What Makes a Good Conductor?

By Richard Brewer

This week sees the 91^st birthday of Sir Neville Marriner. That’s ninety-one, yes you did read it right, and still as active as ever. In light of this remarkable achievement, I am writing this week about what makes a good conductor and speculating as to why so many have had such successful and long careers.

It is no myth that a good conductor can make an unbelievable difference to an orchestra. But before we delve into specific conductors, I would like to clarify just what I mean by a “good” conductor. Everyone will have differing opinions on what makes a good conductor; so much so, that the attributes a conductor has may make one person see them as a good conductor, and another as completely awful. Every opinion we have is subjective, especially on a subject such as music. It still astounds me that two people can walk into a concert hall to hear a performance and they can walk out with totally differing opinions of what they just heard. Despite sitting in the same position, hearing exactly the same performance, they still feel differently about what they just heard.

Anyway, back to what I actually aimed to write this blog about…

Our own patron, Sir Roger Norrington, celebrated his 81^st birthday a month ago; granted, he is still 10 years younger than Sir Neville, but it is still an incredible feat. I had a conversation with one of our players after a rehearsal with Sir Roger in March. I asked her how the rehearsal went and her reply was just brilliant:

“The rehearsal was fantastic. It amazes me that Roger still manages to bring something new and fresh to the orchestra whenever he conducts. I’m not even sure what he does, but he works magic and everyone around him reacts in such a special way.”

I think this is fascinating to hear; to think that an 81 year old can still bring a fresh outlook on a piece of music more than 200 years old is astonishing. He has always been an innovator, thinking outside the box with his unconventional musical views in the eyes of the western world (interestingly, he of course would say they were conventional).

With these two legends of the conducting world still going so strongly at the ages they are, it begs the question – is conducting the healthiest profession? There have been many greats who have lived well into their 80s and 90s over the past century; Leopold Stokowski (95), Arturo Toscanini (90) and Sir Adrian Boult (94) to name but a few. It has been said on numerous occasions that conductors are healthy due to the amount of physical effort involved; conducting Mahler's 8th symphony, for example, means 80 minutes of arm waving, baton flicking and body swaying.Not only do they use physical effort, a lot of mental preparation is required in the lead up to a concert; conductors spend hours searching through scores, meticulously marking in notes. It really is a full body workout that rivals some you would see in a gym...!

To finish though, I would like to focus very briefly on Leonard Bernstein, who lived until his 72^nd year (granted, not quite the 91 of Sir Neville but still a fair age). If I could go back in time to watch a concert in which he was conducting, I would without a hesitation. I find him fascinating. My favourite conducting video of his on youtube, though, is one where he actually doesn’t conduct with his hands at all…enjoy!

This is actually the last blog I will write for Southern Sinfonia, as I am off to pastures new. Thank you all for taking the time to read my musings over the past 8 months; I hope you have enjoyed at least one of them!

Have you got a favourite conductor? Or even a favourite recording by a specific conductor? Get in touch via our website, Facebook or Twitter page.

Is Classical Music Dying? – No! But Education is Vital

By Chris Billingham

Another day, another person claiming that classical music is dying. This week’s statement comes from Conductor Kent Nagano who is reported to have said that classical music could be “gone in a generation”. He cited budget cuts and a lack of music education as his reasoning for this, stating that “"there is a problem in communication” and the modern generation see classical music as "something that belongs to the past". 

It is very easy to dismiss this as something that has been said a hundred times before. There is however, in my opinion, a lot to consider in the idea that a lack of music education could have devastating effects. Not just necessarily on the classical music industry, but the music industry as a whole. Whilst there are many commendable efforts to resolve the situation, in the UK for example The Arts Council, on behalf of the Department for Education, have invested more than £171 million of funding between August 2012 and March 2015 in a network of 123 Music education hubs across England. As well as this smaller community and musical groups are also running local programmes (find out more about our own programme here). However a recent report from Ofsted on music in schools reported, “far too much provision was inadequate or barely satisfactory. Nearly all schools recognised the importance of promoting a diverse range of musical styles but far fewer had a clear understanding about how all students should make good musical progress as they moved through the curriculum”. A situation that appears to be repeated worldwide, in 2009, California diverted $109 million from music programs. This led to the closure of music departments across half of California's 10,000-plus public schools.

