Conducting

I guess it was inevitable: after writing a blog for 12 straight days, i failed to do so yesterday. I had started one late in the evening, after having a beer and a glass of wine, but my mind was just not sharp enough to write very well. In a way it was also a relief not to be bound anymore by the self-imposed discipline of writing an entry every day, because i know there will be other days when i simply won't have time to do it.

Tonight my wife is conducting an orchestra and chorus in a performance of works by Vivaldi and others, and it's a mysterious process. Unlike a stage director or choreographer, the conductor is a central presence in the performance itself, but without actually acting or dancing or playing an instrument. (Yes, i know there are some exceptions to this, like when a conductor also plays harpsichord, but i'm talking here about the usual situation of a conductor not playing anything.)

Watching her prepare and rehearse, one of the most important aspects of conducting seems to be setting the tempos of the various sections, along with bringing in players at the right time. And then there's the whole matter of interpretation, which sometimes has to be explained in words. Most importantly, the conductor has to know the music extremely well, and the musicians are quick to sense if the conductor really does. And although each conductor has his or her own physical style, there is a conventional "grammar" of conducting, and professional musicians all know it too.

Most interesting is that some really great conductors, like James Levine, can conduct without hardly moving at all, but this is because he knows his "instrument," the orchestra itself, very well, and they know from experience what he means when he says something. Other conductors, like Leonard Bernstein, act our the music with their bodies and facial expressions, and an emotional connection with the orchestra or chorus is thereby made, as they identify with him. I'm also very impressed with conductors who can conduct from memory, which i think helps them focus more on the music and the musicians. Before a performance, if my wife is nervous, i will sometimes say, "It's not about you — its about the music," and that seems to help.

dress rehearsal

I might add that about once a year we do an opera together (like Britten's "Curlew River" next March), and at times we disagree about what deserves more time in rehearsal, the singing or the acting, although in performance they are inseparable. Staging an opera is also different from directing a play, because the time allotted to do anything is strictly dictated by the music, which just keeps going. But more about that later, when we start rehearsing.