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Sunday 22 June 2014

Conductor

The French composer Lully (1632-1687) used to beat time by banging a big stick on the floor to the time of the music. One day he banged his stick very hard and it went through his foot and he became ill and died.

The special role of the conductor emerged only in the 19th century; previously, the task of keeping the musicians together was performed by one of the leading players.

The prestige now associated with the role developed with the emergence of composers (such as Berlioz and Mendelssohn) who also conducted,

Tchaikovsky hated to conduct by his own admission. He became obsessed with the fear that his head was going to fall off while he conducted. In 1868, when Tchaikovsky conducted his own Dances of the Hay Maidens, he held his head in place with his left hand while he conducted with his right.

The German-born pianist and conductor Charles Hallé settled in England in 1848 and set up the Halle Orchestra and the Royal Manchester College of Music. Such was the love for Halle in Manchester that when he died on October 25, 1895, his funeral procession brought the city to a standstill.

Charles Hallé

When he died, conductor Herbert von Karajan's wife, Eliette, inherited a fortune worth $275 million.

By the age of five the famous conductor, Leoplold Stokowski (1882-1977), could play the violin and piano. He first conducted an orchestra when he was only twelve years old.

Female conductors lead only 4.1% of "big budget" American symphony orchestras.

Conductors usually beat time with their right hand. This leaves their left hand free to show the various instruments when they have entries (when they start playing) or to show them to play louder or softer.

Source Europress Encyclopedia

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