The Score The Orchestra And The Conductor

"In The Score, the Orchestra and the Conductor, Gustav Meier demystifies the conductor's craft with explanations and illustrations of what the conductor must know to attain podium success. He provides useful information from the rudimentary to the sophisticated, and offers specific and readily applicable advice for technical and musical matters essential to the conductor's first rehearsal with the orchestra."--Résumé de l'éditeur.

"Master conductor Mark Gibson addresses the technique of conducting as an extension of intimate knowledge of the score to the hands and arms, employing a variety of everyday activities and physical motions (brushing the dog, Tinkerbelle, the 'door knob') to describe the physical aspects of the role. The approach to score study is detailed, bar-by-bar and comprehensive, both in terms of musical analysis and conducting method."--Page [4] of cover.

Although the bibliography of literature about personalities in the conducting world is extensive, a comprehensive, scholarly study of the history of conducting has been sorely lacking. Georg Schünemann's respected study, published in 1913, was brief and restricted to the procedures of time-beating. No work has attempted to examine the role of the orchestral conductor and to document the evolution of his art from historical, technical, and aesthetic perspectives. Dr. Elliott W. Galkin, musicologist, conductor, and critic-twice winner of the Deems Taylor award for distinguished writing about music-has produced such a work in A History of Orchestral Conducting. The central historical section of the book, which examines chronologically the theories and functions of time-beating and interpretative concepts of performance, is preceded by discussions of rhythm, development of the orchestral medium, and the evolving characteristics of orchestration. Conductors of unusual pivotal influence are examined in depth, as is the increasingly complex psychology of the podium. Critical writings since the time of Monteverdi and the birth of the orchestra are surveyed and compared. Analyses of conducting as an art and craft by musicians from Berlioz to Bernstein and commentators from Mattheson, Bernard Shaw, and Thomas Mann to Jacques Barzun, are described and discussed. A fascinating collection of engravings, wood cuts, photographs and caricatures contributes to the richness of this work.

Only recently has it become obvious that conductors' annotated scores and marked orchestral parts are of great cultural, historical and musical importance. In the not-so-distant past, these artefacts had something of an uncertain status with many either languishing unopened in libraries and family archives or simply being dispersed or discarded. With the help of institutions such as the Royal Academy of Music, Harvard University and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra this has begun to change with their extensive collections of these materials now being made available to scholars and musicians. This element examines the emergence of these artefacts as didactic and interpretative tools and explores the ways in which the performance styles of ten iconic conductors active in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries are reflected in their annotated scores and marked orchestral parts of Mozart's Symphony No. 41, K. 551 ('Jupiter').

The Orchestral Conductor’s Career Handbook is a guide for the musical and professional development of conductors. Carl Topilow provides practical advice for establishing a conducting career, addressing topics like education, jobs, orchestra types, programming, connecting with audiences, and even business aspects such as interacting with donors.

(Meredith Music Resource). This text is sure to provide the most practical approach to orchestra and wind band score study ever published. It methodically simplifies preliminary score study and initial rehearsal preparation for all conductors of band, orchestra and chamber ensembles. It is enormously valuable for practicing conductors from elementary school to those leading professional ensembles. As a supplement to undergraduate and graduate level instrumental conducting classes, it is an extremely effective text. The unique features of this innovative publication include: * an easy-to-read format that systematically walks the reader through the entire score-study process * complete full score to Flourish for Wind Band by Vaughan Williams used as the study score throughout * compositional flowchart of the Vaughan Williams work * Score and Rehearsal Preparation Worksheet that can be reproduced and used with any wind band or orchestral score (and maintained for future use) * seating-arrangement diagrams of nationally renown wind bands and orchestras * comprehensive glossary of standard instrument abbreviations * standard band and orchestra instrumentation reference chart * selective and detailed bibliography containing specific sources that will prove invaluable in the preparation of all instrumental scores.

The conductor—tuxedoed, imposingly poised above an orchestra, baton waving dramatically—is a familiar figure even for those who never set foot in an orchestral hall. As a veritable icon for classical music, the conductor has also been subjected to some ungenerous caricatures, presented variously as unhinged gesticulator, indulged megalomaniac, or even outright impostor. Consider, for example: Bugs Bunny as Leopold Stokowski, dramatically smashing his baton and then breaking into erratic poses with a forbidding intensity in his eyes, or Mickey Mouse in Fantasia, unwittingly conjuring dangerous magic with carefree gestures he doesn’t understand. As these clichés betray, there is an aura of mystery around what a conductor actually does, often coupled with disbelief that he or she really makes a difference to the performance we hear. The Silent Musician deepens our understanding of what conductors do and why they matter. Neither an instruction manual for conductors, nor a history of conducting, the book instead explores the role of the conductor in noiselessly shaping the music that we hear. Writing in a clever, insightful, and often evocative style, world-renowned conductor Mark Wigglesworth deftly explores the philosophical underpinnings of conducting—from the conductor’s relationship with musicians and the music, to the public and personal responsibilities conductors face—and examines the subtler components of their silent art, which include precision, charisma, diplomacy, and passion. Ultimately, Wigglesworth shows how conductors—by simultaneously keeping time and allowing time to expand—manage to shape ensemble music into an immersive, transformative experience, without ever making a sound.