I was driving on the Jersey turnpike in the dark. Tired, and very down. I had just finished the first concert in my new series, Music on Park Avenue. I had a fantastic guest musician, and honestly, we played really well. Music by Beethoven and Brahms, a great program.
If you though New York City… think again. It is probably the toughest place in the world to build an audience. It is a city full of:
1) Events, concerts and any kind of entertainment you can think of
2) Extremely busy people
These two put together means that every night you have to compete with an amazing amount of events, many of those having both a long history and ridiculous budgets. And the problem with having people give some dollars for a ticket is not really the big deal here… It is having people give their time, to spend an evening at YOUR concert, that puts pressure (and it should!) on you to make it an evening worth it. And that is what I try to do.
Tchaikovsky Barcarolle excerpt from concert January 24, 2017:
A concert experience starts at the entrance door. The person sitting in the reception should be kind and pleasant, and thank you Yvonne for always doing such great work. Then, everything, from the acoustics, the artist, the performance, all these things should be as good as can be. And for the Artistic Director, no matter what, they can always be better.
Scandinavia House by the entrance
Back to that car drive through the dark on the turnpike. It was depressing. I had done so much work: I sent personal letters to people inviting them (yes, letters via real mail), I printed up flyers of course, I had sent out letters to different media to try to get some attention. Basically nothing worked. And now, I had to make a decision.
This was one of those “make-or-break” moments where I actually remember a certain second of my life. It might sound a little dramatic and theatrical, but in that very second I decided to never, ever give up on this idea. The idea to have a music series with recitals and chamber music in one of the most intimate and wonderful halls in New York, where the audience can get closer to the artist than in any other hall.
Six seasons later I am so happy I found some strength to fight. One by one, I started to bring people in, and because of the hall, because of the pre-concert talks, and because of the post-concert receptions we always have, most of the audience are like friends. We now have a good crowd for every concert, and there has even been a full house (granted, that was when the guest was the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, but still).
Brahms Quintet excerpt from concert January 24, 2017:
I say hello before and after the performance to many in the crowd who are now regulars. There is the gentleman who always wants one certain seat (which I will from now on reserve, I love it) and to hear one of the concert goers say that “it feels like you are in the musicians home” makes me happy because THAT is the atmosphere I want.
Sometimes, I have printed up a little booklet to give to everyone. A few times, I gave one of my CDs as a gift to everybody in the audience. These little things forms a wonderful bond between me and the audience: they should feel that I am grateful and happy that they choose to spend their evening at Scandinavia House, at this concert.
One of the things I do is to send greetings to the audience via e-mail. Now, these are not the typical e-mail blasts, but rather a personal letter which can be about music, or hockey, or the weather, or how I somehow got a high security alert sign on my boarding pass and all that meant…
If anybody would like to get a greeting from me now and then (don’t worry, it’s not too often, because to write greetings that are actually readable takes way too much effort!), just fill in below and I will get you on the list. Sometimes, I do actually give the persons on that list offers such as bring a friend and such, so it could be a good deal.
I don’t have lots of money, I don’t have a giant organization. What I have is enthusiasm and fire for these concerts, and real warmth for the people who attend.
In any case, now I have to write one of these e-mails. It is February 9, 2017, and snow is covering New York and New Jersey. I am staying home, catching up with those things, writing this and writing a letter to my friends in the audience. I hope you can join us some of these concerts at Victor Borge Hall.
Per Tengstrand has been described by The Washington Post as “technically resplendent, powerful, intuitively secure,” and by The New York Times as “a superb Swedish pianist” whose recital “was rewarding, both for its unusual programming and for his eloquent, technically polished performances.”
Tengstrand is the subject of the acclaimed Swedish documentary The Soloist, directed by Magnus Gertten and Stefan Berg (Sweden, 2003), which was featured at the International Festival of Cinema and Technology in New York. In 2005 he was decorated by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden with the “Litteris et Artibus” Medal for outstanding service to the arts.
Music On Park Avenue 
What a wonderful write up to wake up to on the day after the snow storm. I had to work late and was out there (the streets were empty) navigating thru the by now icy roads. You touched the very heart and soul of this New Yorker. As a native New Yorker who loves music I am so glad you did not give up on us. Be blessed in your journey. I wish you every success.