It’s time to get up on my high horse again. This time I’m inspired by an article on Sir Colin Davis, and a very particular idea at the front of it.
Conductors – personally they drive me nuts. Or maybe it’s just the perception of what they should be that drives me nuts. It seems that what most people think makes a good conductor is:
- Big Hair – Oh yes, you must have hair big enough to be in a compound meter ( 1-2, 1-2, 1-2-3!)
- An Accent – If English is your first language you can’t be a good conductor! (I’d say that MTT is the exception but I’ve known him for almost 40 years and he’s pretty incomprehensible in ANY language).
- At least 4 Orchestras – Downtime is for wussies.
Then there’s Sir Colin, who is the subject of this interesting article. Apart from the fact that he has an obvious (and ridiculous) bias against period performance, and I’m sure a few other quirks, there is one extremely important thought that runs through the article.
Thought.
In other words – time to think. This is what separates the conductors of yore from the conductors of today- the conductors of yore took the time to think about music. They did not, nor never would have, thought about having 4 orchestras spread over God’s Green Creation. The critical line is:
“Conductors are paid to think, and that’s what the job should be about: sitting at home thinking, what is this piece? How can I set it up to sound its best and live on, because there’s nothing to replace it with just yet? This is what absorbs the mind. Especially in old age.”
Amen, brother. And yet there was yet another nauseating article recently about Gergiev and his ridiculous schedule. And yet more congratulations to *insert name here* who just became MD of their 4th orchestra – simultaneously.
This is a metaphor for the woes of the entire industry. We are too busy worrying about what is happening on other continents when we should be worrying about the people who actually come to our concerts – the people next door. Conductors – How can you develop a relationship with your patrons if you have 4 other orchestras you are trying to run? Musicians – How can you make your average ticket buyer feel special if you’re worrying about your salary in relationship to an orchestra 2,000 miles away? Administration – How can you make sure you nuture another generation of audience members through educational concerts if you are too busy trying to line up Fortune 500 companies in order to pay for that 3 week European tour that’s going to cost you $3 million dollars?
The music is not the problem. The priorities are the problem.
Or maybe I’m just jealous. I have one orchestra. I will never have 4 – intentionally. I speak English as my first language and, for the record, I’d love to speak 14 more languages but I’m a little too old for that.
And God help me with the big hair thing – I’d just look like Buckwheat.
You have hit upon one of my pet peeves: Conductors who have multiple orchestras. In my area of the USA, a conductor is “in charge” of two orchestras within 100 miles of one another. He pays most of his attention to one orchestra, while the other suffers from lack of attention.
This is a real shame, and not fair to the second orchestra, which could greatly benefit from a conductor’s focused energies.
Not only are you amazingly talented and charismatic – you have a fabulous sense of humor! The ESO is blessed to have you as their ‘fearless leader’!!! And by the way – I think Buckwheat is adorable!