Collective value of an orchestras instruments?

[theshadow2001]

I see orchestral guys throwing around prices for basses that are absolutely astronomical. While these prices might be standard for orchestral basses for any man its still a huge amount of money. So this got me thinking....

What would you estimate the value of a top symphony orchestra's entire set of instruments at? Now I don't know anything about orchestras or if theres a standard line up of instruments or if it varies from orchestra to orchestra or night to night. Nor am i loooking for exact calculations. Just educated guesses.


So what do you think it would be?

[Cory Palmer]

Depends on the orchestra. I imagine a Big Five orchestra with all the members in the section with their best instruments could be between $500,000 - $1 million+. A lower tier orchestra would probably be under $200,000.

[Stan Haskins]

If you're talking about an entire orchestra (pro, top-tier) I would place my bets somewhere in the $20-30 million range.

Just a wild guess.

This is fun. Kind of like guessing how many jelly beans are in the jar.

[kontrabass]

The cost of the instruments owned (or, chances are, borrowed) by even the first few seats in the first violin section can be in the millions and millions of dollars.

Cory's estimate about the cost of the bass section's instruments looks correct, though there are, of course, examples of high-ranking players owning less-than-pedigree instruments. More power to them, I say.