Klarinet Archive - Posting 000238.txt from 1999/06

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: movement of musicians
Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 19:02:32 -0400

On Sat, 5 Jun 1999, Bill Hausmann wrote:

> It is a fact of life that in any group of, say, 65 musicians and a
> conductor, there are 65 and ONLY 65 people who know how the piece SHOULD be
> played. Somehow that white stick drains all musical taste out of anyone
> who holds it. Just ask any of the 65! The joy of conducting is that you
> get to play it YOUR way. The downside is that all the rest of the group
> thinks you are an idiot. If your skin is thick enough, it's OK. It's
> better than sitting in the clarinet section grousing about the
> gesticulating moron up front!

A strange assertion of one's opinion, especially if the conductor
is possessed of academic integrity and musical insight. The man
or woman gesticulating up front, if (s)he meets these criteria, is
more likely to have a detailed understanding of the composer and
the piece in question than any of the musicians under his/her
leadership. The subjective issues of leadership ability, person-
ality, and attitude, however, can obfuscate whatever wisdom and/or
inspiration the conductor might potentially impart to the ensemble.
There are those conductors, though, who have no business being on
the podium, when they have not done their homework and/or received
the training necessary to literally know what they're *trying* to
do, whether or not they actually accomplish anything. Even a blind
squirrel eventually finds a nut, and by no merit of his own.

-- Neil

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