Baton down the hatches

Baton Technique
I think that baton technique is overrated. A conductor can have the most elegant stick technique, and yet if there is no poetry behind the technique, there will be no music made.

And yet there are times that a good baton is essential. And then, for example, if all the beats go up-and-down with no differentiation between the different beats, that can only confuse us musicians.

Most conductors I’ve worked with conduct in front of the beat. I feel that what the conductor does is tell us how we are supposed to play when we get to the beat. It is of no use, however, if the baton is so far in front of the beat that it is disconnected from the music. That’s when we have to ignore the conductor, if only for self-defense.

Conductors like it when we look at them; but for us, if what we see isn’t of any use, looking can only be confusing. And if the conductor isn’t present, if he/she is phoning in his/her part, what are we supposed to be looking at?

Relations to the orchestra members
Just as on parenting, there is no way to make rules of behavior. I would be appreciative, though, if conductors would remember the fact that we have to have a partnership in delivering the music to the audience. Power trips will trip up the performance.

In my experience, the best performances were those when the conductor was able to both stay away and let us play, and also to lead us to what he/she wants. Too much control can turn us into a CD player; but too little control means no point of view to give to the audience.

Too many conductors, in my view, are so involved in trying to bend musicians that they forget that we are people, too. Toying with us is a sure-fired way to breed resentment, and that can only hurt the final product.

And in this vein, what with the intensity of the schedule that most orchestras need to maintain, we musicians get injured. It’s called Repetitive Stress Injuries. Is what the conductor does contributing to this problem? Could it be that a little less intensity demanded from us could prolong our careers and help the conductor make music with us over years? (I would also like to address this to the composers, too, who seem to revel in trying to expand our techniques so much that we get injured.)