Conductors vs Directors

Well there is something to be said for being left alone during a performance. Or at least there is if the alternative is to be glared at and scowled at throughout the whole thing. I love playing in orchestras. I think I have chosen the French Horn because it is unique amongst the rest of the orchestra. Not only are you playing an individual part all on your own, you are also playing as a section, there are usually another 3 horns, all playing different parts and yet all playing together, and all this in the framework of the whole orchestra. This layering of responsibility, of teamwork and of individuality suits very specific people. There is no feeling I have ever experienced that matches playing Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique with tubas, harps and masses of percussion and trombones along with a full orchestra creating an immense wall of sound that fills an entire hall, and blocks out all other thought. Amazing. This only happens when everyone is working together, when everyone wants the same goal, which is for the whole orchestra to play well and create something beautiful. The conductor has a major role in this. He can see everyone and everyone can see him. If we get lost, or make a mistake or need reassurance that the difficult but we just played sounded ok then it is to the conductor we look. Usually we are rewarded with a smile, or a signal marking where we should come in, a nod that means you're doing well. If this seems like a lot of reassurance well, it is, but then sitting at the back of the strings, next to the percussion with your sound heading off behind you and bounding off walls before mixing with the rest and flowing out to the audience, it can be difficult to know how the final thing is sounding. The reciprocal gesture is to play as well as you can and follow the conductor wherever he takes the music, faster, quieter, or even silence, whenever asked for.

That is how it usually goes, anyhow. Last week was an exception. A conductor who makes the entire orchestra accompany him. He shouts and insults the players, rehearses them too hard and for too long in the afternoon, and then scowls throughout the performance whenever a wrong note, or a wobble is heard, thus shattering the confidence of all the players. We are constantly reminded that he is conductor purely for his career. We are a stepping stone, and any mistake we make will be the cause of his downfall. We are not a team. We are not even a group. We are merely there to serve. To make this point absolutely clear, he announces that during the concert he will be making a "very private recording" of himself conducting.

I have never had to control the inner child so much. Never have I wanted to sabotage something that other people are paying to hear and see. It is all about respect. The interesting thing about the experience is that it made me examine and question after 25 years what I like about playing, and why I chose the french horn, discarding recorder, clarinet, piano, and tenor horn along the way.

You will have to excuse the rant, and by way of apology I offer the following light relief about respect and being nice to each other. It is also rather long, but perhaps you only need to watch the first few minutes to get the point...