{"id":1442,"date":"2008-11-17T06:00:10","date_gmt":"2008-11-17T14:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/?p=1442"},"modified":"2008-11-16T11:19:52","modified_gmt":"2008-11-16T19:19:52","slug":"what-makes-conductors-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/11\/17\/what-makes-conductors-good\/","title":{"rendered":"what makes conductors good?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every time we have a guest conductor, I’m always amazed at how differently each of them handles their role on the podium in rehearsals, and how different the results can be.\u00c2\u00a0 This week we’ve been working with the Austrian conductor Christoph Campestrini.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s conducted here once before (though I cannot remember the repertoire) and he’s a particularly interesting example of the differing approaches of conductors.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nChristoph Campestrini – Photo: Oregon Symphony<\/em><\/p>\n

Christoph is not a “needy” conductor.\u00c2\u00a0 He doesn’t demand results instantly (in most cases).\u00c2\u00a0 When we were beginning rehearsals on the Rachmaninoff Third Symphony, which had never been performed by our orchestra, he just ran the entire piece to start off the rehearsal.\u00c2\u00a0 He let us get our feet wet (and almost drown a couple of times!) and get an overview of how he saw the piece.\u00c2\u00a0 He doesn’t lead like a steel bar: unyielding and insistent, but like a green sapling: unbreakable but with steady pressure.\u00c2\u00a0 This has worked well in the Rachmaninoff, which functions best with supple phrasing and without sharp corners.\u00c2\u00a0 In Kernis’ Too Hot Toccata, it is slightly less successful, with all of its angularities and demand for pinpoint precision and execution, but that has been steadily improving day by day as well.<\/p>\n

The impact on the sound of the orchestra has been rather dramatic as well.\u00c2\u00a0 The strings seem to have a more relaxed, open sound, even in the loudest passages, and the brass have a less bright, more dark, burnished sound.\u00c2\u00a0 I can’t tell you how this happens, except that it’s a reaction to the nature of the gestures that we see, and to the way that phrases are allowed to unfold.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re less tight, even in repertoire that is both unfamiliar and difficult.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s pretty remarkable – even from the inside – to watch this happen, and to be mystified by it as it happens to one’s self.\u00c2\u00a0 I have to say that the leadership of concertmaster Jun Iwasaki has come to full flower this week, as he interprets what the conductor wants and very clearly telegraphs it to the other string principals and section players.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nBill Eddins – Photo: Oregon Symphony<\/em><\/p>\n

Last week we played the Brahms First Symphony under William Eddins, music director of the Edmonton Symphony.\u00c2\u00a0 He got a different sort of string sound, more overtly muscular and dense, with more angular atacks and changes of tempo.\u00c2\u00a0 Again, it was all in the gestures.\u00c2\u00a0 And it was totally the opposite of how we do Brahms with Carlos – and equally valid.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s interesting: whereas some orchestras will play their version of a repertoire piece regardless of who’s on the podium, the OSO seems to just become more chameleon-like \u00e2\u20ac\u201d adapting to whatever is asked more and more quickly, and with less of a sense of struggle.\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve always enjoyed going to work each day, but it’s starting to get more and more exciting when the orchestra is able to change guises.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s like having a new gig every week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every time we have a guest conductor, I’m always amazed at how differently each of them handles their role on the podium in rehearsals, and how different the results can be.\u00c2\u00a0 This week we’ve been working with the Austrian conductor Christoph Campestrini.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s conducted here once before (though I cannot remember the repertoire) and he’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[299,115,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conducting","category-music","category-the-orchestra-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-ng","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7916,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2012\/10\/08\/dutilleux-rimsky-korsakoff-and-tchaikovsky\/","url_meta":{"origin":1442,"position":0},"title":"dutilleux, rimsky-korsakoff, and tchaikovsky","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning we began rehearsals for the upcoming week's program. We have a new, young guest conductor - Aziz Shokhakimov; a new, young soloist - Yossif Ivanov; and a spectacular new concertmaster - Sarah Kwak. All are featured in this week's program. I'm happy to report (at least in my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "soloists & recitals"","block_context":{"text":"soloists & recitals","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/soloists-recitals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Aziz_Shokhakimov_1_orig-300x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7266,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2012\/01\/21\/kalmar-up-for-houston-job\/","url_meta":{"origin":1442,"position":1},"title":"kalmar up for houston job?","author":"Charles Noble","date":"January 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It is never a sure thing who an orchestra is really considering when they are looking for a new music director. Some conductors don't want to be seen as 'auditioning' for the gig, and orchestras are often competing for the same scarce resource: a good conductor. So it pays to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "auditions"","block_context":{"text":"auditions","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/auditions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":658,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/01\/12\/rehearsals-conductors\/","url_meta":{"origin":1442,"position":2},"title":"rehearsals & conductors","author":"Charles Noble","date":"January 12, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Rehearsals are an interesting animal. Maybe this is because they are run by conductors, who are very interesting animals, while they are largely inflicted upon orchestral musicians, who are very, very interesting animals. When I started with the OSO, we did four rehearsals per classical series concert with then music\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conducting"","block_context":{"text":"conducting","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/conducting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"cond.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/cond.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":827,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/03\/06\/first-meetings\/","url_meta":{"origin":1442,"position":3},"title":"first meetings","author":"Charles Noble","date":"March 6, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Today we had the first rehearsals for our upcoming classical series concerts with Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen. He's a guest conductor that we've never worked with before, and he's very new to the U.S. conducting circuit - this is his second US orchestra ever, his first having been the Cincinnati\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conducting"","block_context":{"text":"conducting","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/conducting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"pietari-inkinen-sm.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/pietari-inkinen-sm.thumbnail.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1459,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/11\/21\/fatigue-factor\/","url_meta":{"origin":1442,"position":4},"title":"fatigue factor","author":"Charles Noble","date":"November 21, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"It's that time of the season when the first wave of fatigue starts to set in. \u00a0We've had two back-to-back classical series, then the Inside the Score concert, and now we're on our second back-to-back classical run. \u00a0It feels like everyone is pretty much running on fumes this week, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conducting"","block_context":{"text":"conducting","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/conducting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":879,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/03\/25\/another-new-face\/","url_meta":{"origin":1442,"position":5},"title":"another new face","author":"Charles Noble","date":"March 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"We here at the OSO seem to the welcoming committee for conductors who are making their first forays into the North American market this year.\u00c2\u00a0 Earlier this month we welcomed Pietari Inkinen of Finland, who was in his second week of being in America (after a week in Cincinnati). This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conducting"","block_context":{"text":"conducting","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/conducting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juanjo Mena, conductor","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/jjmena.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}