Questions from the Audience: February 2020

A major element contributing to the joy I find in lecturing comes from the constant sharing and exchange of ideas with members of the audience, often taking the discussion in unexpected directions. Sometimes, however, there is simply not enough time to follow all of the intriguing threads, so I thought this could be a good way to continue the conversation. 

A question from the audience: What is the role of leadership in rehearsals? Does the conductor’s leadership remain the same in rehearsal and performance?

A tricky question, to which the answer is, naturally, yes and no, depending on the individual. The basic distinction here is between two different approaches of conductors, coexisting over generations and geographies.

The first is of those who aim - through rehearsal - to narrow the scope of choices left to the players, resulting in a performance that is predetermined to the maximum. Under these conductors, rehearsals become a drill, and a culture of passive obedience is installed, often by using negative gestures and insulting remarks toward musicians who fail to keep in line.

In that sense, if the battle for total control was won in rehearsal, the conductor might adopt a deceiving air of nonchalance during the performance. Watch this approach in rehearsal With Karl B?hm, a major figure in European Music world during three decades, since 1940:

The other approach, taken by a second - more diverse - group of conductors include those who, while certainly choosing the path down which musical exploration will travel, embrace the idea that exploration will still continue through the concert, to the point of becoming the core of the performance. In these scenarios, the conductor’s behaviour in rehearsal and concert will be more coherent, hence more authentic. Watch Carlos Kleiber pleading his players to “Guess!” - rather that obey - and later infusing them with an attitude of playfulness and story-telling: