“God tells me how the music should sound, but you stand in the way” - Toscanini

By Julia Hudson

For a musician, it’s always a fascinating experience to be conducted by someone new: it has a huge impact for both performers and audience. Classic FM's Webchat with Ed Gardner and the number of concerts the orchestra have coming up, with different choirs and conductors as well as our own David Hill, got me thinking about just this: what skills conductors require, what is particularly challenging and just why they put themselves through it!

To answer my questions, I cornered two conductors – Dominic Brennan, with whom the orchestra are working next month playing contemporary composers James MacMillan and Tarik O’Regan, and, contrastingly, Ben Collingwood, who has a PhD in early music and works in classical music for the BBC. 

As a musician in an ensemble setting, there is a sense of responsibility akin to playing a team sport – you are one of many, but if you make an error the whole team suffers. For a conductor, then, the liability is surely disproportionate. How do they cope?! “Most musicians, from amateur to professional, can smell blood if you're even a little nervous or unsure. I think conductors have to be excellent actors: using the face, eyes and hands to convey musical ideas, being authoritative whatever their true personality, and being relentlessly positive, whatever state the music is in.” It seems a combination of leadership and alliance is the key. “The feeling of not knowing exactly what’s going to happen, but that you are going to make music together, is a thrilling one!”

When handed a new programme as a performer, my thoughts are conflicted. On the one hand, if I already know it, it’s an easier challenge and it could be something I love. On the other, being exposed to something new can have transformative powers. Thrillingly, this seems to work both ways: “It’s amazing introducing a piece to a group who have never come across it before, for them then to fall in love with it. One of the joys of working with a group over several months is the musical relationships that you build with one another; you getting to know them, and them getting to know you. Each conductor has their own little musical idiosyncrasies, and it’s fantastic when a group starts to do those without you having to ask them.”

Conductors can also have the thrill of resurrecting a lost work: “There’s so much unknown music out there that deserves to be performed, and it’s amazing to wonder when a certain work was last heard in public. In the case of early music it could have been unheard for hundreds of years.”

In practical terms, there is no doubt that being prepared is the key to a successful rehearsal or performance, whether the group is professional or amateur. “I prepare by studying the score for quite a while; highlighting passages with which I think the performers might struggle. Most importantly I try to get a sense of the overall structure of the work – noting the climaxes, both in each phrase, and then in the piece as an whole; it’s almost a structural analysis.” Surely this begs the question – is it the composer’s music, or the conductor’s? Is there a balance between interpretation and authenticity? This is, of course, a question for our Patron, but Dominic and Ben had this to add: “My feeling is that people perform much better when they have a good understanding of the work, so I try to explain that to the performers during rehearsal as much as I can. When performing early music I put in some of my own dynamics and phrasing, but keep an open mind so as not to stick to them rigidly if they don’t work in performance.”

When considering this question of interpretation, then, are the same things always difficult for every group? “I think that for any ensemble music that is out of their comfort zone is going to be challenging, be it rhythmically, harmonically or both. MacMillan has a very unique language, with a totally different sound world to Brahms, Byrd or Mozart that we're all used to. Not only is it harmonically foreign to lots of us, it is tricky rhythmically - that can be a challenge to shape as a conductor, but my singers are doing a fantastic job so far!” Help is also at hand from fellow musicians – the section principals in an orchestra, for example, play a vital role in supporting the conductor, especially the Leader. “As a singer, trumpet player and organist, I have less knowledge of bowing and things string-related. Trusting the leader of an orchestra becomes incredibly important for me in those situations.” 

The conductors, then, have prepared by extensive study of the score and consultation with the Leader, as well as thorough rehearsal. But how much of the end result is original interpretation? Isn’t it tempting to take advice from the great recordings? “If it’s a complex piece of contemporary music then I do, just to get into that particular composer’s sound world. I try not to listen to recordings of early music as it influences my interpretation of it too much.” “I think it's important for conductors to have their own style: Gergiev is famously fiery and passionate, Dudamel infectiously enthusiastic, David Hill concise and authoritative. [witness this for yourself – see below for details…] The most important thing for me, I think, is to be clear with whatever direction I'm taking the music in… there is a danger that if you become obsessed with one recording you merely create a facsimile of someone else's work: you become an expensive metronome, not a conductor!”

It’s pretty hard work – I wonder if the idea of turning up and playing at the back of a large string section, or singing amongst twenty-five basses, doesn’t appeal to them at times. “Nothing beats the thrill of a live performance. Making music in front of a packed house can be electrifying…the power of controlling a live performance is amazing!” “The biggest kick is the feeling of working together, creating something in performance that can only happen at that time and in that place, something unique to both performers and listeners – it’s fantastic. There is a sense of satisfaction and joy at the end of a concert when all has gone well, and the first thirst-quenching pint in the pub has been consumed to reward a job well done!”

Thanks, Dominic and Ben, for your insightful words. Disagree with what they said? Get in touch with them on Twitter (make sure you tag us too!). Ben: @CollersB Dominic: @D_O_Brennan Southern Sinfonia: @sinfoniasouth.

See Dominic and Southern Sinfonia in action on March 15th in the beautiful St. Gabriel’s Church, Pimlico. We shall join The Cantus Ensemble for a stunning Lenten programme, featuring the harrowingly effective 'Seven Last Words from the Cross', alongside the little-known 'Triptych'. Click here to find out more and buy tickets!

See Southern Sinfonia in our own concert, conducted by the great David Hill, on 28^th March. Taking place in the atmospheric St. Lawrence Church, this intimate evening entitled ‘Mr. Handel’s Water Music’ will include performances of his finest works including Music Suite No.1 in F major, written for King George I to be performed on the Royal Barge as he travelled down the River Thames.

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