Conducting

Transcript

• 00:06

  The magical sounds of The Sorcerer'sApprentice at the George Enescu Festival in Romania.It's a tale of a young magician whoweaves his magic to master what lies before him.For the conductor of the French National Orchestra,his job isn't always so different.

• 00:28

  [SPEAKING FRENCH]Psychology is also important in this profession.In the world of orchestras, you have the orchestraas an instrument which is composed of human beings.Balancing the two is difficult.A host of orchestras have played at the festival.

• 00:49

  But while the relationship between the musiciansand their conductor might be complex, to the audience,it can be bewitching.[MUSIC PLAYING][NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]A conductor finds the means to develophis personality and his vision through the orchestra

• 01:12

  that he has in front of him, through the musicianshe's working with.It's a beautiful thing.It's like a ping-pong of energy.There are sometimes imperfections.Though for some, this is part of the magic.

• 01:36

  [SPEAKING FRENCH]I hate complete perfection.I told my production manager, listen,we have to look for the poetry.If during the post-production or the recording,you discover a small error, leave the small error there.

• 01:59

  But no errors here, the audience and musicians alike,simply spellbound.

Conductors coordinate musical ensemble performance by means of gestures as well as facial and bodily expressions. They indicate the general tempo, balance the sound of different groups of instruments or voices, convey nuances in timing and dynamic intensity, and so play an important role in shaping the expressive character of the music. While orchestral conductors often use a baton to enhance the visibility of their gestures indicating the beat, choral conductors nowadays hardly use a baton when conducting choirs without an orchestra. Whether a conductor is employed at all depends on the number of musicians and singers in a performance, their professional level and familiarity with each other, and the complexity of the music. For relatively simple music with many musicians, a conductor is typically necessary for reaching synchrony. Similarly, coordination may also be enhanced when a small number of musicians perform complex music with an external conductor. An overall threshold for using a conductor is the number of 9–10 musicians. Some chamber ensembles, on the other hand, are directed by the first violinist, pianist, trumpeter, or other leading musician, occasionally reflecting historical performance traditions.