Let’s learn more about the work of the conductor at the head of an orchestra, his importance and the roles he plays in transforming the score into real music. Like the captain of a ship, he knows where to go. He gets up on the dais to lead and guide the instrumental musicians in the right direction. Everyone knows what to do, but it’s in the conductor’s gestures and gaze that everyone entrusts the interpretation of the work. They play fast, very fast… then slow, even slower. They play softly, like the flight of an eagle, high up in the air. Or abruptly, like a sudden thunderstorm. No matter how they do it, they are always together, with the same energy and the same will, beat after beat. When everything is going wonderfully, you don’t even notice the conductor’s presence.
Listening Twice – The Conductor
Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa
[School Audience]
F. Schubert Symphony No. 7, Incomplete (extracts)
L. Berio / F. Schubert Rendering (extracts)
Pedro Neves conductor and commentary
