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Experiences with Conductors.Orchestra: So I'm thinking that everyone should put up a list with some favorite conductors they've played with, or some famous conductors, etc...From Jake Laband My list: Bruce Dinkins-He's taken most every group he does to national acclaim (youth orchestras, etc...). He's a tough guy in rehearsal, but really nice outside of it. Kenneth Kiesler-More of a professional conductor, he's nicer in rehearsals, but gets the job done. PLayed Beethoven's 7th, and Pines of Rome with him, as well as accompaning the Elgar cello concerto under him. Scott Yoo- Crazy man, Scott Yoo is. Wonderful conductor, excellent style, hilarious jokes, etc... Played Bolero and Daphnis et Chloe with him.
From Andrew Sords
Hmm....some memorable moments...Posted on August 3, 2004 at 06:30 PM Sidney Harth--a stickler to detail, a man very in-charge and almost dictatorial. Your best friend one moment, and scapegoat the next. A complete perfectionist, doesn't accept less than the very best. Neeme Jarvi--surprisingly personable. Demands and gives respect. Will praise when needed, and runs a very tight ship. However, he can crack a smile when need be, and his experience is second to none. Luis Biava--in rehearsing and performing the Tchaikovsky concerto, I have never had a better working experience with a conductor or orchestra. Extremely cordial on and off the podium, he is very charismatic, and one of the few conductors I've met where everyone seems to fall under his spell. His concerts have an air of spontaneity, excitement, and polish that I haven't heard often. Truly a remarkable man. Liza Grossman--perhaps the most clear, supportive conductor I've worked with. She conducted the Saint-Saens b minor with me, and she made the piece (and rehearsals) bearable. :) We have also known each other for 12 years, which makes the process easier, and we could chat about things over food and drink. Very inspirational. From Jude Ziliak
Hmm, Jake, interesting. I love Kiesler as a conductor of student orchestras-- he really knows how to work with them. Scott Yoo, on the other hand, is a brilliant conductor, but doesn't understand the processes by which a student orchestra grows.Posted on August 6, 2004 at 07:58 PM Klauspeter Seibel-- Seibel has probably the most fabulous ears I've ever observed in action. He hears everything. His baton technique is impeccable and very clear, his musicality fresh and strong, and his rehearsals extremely efficient. From Christina Wilke
I have to say one of the greatest experiences I had was playing under Jung-Ho Pak at Interlochen Arts Camp. He's such a relaxed guy and he led us in a wide array of works- Beethoven 2, Mozart Flute Concerto in G major, and a modern, jazzy piece called "Route 66" by Michael Dougherty. He has so much talent.Posted on August 6, 2004 at 11:35 PM However, I'm prejudiced, and my father is a conductor and I've been playing under him for my whole life. If you hear of an up-and-coming conductor named Kirk Wilke- go and see him. He's fantastic (and my dad!) Also- if you ever get to see Rossen Milanov, whom I believe is the assistant conductor of Philadelphia, take advantage of the opportunity! He's fantastic! From Bob L.
Paavo Jarvi is amazing to work with.
Posted on August 7, 2004 at 03:14 AM From lorenzo Z
Kurt Masur was excellent. Posted on August 9, 2004 at 02:15 PM Colin Davies (Welsh conductor, not Davis) was great too. From Michael Avagliano
I agree with you, Christina, about Rossen Milanov. He's definitely on his way up -- a fantastic young conductor, knows exactly what he wants from the orchestra and how to get it.Posted on August 9, 2004 at 02:48 PM One person who I am really impressed with is George Manahan at NYC Opera. The man's rehearsal technique is so efficient it's frightening, and he has total economy of movement -- every gesture has a purpose. Of course, now that I'm about to step on the podium myself, it'd be nice if I could remember those things while I'm up there. The change in altitude can be very disorienting... From Sue Donim
Can anyone else see the link on the right, offering Ebay 'collectable' conductors at the right price?? Lol.
Posted on August 10, 2004 at 07:35 PM From Sarah Levin
Jung-Ho Pak is great, I agree. He was a guest conductor for the ASO a couple years ago. I have funny, fond memories of Joseph Primavera with the Philly Youth Orchestra more than five years ago. We were all petrified by him, but he was great.
