What's the deal with conductors?
Asked by
pallen123 (
1519
)
November 24th, 2008
I like classical music. I like to listen to it. I like to play it on the piano.
What I don’t really understand is all the adulation heaped on conductors. I mean, what exactly is their scope of duties and why are they so highly regarded. Are some of them really the geniuses that symphony aficionados would have you believe? How exactly? Is there so much latitude and variation in how they can interpret and steer their orchestras, that “genius” is really appropriate? Would their orchestras just run amok if they weren’t guiding them along? Is it possible that the praise they get is as much about the toiling they do in rehearsals, pulling awesome performances out of professional musicians that would otherwise be improvising and goofin off? I mean, I’m not saying they’re glorified disc jockeys, just turning on and off the orchestras, but what’s with all the hype?
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6 Answers
A conductor does a lot more than just wave a stick around during a show. Symphonies spend months practicing before a concert. It is up to the conductor to get every member of the symphony to sound correct. He or she must have considerable musical talent and knowledge of every instrument and part to get this accomplished.
During the show they keep the timing and give queues to the musicians, which can easily get lost during such a complex performance. A conductor makes it all happen.
So yes, they deserve every bit of praise they receive.
I thought it was going to be some stupid joke.
B is spot-on but he means “cues.” (queues are either pigtails or lines.)
b is right. as a former bander, in about 7, jazz, marching, rock, concert ect, the conductor is a pivotal roll. there are very few groups that can go out for a concert and be so in tune with each other and direct themselves. they help to make sure the ensemble keeps on time and helps on entrances and solos.
Conductors also determine how the music will be interpreted – tempo, length of notes (ex. how short is too short for staccato notes), dynamic contrasts etc. If you listen to multiple recordings of the same orchestral pieces you will find that the overall feeling can be very different, in large part due to the conductor’s choices.
Gotta agree with b there, from an outsiders view, conductors look like they are doing nothing, but without them, it would be very hard to perform a piece.
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