Warsaw Philharmonia - keeping the smelly plebs out!

They play really well to my untrained ear, and thanks to a wonderful wife we have managed to wangle tickets from time to time BUT the Philharmonia took the Commie business decision that their tickets shouldn't go on free sale to the plebs. Instead an elite group of season ticket holders should always get first bite. It doesn't matter that they would always sell out anyway, this way they have the double whammy of money up front (always nice for any organization, granted) AND THEY KEEP THE PLEBS OUT. Like me :(

You do realise that this is the normal operating model for many cultural venues?

Season ticket holders keep such places alive, unlike fairweather followers who might not bother going for the most whimsical of reasons.

Incidentally, it's hardly communist. Communist would be distributing the tickets to people not based on want or need, but rather on the basis of obscure allocation methods which guarantee the best tickets ending up in the hands of people in the know.

I used to have a couple of students who were pro' musicians with the Białystok Philharmonia (don't laugh, you Warsaw snobs; it's a seriously good professional orchestra). The guy, a trumpet player said he had played once or twice with bleeding lips, because of so much practise. The lady, a viola player, said the stress of the Friday night performance regularly sent musicians to the pub afterwards to wind down in a heroic manner. Both told me that they did not appreciate concert-goers arriving in jeans, as they (the musicians) had put in a long working week of study and practise to prepare for the performance. They worked a normal 9-5 day. They really loved to see a respectful audience who had at least dressed well. They saw it as a compliment. btw these people earned about 2000 PLN per month.

The season ticket holders in Warsaw - here's my beef - have a stranglehold on ticket sales because season tickets simply aren't on sale. You see, current ticket holders have the option to extend their ticket at the end of every year. That way, the Commie elite keeps all the season tickets. All the general/colonel/diplomat types sticking together. Truly snobbish.

Does anyone know what the ticketing situation is like for the orchestras and operas in Gdańsk and Wroclaw? I'm weighing up the pros and cons of each at the moment, and the ability to listen to live classical music is really important to me.

Yes, that's generally how it works. People are rewarded for their loyalty by being able to purchase tickets first.


In other words, people who achieved something for themselves instead of crying on the internet about it. If they can afford season tickets, why not?

Incidentally, your posts might have had some merit, if it wasn't for this -

eventim.pl/pl/bilety/16-wielkanocny-festiwal-lvbeethovena-warszawa-filharmonia-narodowa-sala-kameralna-116194/event.html

Tickets, freely available.

All well and good about loyalty, except the season tickets are VERY CHEAP. Everyone would buy season tickets if they could, but only nomenklatura can have them!!

All well and good. They provide up-front income. There are a couple of dozen permutations. I've had one for a few years - when I'm out of the country on my travels i give the tickets to others. I used to have a full season ticket for Opera North and was always glad of being able to get the same box - at the Warsaw Philharmonic they're generally much cheaper, but if you get a full ticket, the price isn't low.


I've never had a problem. The best thing about getting one of the season tickets is that they ensure that people who are committed to attending concerts won't have problems getting in to one of the more popular concerts due to the tickets being sold out to people who otherwise wouldn't go there from one month to the next.