Ten Worst Things about being a Conductor

By Classic FM London

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Even though they get to stand at the front and look important, it's a tough life being a conductor. Here are the downsides to the top job.

1. Unflattering photographs

So whenever you think you're doing a really emotive face in that delicate section of Brahms 2, it's actually more like this:

(Photo: Chris Christodolou)

2. People who say 'don't you just stand at the front and wave your arms?'

No. No we do not.

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3. Surly brass sections

Look how Leonard Bernstein handles these back-row wise guys.

4. Big moments make you look weird

Riccardo Chailly is a magnificent man, please don't get us wrong. But conducting makes you do some strange things with your body.

5. Polo necks

You may start out as one of those young, cool conductors who wears whatever they like to rehearsals. But the polo neck will claim you. It will hunt you down and consume you. Fear it.

6. Unanswerable questions

"Maestro, should we begin this phrase with up-bows or down-bows?"

(via Imgur)

7. When the orchestra can't keep up

JUST GO AT THE SAME SPEED AS MY HANDS HOW HARD IS IT

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8. Soloists in concertos

"If you could have the cadenza finished in the next couple of hours, that'd be great. I'll just stand here."

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9. Studying scores in your spare time

Musicians have practising, which at least makes a nice sound. Reading scores is way boring.

10. Musicians

Yeah, yeah, they're 'essential' to an orchestra. But come on guys. If you just left the playing to conductors then they wouldn't even need to be told how to play the pieces correctly, right?

(via Blogspot)

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Leonard Bernstein conducting using only his eyebrows

Watch Leonard Bernstein conduct an orchestra using only his EYEBROWS

Conductors are influential people, but usually they have to at least use their hands a little bit. Not Leonard Bernstein, apparently…

The great Leonard Bernstein was such a showman of a conductor that he didn’t even need to use his baton to coax a great performance from the Vienna Philharmonic in this concert.

Watch Bernstein use only his eyebrows (and the odd bit of smiling and grimacing) to give the orchestra all the information they need about tempo and dynamics for Haydn’s Symphony No. 88. Amazing stuff:

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A 7-year-old with leukaemia conducts a symphony orchestra

A 7-year-old with leukaemia was given his dream job - conducting a symphony orchestra

By Daniel Ross, ClassicFM London

7-year-old Jordan Cartwright has leukaemia, but that hasn’t stopped him conducting the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra playing the Canadian national anthem.

Cartwright is a long-time music fan, and so the orchestra decided he deserved a shot at the top job - conducting one of Canada’s premier ensembles himself.

So up stepped Cartwright, concert dress immaculate, to show the orchestra the way through a stirring reading of ‘O Canada’. We think he’s got this conducting thing nailed - confident stance, even tempo and gestural control are all en pointe.

Look at the super-casual hand-in-the-pocket stance, too: what a pro!

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