“What are the primary aspects of the relationship between conductor and orchestra? How can a conductor’s gestures, words, and personality affect an orchestra positively and negatively?”
To bestow the role of a conductor on to a musician presents a series of both physical and mental challenges. Throughout the years, there have been numerous studies based around the psychological effects of orchestral performance, of which the majority have been based around the perception of the conductor through a player’s eyes. It has become evident that elements of a conductor’s personality can greatly affect all the members within an orchestra, whether directly or indirectly. In this paper, I will examine fundamental elements of a conductor’s relationship
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During a rehearsal of the second movement of Beethoven’s second symphony (10/01/2018), the conductor exhibited controlled and fluid gestures, which made a warm, gentle sound to complement the context of the piece – coupled with a smile directed at the players. During the first run through of bars 16-22, the conductor had constantly chosen to keep the lead up to the szforzando in the strings as piano, and after the rest of the phrase was completed, the conductor stopped. The leader of the violas suggested trying a gradual crescendo to see if it would make musical sense, and give a more gradual phrase than forcing the dynamics to be too loud too quickly, like on the score. The conductor was open to this suggestion, so the ensemble tried b.16-22 again, and the conductor preferred the viola player’s suggestion to their original intentions – and thus credited the player in front of the orchestra. This shows that an open personality allows players to contribute suggestions, and with positive feedback the orchestra can continue to develop a more fruitful relationship with the conductor. In his guide to being a good conductor in rehearsal, Charles Barber agrees with this
Conductors are seen as the leader of an orchestra or band and are given most if not all the credit for the music played. For such a simple task that consists of counting the beats, showing the mood for the music, and giving people cues to enter, conductors are as good as their orchestra or band, not by their talent. In this passage by Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky discusses that the work the conductor puts in is negligible to the work the orchestra it self and that concerts should be about the complex qualities of the music played instead of how the conductor impacts the performance.
One of the pieces the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra performed was Carnival Overture, op. 92, composed by Antonin Dvorak. The conductor at this concert was Christian Baldini and the main violinist was Shawyon Malek-Salehi. This piece was made in the Romantic era with an orchestra instrumentation. The genre for this piece is concert overture and has a sonata form in a similar formate to other sonata forms from the Romantic era, making it sound dramatic compared to the Classical era’s sonata era. The live performance was true to Dvorak’s original score, which took the traditional sonata form of the classical era and changed it to incorporate a common Romantic era sonata form. Although the live performance focused on the first violinist, it still maintained the dramatic atmosphere from the original piece by keeping the sonata form, rhythm, texture, and instrumentation.
Furthermore, in this opera the spirit of enlightenment and equality is evident from a purely musical point of view. Firstly, in the he finale of Act 2 the balance and the composure of the voices and the instruments express the acceptance of emotions and interests of persons of different social status equated in the field of expression. This is demonstrated with Mozart writing sotto voce for voices and pp for strings into the particella, having for the start envisioned this expressive effect.
Music is virtually everywhere we go, no matter if it is background noise in a coffee shop or singing along while shopping for groceries, we can find music somewhere. The event I attended was the Flint Symphony Orchestra on October 8, 2016. I have never attended a symphony before so I was excited to go, especially since I had invited my friend to attend with me. For this event, I was already informed by my teacher that the symphony will be formal so we needed to look the part since others will be dressed fancy. This made me curious how this event will turn out. Walking past the ticket area and through the doors to the lobby made me feel instantly memorized at how grand it was on the inside. I went downstairs and there were a vast
This was the second work on stage, it began with a striking solo violin melody this set a light heartening tone to that piece at a faster rate. The orchestra particularly the pizzicato cellos and lyrical strings entered and offered a strong layer of support. That solo contrasted well with the orchestra. This created sustained ethereal ...
