"And Chenaniah,
chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because
he was skilful." (1 Chronicles, chapter 15:22)
The Conductor
The
conductor is the orchestra's "boss". He or she is the
one required to prepare the orchestra
to perform a musical piece,
and he does so by guiding the players how to perform it, both at the rehearsals
that take place before the concert and during the actual performance. The
conductor needs to possess vast knowledge in fields of performance practice,
orchestration,
the orchestral sound typical of different eras, music theory, the background
to the writing of the piece, the manner in which the composer wishes to
deliver his art to the audience and more. The conductor
shows the rhythm, by which to play, with one hand, and uses the other one
to indicate volume, entries and exits and other performance instructions.
The conductor is required
for leadership and the ability to control the orchestra, which consists
of many creative people, all brilliant in their own area. He is the one
whose hand signals dictate the orchestra’s performance, for had each and
every player decided independently how to perform his or her part, the
result would have been undefined and lacking in uniformity.
The
great conductors perform many of the musical pieces by remembering the
entire score
(the paper showing the notes of all instruments
of the orchestra) by heart. Toscanini,
perhaps the most magnificent conductor in the history of music, possessed
an astonishing memory, and conducted dozens of pieces every month, most
of which, without having the score facing him.
Among the greatest conductors
in history are Leonard Bernstein,
Mendelssohn,
Beethoven,
Mahler,
Haydn
and Lully,
who died as a result of the conducting pole hitting his foot.
Beethoven Symphony No. 5, 3rd mvt Arturo Toscanini/NBC Symphony Orchestra
Great conductors on USA stamps
Conductors Jokes
Quotations
Great conductors among the composers
Beethoven
Mahler
Haydn
Toscanini
One of the greatest conductors in history
Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957)
Famous conductors on the
web
Arturo
Toscanini
Leonard
Bernstein
Herbert
von Karajan
Daniel
Barenboim
Bruno
Walter
Claudio
Abbado
Kurt
Masur
Sergiu
Celibidache
John
Barbirolli
Zubin
Mehta
Otto
Klemperer
Eugene
Ormandy
Seiji
Ozawa
André
Previn
Conductors @ work
Berlioz
Verdi
Toscanini
Bernstein
From an old conducting book
Conductors on the WWW
Sites
Audio
Video
Images
"Make a joyful
noise unto God, all ye lands" (Psalms, psalm 66:1)