The Short End of the Stick

Goodness……. Every time I get up in front of an orchestra I am reminded of the fact that I played in orchestras for years. My experience as an orchestral keyboardist is absolutely central to everything I try to accomplish from the podium. Being a keyboardist is a really unique position for an orchestra. One is usually alone, rather than being in a section. You also have a tendency to end up in all different places onstage depending on the space requirements, the style of piece (Baroque = harpsichord = center vs. Stravinsky = modern = where ever I can fit, etc.). There are other considerations too numerous to go into, but they have all directly influenced my conducting approach.

If a musician comes up to me and says, “You’re easy to follow,” I have done my job. I cannot emphasize this enough, and I try to tell every young conductor starting out that this is the most important thing that you can bring to the podium. I know from personal experience that there is nothing more frustrating than having a conductor that you can’t follow and then being blamed when things don’t work. 95% of the time when things go wrong it’s the conductor’s fault. Clarity in ideas, in concept, and in technique will make everyone’s life so much easier. An example – I remember seeing one of the world’s great conductors perform the scherzo in Beethoven 6 in such a way that the oboist had no idea where the downbeat was. Since the entire solo is on the offbeat it was a near disaster. The conductor was trying to convey a certain character, and rightly so, but had forgotten that you’re dealing with 90 or so people spread all over Gods Green Creation, and they rely on you to keep it together. I had the opportunity to conduct that same piece with that same orchestra afterwards, and that same oboist came up to me and said, “Thanks for giving me a clear beat in the scherzo. So-&-so was all over the place and I couldn’t follow him/her.” (Was that sufficiently vague?)

When it comes to dealing with bringing your interpretation to an orchestra, especially one that is “non-conventional,” I can only recommend patience. It’s astonishing how much orchestras are tied to what they have done or heard in the past rather than what is written on the page. These “traditions” are some of the worst things about classical music as they hamper true individualism. But if you can convey your ideas in a rational and precise manner, and if they make musical sense, the orchestra will respond. Just, please, make sure you do this before the dress rehearsal so that you have given folks time to adjust.