Addicts Symphony: drink and drugs 'widespread in classical world', says cellist
By Anita Singh
19 Aug 2014
Drink and drug addiction is rife in the classical music world as musicians struggle with performance anxiety, it has been claimed.
Rachael Lander, a cellist and former member of the National Youth Orchestra who performed at the BBC Proms, said many musicians secretly used alcohol and beta-blockers to get through concerts.
Lander’s reliance on alcohol effectively ended her career. She is one of 10 classical musicians to tell their story in a new Channel 4 documentary, Addicts’ Symphony.
“Addiction problems are widespread among classical musicians, for many reasons. There is the lifestyle, the odd hours, working weekends, post-concert socialising.
“Many players use alcohol and beta-blockers to control their performance anxiety and then, after the ‘high’ of a performance, musicians can struggle to ‘come down’ and therefore drink to relax – which becomes habitual,” Lander told Radio Times.
continued http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...despread-in-classical-world-says-cellist.html
By Anita Singh
19 Aug 2014
Drink and drug addiction is rife in the classical music world as musicians struggle with performance anxiety, it has been claimed.
Rachael Lander, a cellist and former member of the National Youth Orchestra who performed at the BBC Proms, said many musicians secretly used alcohol and beta-blockers to get through concerts.
Lander’s reliance on alcohol effectively ended her career. She is one of 10 classical musicians to tell their story in a new Channel 4 documentary, Addicts’ Symphony.
“Addiction problems are widespread among classical musicians, for many reasons. There is the lifestyle, the odd hours, working weekends, post-concert socialising.
“Many players use alcohol and beta-blockers to control their performance anxiety and then, after the ‘high’ of a performance, musicians can struggle to ‘come down’ and therefore drink to relax – which becomes habitual,” Lander told Radio Times.
continued http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...despread-in-classical-world-says-cellist.html
