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In the 17th century, conductors used rolled sheets of paper to direct a musical performance.
Later, large wooden staffs were used, thumped on podium floors by conductors to keep time with the music. In one infamous episode, Italian-French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687) injured his foot while using one. The wound became gangrenous and Lully died two months later.
Put simply, conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, typically an orchestral or choral concert. Conductors communicate with their musicians primarily through hand gestures, usually with the aid of a baton.
In the 18th century, a member of the instrumental ensemble usually acted as the conductor. This was sometimes the concertmaster, who could use his bow as a baton.
A young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is believed to be the first conductor to use a baton, employed by the maestro in 1791 in Vienna during the premiere of 'The Magic Flute' at the Theater auf der Wieden.
But why was Mozart using a baton? Come to think of it, why do orchestras need a conductor at all?
Conducting music is one of the most visible jobs in the world. But to the uninitiated, it just looks like a person standing in the middle of the stage and waving their hands. But appearances can be deceiving!
A conductor's job begins in rehearsals. Their task is to get an orchestra to work effectively and bring them all to the same page as far as interpretation is concerned.
Still, all classical musicians read music. The scores before them tell them what to play. Can't they just all sit down and get on with it? Well, it's not quite that simple.
Part of a conductor's job description is to keep an orchestra or choir in time and together. If you like, a conductor serves as a messenger for the composer.
Can't an orchestra keep in time without a conductor? In theory, yes. But the deal breaker is that there is a lot of room for interpretation in the score. For example. the relative prominence of each part, or the length of the gaps left between the notes.
Ultimately, it's the conductor's responsibility to understand the music and convey it through gestures so fluidly and transparently that the musicians in the orchestra understand it perfectly.
Fair enough! But what's with all the dramatic hand gestures and the funny little stick?
Conductors use their hands and the funny little stick, the baton, to illustrate set patterns and gestures, which communicate key features of the music.
But aren't those features already written on the musicians' scores, like these musical notes drafted by Mozart?
Sure. But the fact is music notation is just not comprehensive or accurate enough to be unambiguously turned into music by an orchestra. You need someone calling the shots.
Once again, that's where a conductor comes in. It takes a skilled and dedicated individual to beat the right pattern and to gesture and develop it to shape the music.
This is why rehearsals are so important. During rehearsal, the conductor's function is to suggest phrasing, dynamics, articulation, tempo, and so on. They are also there to pick up on things that are going wrong. Leonard Bernstein (pictured) was a notoriously hard taskmaster during rehearsals.
Interestingly, studies have suggested the more the influence of the conductor on the players, the more aesthetically pleasing the music becomes.
In fact, over the years the job of the conductor has developed into something that is primarily artistic. Indeed, the ability to integrate the musical interpretations of all the musicians on stage into a bigger picture has made stars out of some of these individuals, people like Sir Simon Rattle (pictured).
And American conductor Marin Alsop was the first woman to be appointed music director of a major American orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony.
Bear in mind, too, that an average orchestra can number up to 100 musicians. Works are always being played by different instrumentalists, people likely with hundreds of performances behind them. Collectively interpreting a piece by a long-dead composer can therefore be tricky.
Herbert von Karajan (1908–1989), generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, had an extraordinary feel for music, employing psychology, body language, knowledge of history, and a supreme sensitivity to everything that makes us human to achieve virtuoso performances from the orchestra.
The world of the classical music conductor is still very much male dominated. The position is seen as traditionally dictatorial, elitist, and old school. But there a number of female conductors who are kicking this stereotype well and truly into the orchestra pit.
In 2018, Germany's Staatskapelle Halle announced the appointment of the French conductor Ariane Matiakh as its new Generalmusikdirektorin (General Music Director), the first female conductor ever named to the post.
Described by her peers as "one of the finest conductors of her generation," Grammy Award-winning American conductor JoAnn Falletta was named Classical Woman of the Year in 2019 by the classical music radio program 'Performance Today.'
Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla held the post of musical director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra as well as signing an exclusive long-term recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon—the first female conductor ever to do so.
So the next time you see a conductor at work—male or female—concentrate your gaze on their handiwork and see how they connect with their musicians.
Sources: (Mozart: New Documents) (NPR)
Have you ever wondered exactly what the role of a music conductor is? At first glance, this individual appears surplus to requirements, a person holding a stick and waving their hands, apparently urging an orchestra to perform what it is already playing—a piece of classical music. It's a job that baffles many, and the question often asked is whether orchestras really need conductors at all.
To find out, click through and tune in on why a conductor is, in fact, absolutely necessary.
What is the point of a classical music conductor?
Is this profession really necessary?
MUSIC Orchestra
Have you ever wondered exactly what the role of a music conductor is? At first glance, this individual appears surplus to requirements, a person holding a stick and waving their hands, apparently urging an orchestra to perform what it is already playing—a piece of classical music. It's a job that baffles many, and the question often asked is whether orchestras really need conductors at all.
To find out, click through and tune in on why a conductor is, in fact, absolutely necessary.