In The Center of the Semicircle

By standard dictionary definition, a conductor is an individual who leads an orchestra, choir, or other musical ensemble by visual clues – we think characteristically of a conductor standing at the front of a semi-circle of musicians, posed with his back to their audience, waving his baton majestically or frenetically (one or the other depending on the style of music and the conductor’s personality).

We think in terms of such an image, but … Continue Reading

In The Center of the Semicircle, Part II

Today we’ll discuss how in recent decades some conductors have become superstars. As is the case with other sorts of superstar, so with high-powered globe-trotting conductors: they are still human, they are prone to do controversial things, and they end up taking a lot of heat for their presence in their particular musical kitchen.

Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein like Stokowski before him, became known to mass audiences through the new 20th century media – beginning in 1954 … Continue Reading