they all sound great on my viola (my listeners say so, as you can read in some testimonials)

You can listen to some music clips, click each name and watch videos. I warmly recommend you to use your headphones for better results!

Have a look and see how this ideas for music entertainment could fit your special event too, from famous classical music pieces to folk tunes and songs. Click the name to listen to a sample.

SOLO VIOLA

Classical music

Bernstein, Maria

Handel, Largo, from Xerse

Mascagni, Intermezzo from “Cavalleria rusticana” (video)

Massenet, Meditation from "Thais"

Mozart, “Voi che sapete” from Marriage of Figaro, “Là  ci darem la mano” from Don Giovanni

Pachelbel, Canon

Paganini, Adagio cantabile

Puccini, “E lucean le stelle” from Tosca, “Ch’ella mi creda” from The girl from the west

Stamitz, Viola Concerto

Telemann, Viola Concerto (Largo, Allegro, Adagio, Presto)

Vivaldi, Adagio from the Winter

Folk music

Here is a list of folk music I play: English, Scottish, Irish, American, songs and dances (waltzes, jigs, etc.), including some of the most famous ones, which will make some people start to sing along:

The greenwood tree, The south wind, Fanny Power, Michael Turner’s waltz, Iron legs, Sportsman’s hornpipe, The road to Lisdonvaarna, Greensleeves, Ye banks and braes, Skye boat song, My Bonnie, My love is like a red red rose, Ashokan farewell, Inneshere, Old Danny boy, Carrickfergus, Philadelphia soldier's joy, Bonaparte’s retreat, Dark island, Sally Gardens, The land of my fathers (Welsh National anthem).

If you have a favourite tune, ask me, I can play it especially for you

VIOLA AND PIANO

If you have a piano in your house or other venue, why not offer your guests a special musical entertainment? For your private reception, here are some suitable works, which can be alternated with some solo piano and solo viola works:

Johann Sebastian Bach, Sonata n. 3 in G minor for viola and piano
Georg Philip Telemann, Viola concerto in G major (Largo, Allegro, Adagio, Presto)
Luigi Boccherini, Sonata in C minor for viola and piano
Alessandro Rolla, Sonata in C major for viola and piano
Niccolò Paganini, Sonata in A minor for viola and piano (Adagio cantabile)

And if you'd like to organize something bigger classical music entertainment or more formal like a concert, you can choose some works with a small or medium sized orchestra, such as:

Viola and orchestra
Karl Stamitz, Concerto in D major
Georg Philip Telemann, Concerto in G major

or Violin, viola and orchestra
Mozart, Sinfonia Concertante

or even 2 Violas and orchestra
J. S. Bach, Brandenburg Concerto n.6 (2 violas and strings)
Georg Philip Telemann, Concerto in G major for 2 violas

Or you can have the music of your choice organized especially for you, just ask!

How much?

I bet you're wondering now, how much is my music entertainment going to cost me?

First of all, maybe it’s necessary to remind, since some people tend to forget it, that professionals musicians are professionals exactly like accountants, dentists etc. and in order to maintain a high quality standard they need to be paid professional rates.

Therefore, when you pay for a music performance, like any professional service, you don’t pay just for that one or two hours the musician(s) spends there, you need to take into account the preparation of that service, that is the time spent to practice and learn the pieces of music and expenses (if you ever tried to learn to play an instrument you’ll understand what it takes, if you’ve never done it I’d encourage you to start learning one now, just to see what it means).

Of course, you can always find someone willing to do it for nearly no money but ask yourself why? If it’s a friend of yours who wants to do it as a present for you, fine, it’s a different matter, otherwise the answer is simple: like anything else, they're not doing it professionally and you get what you pay for.

Would you book your venue, catering, photographer and everything else for your party or event from someone who's not a professional in his or her business, based on the price only, choosing the cheapest you can get? Even if you are on a tight budget, there has to be a balance between the price and the quality.

Having said that, the price for some music entertainment depends on many factors, like the number of performers and duration of the event.

Generally speaking, the more players there are, the less they get paid individually (within limits) and vice versa. This is because within a group the responsibility on each player is less heavy than the responsibility a duo or a soloist have. It’s easy to understand, if you are a solo player and something doesn’t go quite right, there is nobody around to blame. The difficulties of the music pieces are all on the shoulders of one or two players. Besides this, not all musicians feel happy about playing solo, so this reduces the number of solo/duo performers available.

As to duration, the minimum is generally one hour, for example for a graduation ceremony only, including some time before and after it for congratulations, photos, etc., when you can have some music played.

However, from my experience, most private and corporate events will last from two to three hours, from when you guests start to arrive to when most of them have left, so consider having musician(s) at your venue for about three hours.

So, to recapitulate, duo or solo performers are more expensive individually, although with a group you have to add up all the individual amounts and therefore to have a quartet for example, you end up with paying more than a duo or a soloist. To give you a rough idea, you could get some professional music played at your special event from a minimum of about £150-200, again, based on the number of players and on how long you want the music for.

Anyway, regardless of the style you choose and the amount of money you want to spend, I’d recommend you to always book professional players, people who have experience and will really help you to organise this event and make it really memorable for you and your guests.

Thanks for your visit, contact me for more information, to send a comment or to book your music entertainment or for a live chat call: (UK) 07985 025129.

Performance with a dance company at Broughton Castle, Banbury, Oxford. Here we were on the top of a very thick wall

Classical music entertainment for a private reception