Hi, Rebecca Scheer here with an exciting update.
Circle Round is coming to New York City for a live recording at Symphony Space on December 8th.
Our 1 p .m. show sold out, so we've added a second show at 4 .30, followed by a meet and greet and book signing with me and composer Eric Shimolonis.
Get your tickets at wbur .org slash Circle Round.
WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
This Circle Round episode was one of three recorded in August 2024 at Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
To be first in line for upcoming Circle Round events, including our annual Tanglewood show, join the Circle Round Club.
Early ticket access is but one of the bevy of benefits you'll get as a member.
Grownups, sign up your super fans today at wbur .org slash Circle Round Club.
And now, on with the story.
How much would you say an apple is worth or an orange?
How about a box of colored pencils or a deck of cards?
When we're buying and selling things, they all have a certain price.
But how do we make sure that price is fair?
In today's story, we'll meet two characters with very different ideas about when the price is right and when the price is wrong.
I'm Rebecca Scheer and welcome to Circle Round live at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts.
Today our story is called The Price Master.
We found versions of this tale from the South Asian country of India.
Joining me on stage is a star -studded cast of actors, Adam Goldberg, Gideon Irving, Faith Saley, and Thomas Warfield.
Providing musical accompaniment under the direction of our own Eric Schimelonis is a world -class quintet from the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Chris Elchico on clarinet, Clint Foreman on flute, Kathy French on violin, Ben Levy on double bass, and Suzanne Nelson on bassoon.
So, circle round everyone for The Price Master.
In another land, in another time, there lived a queen.
Inside her colossal palace, the queen had dozens upon dozens of ministers, counselors, and advisors, all tasked with attending to her every need.
Among these attendants was an official known as The Price Maker.
The Price Maker's job was to set a fair price for anything the queen wished to buy or sell.
The Price Maker was an honest man, but as such, she often counseled the queen to pay more than she would have liked when she bought, and to charge less than she would have liked when she sold.
The queen was very wealthy, but eventually she was overcome by greed.
She decided that she did not wish to pay such high prices or charge such low ones.
So, eager to make more of a profit, she called The Price Maker into her chambers to deliver some news.
I'm sorry if I have disappointed you, Your Majesty.
It has been a privilege to be in your service.
I hope my successor is every bit as honest and humble as I tried to be.
Well, as it turns out, that was not the case.
In terms of honesty, when The Price Maker's successor came on board, he decided that instead of naming the fairest price for things...
I shall name the best price, meaning whichever price makes the queen happiest.
I'll make sure she buys at ridiculously low prices and sells at ridiculously high ones.
Her profits will be huge.
And as for being humble, well, his first day on the job, the new Price Maker decided that actually he would no longer be referred to as The Price Maker.
Instead... I shall be referred to as The Price Master.
After all, I'm the one who shall masterfully fill the queen's coffers until she's the richest ruler in all the world.
And indeed, thanks to The Price Maker's wily ways...
Master! Price! Master, sorry.
Right. Thanks to The Price Master's wily ways, the queen made quite the fortune.
One day, a horse dealer from another land arrived at the palace.
He brought with him a magnificent team of one hundred stallions, mares, and colts, with hopes of selling them to the queen.
Welcome to my kingdom, good sir.
Your horses are very fine.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
I have taken great care of my team and can assure you they are of the finest quality.
I do not doubt it. And I wish to buy them all.
That is wonderful news, Your Majesty.
If you wish to purchase this entire team of horses, then I would humbly ask that you pay the price...
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Not so fast. The dealer's startled eyes flicked over to The Price Master.
I'm sorry, sir. What seems to be the problem?
The problem! Sorry.
It's you. You all right?
See, getting up there on your high horse, if you will, and believing that you can name the price, that's my job, fella.
Oh, I do apologize.
You must be the queen's royal price maker.
Master! Price Master.
Sorry. And as such, I call the shots when it comes to the naming of the price of this and of that.
Isn't that true, Your Majesty?
It is true. So, tell me, Price Master, how much do you think I should pay for this team of 100 splendid horses?
Okay, well, let me see.
They appear to have shiny coats, strong bodies, solid hooves, decent teeth, though their breath leaves much to be desired.
No, no, no. I'd say you should pay one cup of rice.
One cup of rice? The dealer blinked his eyes in disbelief.
With all due respect, my horses are worth far more than one cup of rice.
I'd say they're worth an entire chest of gold, at the very least.
No, that's what you say, dealer.
But my price master is, well, he's the master.
Shucks. And though he is fairly new to the job, he is never wrong.
He's quite the genius, really.
Oh, too much. It's too much.
Really, don't mention it.
You know, you actually do mention it.
You know, as much as you'd like.
Therefore, sir, I shall have my treasurer pay you one cup of rice.
Oh, more appropriately, I shall have my cook pay you.
Oh, she makes the lightest, fluffiest, tastiest rice ever.
And I'm sure she'd be happy to pack up one cup's worth in a doggy bag.
I'm certain your cook's rice is light, fluffy, and tasty, your majesty.
But please, if you truly believe that my horses are worth just one cup of rice, then I must tell you that you appreciate the queen's kind and generous offer, right?
Lest she have you arrested and thrown into the dungeon.
The dealer was gobsmacked.
But not wishing to make a fuss or become a prisoner, he just slumped his shoulders and dropped his horses off at the stable.
Moments later, with a doggy bag of rice in hand, the dealer trudged back toward the inn where he was renting a room.
His head hung low and his eyes were slick with tears.
And as he rounded a corner in the town square, who should he bump right into?
I'm so sorry. But the former royal price maker.
No need to apologize.
I'm fine. Luckily, you didn't spill whatever's in your bag.
That is lucky, given that it's all I have left.
What do you mean? Have you fallen on hard times?
You could say that.
Can you tell me what happened?
The dealer heaved a sigh, then told the sad story of his recent dealings with the queen and with the price master.
The price master? Is that what my successor is calling himself?
I was always content with the price maker.
Wait a minute. The dealer's eyes grew wide.
You were once the royal price maker?
I was once the royal price maker, and it seems my successor is a real troublemaker.
But fear not, my friend.
I shall get you out of this mess.
Meet me here in the town square tomorrow morning, then you and I shall head to the palace.
Head to the palace?
After what happened today?
I don't dare show my face there again.
Don't worry, my friend.
You won't be showing your face, and I won't be showing my face.
But if this plan works, the price master will lose face, and the queen will face the facts.
What do you think the price maker is planning?
We'll find out what the clever fellow is masterminding after a quick break.
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I'm Rebecca Scheer and welcome back to circle round live at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts.
Today our story is called the price master.
Before the break, a horse dealer offered to sell the queen his team of 100 horses.
But when the queen asked her price maker to name...
Price master! I was hoping that at least in the second half of the story you could say my title correctly.
Thank you. Right. Of course.
When the queen asked her price master to name a fair price, he demanded that the dealer trade his horses for just one cup of rice.
Well, when the former price maker heard what happened, he promised the dealer he would help.
So the next morning the two of them met in the town square.
Greetings, my friend.
I brought a few things with me.
I think you're going to like them.
The former price maker reached into a sack and pulled out two elegant suits, two shiny pairs of shoes, and a jar of soot.
The dealer's brow wrinkled in confusion.
Um, if I may ask, what are...
