Olga Stokowiec

Wróć do strony „Piszę”

What Do They Even Do? A Musician on Conductors (and Maybe Program Managers)

I⁠’m back to the orchestra rehearsals! Which makes me really excited and also reminds me about the question I got asked most when I started playing in symphonic orchestras.

The question was… “Ok so tell me, do you actually need the conductor?” And I love it, it’s totally valid! It’s one of the things I had also been most curious about when watching orchestras from the audience.

Not to keep going with my music-vs-career parables, but… It reminds me of being asked “what do the program managers even do.” So I’ll talk about the conductors and you’ll draw any further conclusions and implications yourselves.

Conductors are crucial to the orchestra!

To the untutored eye it might look like the person at the front is just: A) feeling the feels and making a lot of poetic but incomprehensible gestures for added drama, B) setting the pace and making sure the tempo doesn’t drift into chaos, C) taking credit for the hard work of a hundred people while putting in minimal effort of their own.

But in fact…

  1. Conductors have a comprehensive understanding of the whole partiture, anticipating where the melodies and harmonies go throughout the piece.
  2. Conductors obviously can't play each and every instrument in the orchestra. They trust the mastery and skills of each musician. They will give stylistic feedback to ensure the orchestral coherence, but they usually won’t provide technical tips. It’s our (musicians’) own job to figure out how to make the most of our instruments and how to achieve the sound that will work in the piece.
  3. Yes, conductors do set the pace. But it’s so much more than just guarding the time signatures. They guide the character. Are we slowing down or speeding up? Are we playing spaciously, lyrically, marchy, “forward”, etc.? Are we winning a battle or grieving a lost love? What do we want to convey with the music? What’s the, pardon my French, vibe?

(The art of conducting is a rabbit hole worth falling into. For a deeper dive, I wholeheartedly recommend reading “Maestros and Their Music: The Art and Alchemy of Conducting” by John Mauceri.)

Every musician in the orchestra can read the music, practice their instrument, and play their part. Every musician has a strong sense of ownership and personal responsibility towards the whole ensemble. The conductor adds a layer of intentionality and the comprehension of a bigger picture.

If you’re wondering what I mean in practice, I will give you two examples (links to the recordings inline and at the bottom of the article) of how orchestras sound when the same piece is interpreted by different maestros:

  1. Igor Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring, K15, Pt. 1: VIII. Dance of the Earth
  • Conducted by Pierre Boulez (1): Precise and clinical, emphasizing the modernist rhythmic complexity.
  • Conducted by Klaus Mäkëla (2): Raw, almost chaotic, leaning into the primal energy of the piece’s experimental nature (and folklore inspirations? Which were allegedly denied by Stravinsky himself).
  1. Antonin Dvořak, Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 “From the New World”, IV. Allegro con fuoco
  • Conducted by Leonard Bernstein (3): Romantic, expansive; deeply emotional, with seemingly abrupt (and yet perfectly organic) tempo changes; pronounced dynamic contrasts; dramatic connection the symphony’s underlying theme: Dvořak’s first impressions of the “New World”
  • Conducted by Alan Gilbert (4): Transparent textures, attention to structural clarity; still majestic, faithful to the piece’s character, but masterful in a very different way than Bernstein’s rendition [fun fact: Gilbert’s recording was my point of reference when I was contributing to this piece in the Klang Ensemble Köln]
  • Conducted by Herbert von Karajan (5): I want to draw your attention to the fact that in the “Poco meno mosso” part (from measure 214 in the partiture, or from minute 6:14 in Bernstein’s recording, 6:42 in Gilbert’s, 6:17 in von Karajan’s) the theme is played not by the oboe and horns, but by the cello! (unless I’m mistaken? Please correct me if you have better information and my ear betrayed me!)

That was a long way to say: yes, we actually need a conductor.

The recordings I’m referring to:

  1. Stravinsky conducted by Pierre Boulez: https://open.spotify.com/track/56BvJWgmaqRCPbLfG1rZlg?si=Y0jGdKXcTk6Aqm5KmeGYUA
  2. Stravinsky conducted by Klaus Mäkëla: https://open.spotify.com/track/2iekxTPnfRhzyUDhcFTvPr?si=Q2bjrkfgSHacqGX-LB_D0A
  3. Dvořak conducted by Leonard Bernstein: https://open.spotify.com/track/4dvQHoRLpyBbAknpvNsrCX?si=fcqfrSclTt-vBt1tKmTvPA
  4. Dvořak conducted by Alan Gilbert: https://open.spotify.com/track/4GdHkkbUtc63Jr3JI5Pm19?si=Q_O31t-_QpuRQU4OI8aN1Q
  5. Dvořak conducted by Herbert von Karajan: https://open.spotify.com/track/6nqHzwOdGIaX57U6VU6kMO?si=SP7AVwPrRTmrffAoSywfDA