This isn’t just worrying from a “classical music is dying” point of view. Teaching music directly benefits learning and aids learning and growth in other subjects too. From the science seen in a musical score, the mathematics in rhythms, the physical education from the use of muscles when playing and the knowledge of culture and foreign language that comes from historical pieces. The reasons to insist we teach young people music really are endless and for me the most important element of Kent Nagano’s comments.

In terms of his wider comments about classical music dying, well… this is a debate that isn’t going to end with his comments anymore than it began with them. You can argue that funding cuts have led to less avenues for people to explore music, however you could also argue that technology has made classical music more accessible than it has ever been. When I was younger it would have cost me a lot of money to purchase a range of classical music pieces on cassette and CD. Now someone could lose days exploring titles and numerous performances of these titles on YouTube.

Another argument those fearing classical music is nearing its end use is the fact that its audience is traditionally older. The counter argument to this is the fact that cinema, video games and new mainstream pop acts (do I need to talk about Clean Bandit on this blog AGAIN?) are introducing classical music to new audiences. Whether it’s traditional performances at the BBC Proms or events such as the OAE Night Shift series designed to be unique and reach a new younger audience, attendance figures of all ages are still high.

In my opinion Kent Nagano doesn’t need to be as negative on the wider situation, as he is, however he is definitely right about music in education. The exciting and appealing thing about this topic is this is just my opinion, every classical music fan has a different opinion on this subject and that is why it keeps coming up and is constantly discussed.

What are your thoughts? Is classical music dying? How serious is the situation in music education? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Chocolates, Countdowns and a Concert – Looking ahead at the Easter Weekend

By Chris Billingham

It’s Easter!!! OK that doesn’t have quite the same impact as Noddy Holder screeching ‘It’s Christmaaaaaas’ but it doesn’t change the fact that tomorrow is Good Friday and the start of a 4-day Easter weekend! Excitingly for Southern Sinfonia this year’s Easter weekend starts with a performance at the Lighthouse in Poole. Tomorrow evening we join forces with Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and conductor Gavin Carr for a performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. There is something special about performing music at a time it was composed to be performed. As most are no doubt aware St. Matthew Passion is divided in two parts to be performed on Good Friday. Tomorrow’s performance will no doubt inspire the same thrills that playing Handel’s Messiah at Christmas time stirs up.  

In the wider classical music world a number of people on our social media news feeds are beginning to get excited about the unveiling of this years Classic FM Hall of Fame. This year marks the 20th year of the countdown and the question many seem to be asking is simple:

Does The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams deserve to remain number one?

At the time of writing Twitter certainly seems to think so, supportive tweets include “some think Lark Ascending is over exposed but it just has to be the most relaxing 15 minutes in Classical Music” and “There's nothing so relaxing as listening to 'The lark Ascending' while doing DIY. Thanks for the tunes RVW and #ClassicFM”.

Personally I agree that the piece is incredibly powerful to listen to. The way the music evolves creates vivid images of English summertime and countryside. I also think the Hall of Fame countdown should rightly take cultural impact into account. From its influences on Milford, Alwyn and many others to its appearance in films, sporting events, plays and of course Coronation Street, the piece has embedded itself into the minds of musicians and non musicians alike. Richard Brewer, who many of you will know from his work at Southern Sinfonia and superb blog writing, had this to say...

"It's true that the Lark Ascending is 15 minutes of pure bliss. We played it in Bath Abbey back in November with the wonderful Madeleine Easton showing us how it's done. Whilst I do enjoy the piece, I am a firm believer that there is so much more incredible music out there that never gets a mention. The Classic FM Hall of Fame is fantastic for classical music; for some, it may even be the only time they listen to the genre all year. However, my belief is that there are a huge number of other pieces that equally deserve the top spot. I definitely couldn't decide myself though..."

Between chocolate, tomorrows concert and the Classic FM Hall of Fame there are clearly a number of reasons to be excited for this weekend, what are your plans? Will you be joining us in Poole for St. Matthew Passion? Click here if you want to find out more including ticket details. Will you be listening to the Hall of Fame countdown? Do you think The Lark Ascending should be number one again? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter. You can also visit our website to find out more about Southern Sinfonia.

We hope you have a brilliant weekend whatever your plans may be. Happy Easter!