I was impressed by the range of the pieces that were performed as they were from 18th century classical symphony arrangements to contemporary techno pieces. However, the pieces that moved me most were Mozart’s Molto Allegro, Oaken Sky by Chris Rogerson and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. In hindsight, I am surprised that the two pieces from the Classical Era had such an impact on me. Perhaps, “classical” pieces were what I expected to hear at a Symphony. Oaken Sky evoked the most imagery for me and the conductor’s introduction of the piece was perhaps partly responsible for my ability to go from the earth to the sky in my mind’s eye. Oaken Sky was definitely a pleasant surprise and very pleasing to all of my senses. I was fully engaged in body, mind and soul with Rogerson’s composition. Cielito Lindo was interesting and the soloist really enhanced the piece with a stellar performance. Warehouse Medicine caused an incongruent stirring in me; perhaps I was not prepared for electronics to be added to the symphony. Ravel’s composition, Le Tombeau de Couperin, was a moving piece, but did not engage my senses, only my intellect. This work essentially left me feeling confused and although I appreciated the description of the dedication of the work by the composer, this was my least favorite piece. The “CPCC” soloist, Juan Caljero’s, rendition of Cileito Lindo was mesmerizing. Charlotte
For this critique, I was fortunate enough to attend a jazz performance by Deborah Davis and Ben Rosenblum. Davis was the vocalist and Rosenblum was the pianist. This concert was part of a jazz concert series presented by Preservation New Jersey and the New Jersey Jazz Society. I enjoyed this performance because I was able to witness a professional pianist play up close in a relaxed setting. I was seated in the second pew of the sanctuary, directly in view of Rosenblum’s hands as he performed.
This instrumental consisted of small packets of sound played softly then fiercely. The ensemble began the piece slowly and worked its way to climactic units of music throughout the set. The violin’s sound danced along the piano’s ground. The piano set the rhythm, while the clarinet and violin built on top of it.
In conclusion towards the arguments and observations, musical expression consists in presenting emotion characteristics in appearance. It turns out people listen to music as having a purposeful nature and that it has an effect on psychological emotions. If there is a case in which music showing emotional qualities with no reference to feelings, there is a case of happy music that is not powerful of happiness.
Each individual player in this orchestra is a soloist of sorts, playing a completely different piece than the musician seated directly next to them or across the stage. Rather than being written as a concerto, this piece, written in three movements, allows for each of the accomplished musicians to display their skill individually though each solo is not brought to the forefront of the piece, creating a what sounds like a disgruntled compilation of individual pieces that come together. This piece both begins ends with the Funeral March of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony directly tied into the basses, at first it is quiet and difficult to recognize but as the third movement is introduced it becomes more pronounced and evident. Those who were present for this pieces introduction to society were able to see its emotional effect on its composer who had obvious emotional ties to the music. Strauss never showed up to see his work debut instead he attended the dress rehearsal, asked Sacher if he could conduct this work. Strauss was said to have given a beautiful reading of the score that many view as his most...
Musical conductors are individuals that help direct a musical performance. They will ensure that the band is in the right tempo and that each section of the ensemble enters the performance at the correct time. The conductors may use hand gestures or a baton in order to guide the band. Many people believe that musical conductors are beneficial and help improve a band’s performance. However, Russian composer Igor Stravinsky disapproves of the usage of musical conductors as he believes that they are useless.
On Sunday, December 07, 2003, I attended the Mozart and The Height of Classicism concert that was held in the Lincoln Theater of the New World Symphony orchestral academy. Conducted by Nicholas McGegan featuring pianist Robert Levin. There were two pieces of music during this concert, one of the movements was performed by the pianist alone as a solo, Mr. Robert Levin. The program’s title was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Chaconne from Idomeneo. The first piece was Concerto No. 24 in C minor for Piano and Orchestra, K. 491, Allegro, Larghetto, and Allegretto. The second piece was Symphony No. 36 in C major, K.425, “Linz”, Adagio-Allegro spiritoso, Andante, Menuetto-Trio, and Presto. This concert was unique in that the focus seemed to be as much on the instruments as in the music itself. As the pianist and conductor expressed the form of improvisation as Mozart did, which I will explain further on my critique.
The pianist and concert conductor, Christian Zacharias opened the Los Angeles Philharmonic Classical Music concert with a fascinating performance that left the audience in party mood and in happy f...
'It seems to me, my dear friend, that the music of this ballet will be one of my best creations. The subject is so poetic, so grateful for music, that 1 have worked on it with enthusiasm and written it with the warmth and enthusiasm upon which the worth of a composition always depends." - Tchaikovsky, to Nadia von Meck.
Conductors work in many different types of ways. Some conductors work during recordings, rehearsals, and many differe...