Genuine question: What does a conductor do to make him stand out? "Lift" the orchestra (performances by the same orchestra led by another conductor are not as good?), "Presence" (he looks awesome conducting), "interpretation/arrangements" of the pieces that are performed? There's probably a lot more. I'm just wondering as a layman on orchestral music what drives people picking out a favourite conductor.
― Tim Heckler (willem), Monday, 14 April 2014 14:32 (ten years ago) link
I can't really say what's the conductor and what's the orchestra, but there are definitely certain things I hear in certain orchestra/conductor combos that I like -- tempo choices, rhythmic articulation, dynamics, overall "energy" of sorts
― ביטקוין (Hurting 2), Monday, 14 April 2014 14:47 (ten years ago) link
my Hebrew's so rusty it's taken me two days to realize that's a tet and not a samekh in your screenname but now I am lol'ing
― Now I Am Become Dracula (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Monday, 14 April 2014 15:00 (ten years ago) link
yeah an israeli friend posted something on facebook from the bitcoin center in Tel Aviv and I liked the way it looked written in hebrew plus though it was funny for some intangible reason
― ביטקוין (Hurting 2), Monday, 14 April 2014 15:02 (ten years ago) link
willem, i am not a musician but i would imagine 90% of a conductor's worth comes to fore in the pre-performance preparations
― clouds, Monday, 14 April 2014 22:40 (ten years ago) link
Top 10 in no order
Monteux (everything)Ansermet (esp when conducting stuff from the tail end of the romantics/nascence of modernism)Barbirolli (not for 19c music but everything else)Boulez (esp for his surrealistically limpid and detailed DG recordings)Gielen (everything)Bernstein (for the 40% or so of his sessions when he was amazing)Herrmann (when conducting his own stuff)Beecham (for the 80% of his sessions where he was awesome)Haitink (bc his recordings sound especially great cranked up loud due to his special knack for balancing the orchestra)Colin Davis (for his amazing run of 60s and 70s records only)Britten (conducting his own shit or anyone else's)
― Khamma chameleon (Jon Lewis), Friday, 16 May 2014 23:26 (nine years ago) link
Oops that was eleven and I forgot Mackerras ffs, the Monteux of his era
― Khamma chameleon (Jon Lewis), Friday, 16 May 2014 23:29 (nine years ago) link
who do you like in wagner, particularly tristan?
― Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln (nakhchivan), Friday, 16 May 2014 23:32 (nine years ago) link
Been enjoying Szell's Beethoven Symphonies a lot.
― walid foster dulles (man alive), Wednesday, 4 February 2015 04:22 (nine years ago) link