It’s always an interesting experience, working with guest conductors. Especially when you’ve had three weeks with your own music director. The orchestral habits encouraged by your music director are in full force, and if your MD is a clear conductor with a concise beat (as Carlos has), then adjusting to someone with a much vaguer beat can be a challenge. In this regard this current classical series week has be especially challenging. Our guest conductor is pleasant enough, but he’s been somewhat reticent to really put his stamp on the pieces that we’re performing, and there are times when it seems like he’s not really actively involved in the moment-to-moment process of leading the works. It may be that he’s just in a growth phase where he’s trying to get from being a micro-manager to being more of a hands-off conductor, but this in-between limbo is kind of a terrifying place to be when you’re playing under him. There have been moments in the Sibelius symphony where you can feel the orchestra’s ensemble sense threatening to break apart, and within the ensemble, particularly among the principal players, the sense of tension is palpable. How much of this is evident past the footlights remains to be seen.
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9 replies on “heavy lifting”
Very interesting post, Charles. I would have never guessed that there was tension based on what I heard Saturday night. As my previous comments about the performance indicate, I thought Saturday’s concert was wonderful. Just goes to show how the a musician’s impressions of a performance can significantly differ from someone in the audience. Was there something about Sunday night’s concert that differed from Saturday’s? Or did you have the same feeling in both concerts?
I’m sorry but I had a couple of questions that I forgot to ask. You mentioned a vaguer beat. I have no background in music. Could you explain what that means exactly and why a clear beat is significant? As I watched the conductor Saturday night, I was impressed by his grace on the podium. To my untrained eye, his stick work seemed to make sense. His motion did not seem excessive and he seemed engaged in the music making. I was no doubt incorrect in my assessment. Is there something that I could look for in future concerts that would assist me determining whether a conductor has a clear beat and is doing more than just waving his arms about aimlessly? Any imput you could provide would be appreciated.
To your credit you all held it together well. Tonight’s performance was most appreciated by all of us in the audience. About the conductor … the woman sitting next to me after she complimented the orchestra’s performance was “my he’s cute.” Response from me was cute but a bit stilted. That also translates into my perception of the interaction between the conductor and the musicians. Unlike some conductors especially the guest variety, Carlos seems to be speaking directly to the orchestra members. That’s just from my perspective in the audience. I also see it with Gregory. Voice from the Couch agrees and says it’s almost as if those two are repeating conversations from rehearsals, reminders of what should be happening. Out here in the audience it’s all pretty dynamic. From my seat, I can watch Nancy Ives most directly and her eye contact with the conductor was definitely different tonight. That said, the performance was well done. We especially liked the bravissimo at the end of Karen Gomyo’s violin solo. Well deserved. She had Voice and myself on the edge of our chairs.
To second LaValle’s comment the group held it together from the audience’s perspective last night (Mon). At one point in the Sibelius I did an “auditory double-take” as if there was a botched entrance… it was ever so slight & couldn’t put my finger on who/where it was though.
This was different from my experience earlier this season with the guest conductor for the Beet’s 5th concert. It was a nail biting experience watching him conduct from the audience… like a mile long freight train about to derail. I found myself closing my eyes to not stress out and focus on the music.
Bottom line – It was fine from the audience (kudos to the principals) and everyone I talked to thought the entire program was wonderful. I was a bit disappointed to hear from Jen Arnold that she thought Sunday’s performance was better… perhaps I need to go to more concerts 😉
Thanks for the comments – it’s the nature of the hall that much of what we feel onstage doesn’t get out into the seats, and that’s good when things are going less than ideally, and bad when they’re going really well. I’d say you lose about 40 percent of the impact out there.
Curtis – it’s more about what happens in rehearsal than the actual beat. There are plenty of conductors that have less distinct beat patterns, but they are able to give a strong impression of their vision of the pieces during the rehearsal process. We get used to how they gesture to get what they want, and the performances go well, sometimes very well (Hannu Lintu is an excellent example of this sort of conductor). In this case, there was no clear indication of what the approach to the works was, and so we were left swimming right through to even the Monday night performance. I’ve also had a similar experience to you, when I’ve been off for a performance, and sat in the audience – what the conductor does looks entirely clear to me from the audience, but then I talk to my colleagues and they are mystified as to what the conductor wants!
Thanks, Charles, for the response. I liked that you mentioned Lintu. I thought that, at least the last time Lintu was here, his gestures were a bit extravagant, an impression that I did not get from Inkinen, who I guessed would have been easier to follow. Thanks for raising some very interesting issues regarding conducting syles.
Curtis: With the huge specter of sound-field issuing from the stage, we pips REALLY rely on pinpoints, and hence crisp gestures are preferable to arcs. If you saw the recently viral vid of a Japanese orchestra and conductor in Beethoven 5th symph performance, you’ll get it. I’m trying to imagine the audience’s perceptions of our concertmaster Jun’s movements compared to what we get. I’ll often focus on the index finger of Jun’s bow hand or his eyebrows for “cues”. For the woodwind players we rely on watching their lips for cue clues. Very complex choreography indeed!
Thanks, Badbeard, for the insights. It is amazing what occurs on stage that we in the audience scarcely appreciate. It is apparent that what someone like me in the audience looks for in a conductor can differ significantly from what a musician desires. Personally, I like a conductor who is expressive with the stick, visibly engaged in the music, and graceful on the podium. Perhaps that is just flash over substance. I gather from your and Charles’ commments that less can be more when it comes to conducting. I’ve gotten the impression (perhaps incorrectly) that some great conductors such as Szell and Reiner were not very extravagant in their motion but obviously were very successful in producing great music. I’m not sure I would have liked to watch them, though.
my fave. conductor gesture of all-time was when Gennady Rozhdestvensky cued in the horns at the end of the 1st mvt. of Beethoven’s 7th with a tip of the hat sort of salute.