Tusker Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 For anyone who has wondered just how much movement is desirable on stage ... clonk here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus64 Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Good article, thanks for posting it. The comments are pretty good as well, one can kinda see which ones are written by jaded symphony musicians. For me, it's pretty simple what I want in a conductor: a great musician. That might sound like it's a no-brainer and obvious, but it's not. Quite a few have gotten very far with mediocre musicianship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Thanks for posting. Some of the comments are quite hilarious. A great musician ... at what point does that come through? In the first rehearsal? Do you care if a great musician-conductor has strong human values: empathy, a sense of mission larger than self, etc. I see so much here about leadership rather than mere baton waving... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridog6996 Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Reminds me of a favorite musical joke: What's the difference between a bull and an orchestra? A bull has the horns in front and the asshole in the back. My YouTube Channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Good article, thanks for posting it. The comments are pretty good as well, one can kinda see which ones are written by jaded symphony musicians. For me, it's pretty simple what I want in a conductor: a great musician. That might sound like it's a no-brainer and obvious, but it's not. Quite a few have gotten very far with mediocre musicianship. Yeah you're right - the juiciest stuff is in the comments. They're a nice light read on a Sunday night. Recommended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus64 Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I see so much here about leadership rather than mere baton waving... More so than ever, particularly in the $$ dept. Music director is now fundraiser-in-chief, so it's a lot of handshaking with Mr. and Mrs. Money. They also have to be much more aware of budget issues than in the past. Baton waving is fairly easy: it's a stick, they wave it. Do you care if a great musician-conductor has strong human values: empathy, a sense of mission larger than self, etc. The player- MD (Music Director is the "full-time" conductor) relationship is very unique and somewhat bizarre. He/She (98% are "he") is a combination of boss, coach, friend, enemy, fellow performer, Shrink and Pope. I've been fortunate as of late as most I work with are pretty good musicians and decent people. Some in the past have been terrible musicians and horrible people, which is one crappy combination . In recent years I've been focusing on arranging and orchestration, and my relationship is far more colleague to colleague. The MD has to guard the "boss" relationship with a player and they tend not to get chummy. As an arranger, I'm not an employee as much as indepedent contractor. A great musician ... at what point does that come through? In the first rehearsal? It depends if they are guests or your fulltime guy i.e. boss. The guests are usually on their best behavior and play stuff they know well. The boss starts out good at first, but it's a honeymoon situation and after that wears off, you can see if they know their stuff in all areas. The superstars all have some sort of X factor, where they can walk into a room and the band sounds better in 5 seconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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