 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Keil
Date: 2001-10-31 02:37
The BSO has announced Seiji's successor and it's James Levine... i'm really excited... hehehe... Congratulations to Maestro Levine and to the BSO.
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Author: willie
Date: 2001-10-31 04:04
He may be a fine and learned musician, but how the orchestra can follow his lead is a mystery to me. My wife and I have watched Levine direct several times on PBS. Neither of us can figure out how anybody can interpret his hands as they don't even follow the beat sometimes. He just seems to stand there with a silly grin and sorta wave his hands in a manner that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the music being played. Its easier to figure out the hand signals from a third base coach than he.
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Author: William
Date: 2001-10-31 04:11
I have played for Mr. Levine and he is an excellant conductor and musician. The BSO will do just fine.
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Author: donald nicholls
Date: 2001-10-31 04:53
i have never heard of anyone having other than the greatest respect for Maestro Levine, and having seen him conduct (myself accompanied by a number of accomplished musicians who agreed with my view) understand why. "Willie" can write what he wants as every opinion is valid, but in making such a proposterous anouncement he is really only making a fool of himself (and his wife).
donald
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-10-31 10:52
Does he conduct to convey starting point, speed, mood, and blending of the sounds, - rather than beat, which well-reheased, acomplished players probably don't need.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-10-31 10:54
The late Juan Mateucci was a resident conductor in New Zealand. When I watched him I had the impression he was creatively moving to the music - i.e. mood setting, but I would hate to have had to rely on him for beat.
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Author: Keil
Date: 2001-10-31 14:43
I myself have never seen Levine conduct, however, i have seen Ozawa and he isn't a strict beat conductor his conducting style to me is similar to that of Tai-Chi (sp?) and it's very fluid and graceful the BSO seems to flourish well under both strict metrical forms of conducting and that of a lusher more fluid pattern that frees up the heavy nature of the repetoire and lends itself to a greater expression of the music... either way the BSO will do fabulously and i'm extremely excited... this is most definetly an exciting time in music history! YAY!! :-)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2001-10-31 16:49
Let's hope the BSO doesn't substanially raise ticket prices to accomodate the new contract they just awarded to this superstar conductor...GBK
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Author: Dave Beal
Date: 2001-10-31 19:33
OK, here's a dumb question. If a conductor isn't needed to keep the ensemble together, is he needed at all during a performance? I can see that someone needs to lead rehearsals and make decisions about interpretation, but once the piece is well-rehearsed and understood by the musicians, could it be performed without a conductor? Have any orchestras ever tried performing without a conductor?
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Author: Keil
Date: 2001-11-01 00:00
Yes dave, there are orchestras who perform without conductors known as Chamber orchestras though not all do perform without conductors there are those that still and here to the principal of chamber music which tends to be led by the principal violin. I hope this helps.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-11-01 09:31
Security is a basic human need, and a feeling of security is easily undermined. For many, perhaps most people, perceiving order and control in their environment contributes to the feeling of security.
In spite of how otherwise irrelevant a conductor may be at performance, the sight of him doing his thing contributes to this perception of control and order.
So perhaps the presence of the conductor is more for the comfort of the audience than for the orchestra itself. oOn the other hand the players may have an equal need for this perceived security.
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Author: Gretchen
Date: 2001-11-01 09:50
A good read is Harold Schonberg's book The Great Conductors. The modern day conductor didn't even exist until the 1800's. Until then, the concertmaster would usually direct from time to time with his bow.
As for James Levine - he is one of the top few conductors in the world. I have never heard a disrespectful word about him by anyone anywhere. BSO is very fortunate to be getting him. Don't be overly concerned with stick technique - it's way overrated. I'm more concerned with what's in a conductor's head than the end of the stick. More experienced musicians tend to focus more on the eyes than the stick anyway. Levine has been the conductor of the Metropolitan Opera for the last 25 years and somehow they manage to follow him just fine!
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2001-11-06 18:40
Anyone who believes conductors simply "have to do" certain things in order to be good should think back to Herbert von Karajan. His minuscule movements seemed to belie the need for any conducting at all. Yet under his direction, the Berlin Philharmonic was arguably the finest in the world. I believe most would agree it's a position the orchestra has not held since von Karajan's death. As for me, just watching that man conduct could bring tears to my eyes.
Regarding Maestro Levine, the Met would hardly have kept an incompetent on the payroll for so long, even a lovable one. To me, he's just fine, and I wish him and the BSO well. I also offer good wishes to the Met, that their new director might even approach Levine's quality.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-11-11 13:51
It is probably what a great conductor does at rehearsal that makes him great. Karajan probably needed to do no more than very little at performance because of what was communicated/achieved at rehearsal.
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