After the pretty intense concert performance last Saturday, the almost-Friends of the SSO were having late night dinner at Al Dente at the Esplanade, EC posed an interesting question (or rather, made the following declaration):
"I have come to believe that, falling exactly in the lower middle income tier in Singapore, I will NOT be able to afford the Esplanade lifestyle when I retire."
The point she was making was, I think, this - being in that income bracket meant that while one was gainfully employed before retirement, one might well be exposed and start developing an interest in the arts events being offered in Singapore. However, upon retirement, one might not have that much extra disposable cash for the performance tickets, good dining (and may I point out - the ever increasing carpark charges) that comes with continuing that lifestyle. This is in contrast to the upper middle income and the working class tiers. The first group won't feel it and the second won't miss it. So therefore, being in the lower middle income tier would put one in the predicament of not being able to afford a certain standard of living that one was used to when young.The jury's out on that one I think. I am cautiously optimistic that it would not happen. In any case, I think whether the arts will continue to be accessible and affordable to ordinary folks in the future depends on how interested people eventually become of them over the next 10-20 years. By making it affordable now, more people will have the opportunity to develop an interest in them, and thus provide the "market" for a future arts scene, which can only stay affordable if there is a critical audience mass. Economics 101 mah.
Mental note to self: Go only for male cellist performances. It was so good to watch Wang Jian play Elgar on Saturday - you do need consistent strength and power to play the cello well. Unless you happened to be Jacque Du Pre.
Current music: Dvorak No. 8
