The Music Conductor

When I was a lot younger, I was fascinated with conductors - Bus Conductors who had to be so inordinately brilliant to give everyone the correct ticket - and, far more still, Music Conductors, who, so it seemed, only had to dress up sharp and wave a slim stick at people. I never missed a single Concert if I could help it - still don't - and every time throughout it I would gaze at the Conductor in devoted, awestruck admiration - oh, to have a magic stick like that! - I had noticed by now, of course, that the music seemed to ebb or swell in the direction the stick was pointed. If I had a stick like that I knew, I just knew, I would make far, far better music - something so wild and exciting people wouldn't sit still in their chairs and politely applaud after each set - they would jump up and down and cheer until the rafters came down! Not having the stick as yet though, I prepared myself for the future eventuality at home with a long knitting needle, throwing my entire body into the act, tossing my hair about wildly and waving my arms like vigorous wind-mills. If Igor Stravinsky had seen me then, he would perhaps have come to the same conclusion about me as he had about Leonard Bernstein - 'impressive jumper...... could get a dozen curtain calls out of the National Anthem.' But Stravinsky wasn't anywhere around, and it was left for my mother to catch me at it - my mother, for some strange reason, seems to have kept a rather close eye on me while I was growing up; the intensity has lessened somewhat these days. This time though she didn't pose the usual question - 'Alright, what on earth are you doing now?' She had a headache and wanted to lie down on my conducting podium. I jumped off the bed and said, hey, guess what. She lay down and covered her face with her arm. I shook her. What, she said, reluctantly. I have finally decided, I said, I'm going to be a Conductor. That's nice, she said, bus or orchestra?

Well, anyway, so I got to be neither after all - though it's a long life, of course, and, as someone smart said, anything is possible until it's over.

I'm still rooting for Music Conductor. I have, of course, a better understanding of the profession than I had previously. Guess what, you have to know a little more than just how to twirl the stick - it's called a Baton, by the way - and where to point it.

Music Conductors came into vogue with the rise of Ensemble Music - with so many musicians playing together it became necessary for there to be someone to 'lead' them, to indicate when certain passages were to be played and by which section, and the tempo required. Sometimes the Keyboard player or the First Violinist took over this function, but later it became specialized. Nowadays - although there have been experiments without - a Music Conductor is an essential feature of any Orchestra.

Sir Henry Wood, the famous first Conductor of the Promenade Concerts in London, published a book on conducting in 1945 and has given the following necessary requirements for a Music Conductor :

1. A complete general knowledge of music.

2. A more than slight acquaintance with every instrument of the orchestra, and if possible some intensive study of a string instrument - preferably the violin.

3. Ability to play the piano well.

4. An impeccably sensitive ear, as well as a rhythmic and interpretative sense.

5. Confidence in the art of gesture.

6. Perfect sight-reading ability and sound musicianship.

7. Knowledge of the art of singing.

8. A good physique, a good temper, and a strong sense of discipline.

The Chilean Pianist Claudio Arrau heard the great German Conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler conduct a Beethoven symphony and said, "He had the power of divination".

It is the Conductor's interpretation of the music that brings overwhelming success or the opposite to a concert. The Conductor can be said to have the same relation to the Orchestra as a Pianist has with a Piano, or for that matter any other musician with his particular instrument. He has to ensure if it is 'in tune', if the music has the right tone and phrasing (rubato), if the playing needs to be modified, especially to adjust to the acoustics of the venue where a given piece is to be performed. He must be punctual, disciplined, and dedicated. He must also be something of a human relations expert, knowing how to get along with a wide variety of people and direct them into giving their best performances. As Sir Henry Wood advised, "Be friendly, but not 'pally'."

Of course not all great and successful Conductors met all the given conditions. The great Italian Conductor, Arturo Toscanini, was as far from being pally as possible. More like a temperamental Prima Donna, some would say. Others like the Composer Shostakovich would put it more bluntly - rude and conceited tyrant.

But, of course, it would probably mean monotonous music if everyone came out of the same box.

References :

The Performing World of the Musician, by Christopher Headington, Published by Hamish Hamilton London, 1981.