Posted on August 11, 2004 at 10:18 PM From Juergen L. Hemm
Hi,Posted on August 12, 2004 at 11:38 AM Varner M. Chance. He came to Germany in the 1980s with the "Sounds of Hope" choir and a small orchestra. Highlights of the program each year where
People from "Sounds of Hope", wherever you are now, thanks for the memories! Bye, Juergen From Fernando Flores
Some of my favorite conductors to work with are:Posted on August 27, 2004 at 09:19 PM Kurt Masur, Paul Haas, Neeme Jarvi, Elijahu Inbal, Andrew Litton, Seji Ozawa From violetcat (rachel)
Hi, Christina, just saw your post.Posted on August 27, 2004 at 10:18 PM I believe I saw the concert with Jung-Ho Pak you're referring to. When I first saw Mr. Pak, he cracked me up, cause he swung his hips so much when he conducted. But anyway, he's a friendly guy, with a lot of enthusiasm for what he does. Btw, did your father guest conduct the DSO, or some other visiting ensemble at Interlochen one summer? I seem to remember the name. From Dumitru Lazarescu
Sergiu CelibidachePosted on August 28, 2004 at 07:23 AM Ionel Perlea Carlo Zecchi Peter Oundjian Mark Elder Igor Markevitch Mstislav Rostropovich Some are long gone by now... However, there are many new talents out there, such as Peter Oundjian (Toronto). From jennifer steinfeldt warren
I don't have any names to mention that anyone might know...except for maybe Sandra Dackow. You guys are so positive! Maybe it is just me, but I don't like many conductors, especially if they are also in charge of EVERYTHING else to do with the orchestra. Like community orchestra conductors/directors/catch-all people. Anyhow. It makes things harder for them and it shows in rehearsal. I have also noticed that I sometimes prefer women conductors because they are more "to the business" and while they don't take any sh..t, they aren't heartless, either. But that is a grandios stereotype. Big flashing neon sign generalization. Whatever. Bye.Posted on August 28, 2004 at 02:25 PM -JW From Michael Avagliano
I have a feeling that people are more comfortable saying the things they like about conductors rather than what they don't like. And since this is a public forum, it's possible that offense could be taken. Posted on August 28, 2004 at 02:30 PM But believe me, there are a few conductors out there -- mostly community or regional orchestra, like Jennifer said -- who _really_ rub me the wrong way. There's also a hornist friend of mine who always says he's going to write a book called "Conductors Who Have Known Me". :-) In general, my worst pet peeves about conductors are two types -- ones who aren't prepared (meaning I know the score better than they do -- never a good sign), and those who stop and blame the orchestra when they make a mistake. That's also a clear sign that you're working with a semiconductor. From jennifer steinfeldt warren
I attended Sewanee Summer Music Festival several years and was always pleased with the guest conductors they brought in. The conductor for the younger/less experienced orchestra, Bruce Dinkins was my personal favourite. He was harsh and didn't take anything less than what you could give. I started out being terrified of him, but at the end of the camp, I loved him. Some of the other conductors for the Sewanee Symphony that I loved (the next year) were:Posted on August 28, 2004 at 04:33 PM Cyrus Ginwala James Paul (very scary but really cool also...and damned good) I find myself also enjoying conductors from overseas who don't speak english very well. The rehearsals are very productive and to the point and as a violinist, usually you are PLAYING for most of the rehearsal and REHEARSING instead of listening to anecdotes and metaphors... -JW p.s. I've seen many videos of conductors rehearsing an orchestra....does that count? Because then I could come up with some more familiar names... From G. Faulkner
Some of my favorites have been:Posted on August 31, 2004 at 02:23 AM Dale Clevenger--I played Rachmaninov's "Symphonic Dances" under him and and he also played John William's Horn concerto that Williams wrote for him Alastair Willis--Stravinsky's "Petrouchka" and Dvorak's "Carneval" Overture Steven Byess--the Hindemith Symphony in E-flat All three of these conductors were a pleasure to work with and created a great atmosphere to work in. Their jokes were much appreciated! (Best quote: "It's strange...I'm used to having a good viola section..." -Dale Clevenger, principal horn of the CSO) From Thomas McEvilley
Maxim Shostakovitch,Milton Katims, Lawrence Wheeler stand out in my mind.
Posted on August 31, 2004 at 06:29 AM From Malcolm Turner
When I was an orchestra member, I seriously considred taking up conducting on the grounds that I couldn't be worse than a lot of the idiots we had. But then you get a good conductor, and realise that playing the violin is best.Posted on August 31, 2004 at 11:36 PM I've played for some very good conductors - Boult probably the best. So little movement - but every nuance was transmitted to the players. You couldn'y help but play it the way he wanted. And probably the most perfect gentleman I ever met. Mind you, he couldn't tolerate fools!. George Hurst - made everything so obvious and basically just pointed out what the composer was asking for in the score. Especially in Beethoven - every dynamic shading, every articulation. I always felt that after playing a piece for George, you could hardly play it for anyone else because they ignored so much of the detail that helped the performance. He also produced a different sound from the orchestra - warm and always balanced. Bryden (Jack) Thomson - a committed , enthusiastic nusician who could inspire. Norman Del Mar - a source of infinite musical knowledge and some inspired performances. Some very happy memories and even 20 (or more) years later, I can remember the details of some of the performances. Some of the others I try and forget! From Jessica Hung
From my time in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, some conductors I especially remember are Pierre Boulez, who gave a delightful lecture for the audience before conducting us in Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin; Christoph Eschenbach; David Robertson; Roberto Abbado; and of course, Barenboim--the most energy I've ever felt playing in an orchestra concert.Posted on April 30, 2005 at 07:06 AM I would also like to put in some positive words about Cliff Colnot, Civic's Resident Conductor. Though he's behind the scenes from the audience perspective, Cliff has tremendous dedication to Civic and Barenboim's vision of homogenous, passionate orchestral playing, and I learned so much from my time there. I feel incredibly grateful to know what an amazing experience unified orchestral playing can be, and it is partly thanks to the techniques I learned from Cliff. I played in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra under Rossen Milanov, and he was incredibly inspiring. We took Shostakovich 5, Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet, and Vaughan-Williams Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis on tour through Eastern Europe. I probably also shouldn't fail to mention my good friend Andrew Koehler (BA Yale, soon-to-be MM Northwestern), who currently conducts the University of Chicago Chamber Orchestra. He is one of the few student conductors I've met who has strong vision and large-scale perspective about the works he conducts, as well as good rehearsal technique, which is vital. Too many student conductors on the podium look like they have no clear idea of what interpretation they want. It's also always fun when they point out something you know they've rehearsed in advance, rather than reacting to what they're actually hearing. ("Can we make more of that crescendo?") From Lauren Smith
i cant even remember the guy's name..but he was my favorite because he wasn't rude about our playing..he'd explain something and tell why..then we'd try it out as he said and it'd be okay, then he'd really get into it and we'd follow along, when conductors get really into it and excited about the music, so do i and obviously the rest of the group there.
Posted on April 30, 2005 at 02:29 PM From Michael Molnar
This is a little off topic, but today we went to see "The Producers" in NYC. During intermission I was able to talk to one of the violinists in the pit net to where we sat. We were chatting about her violin and she said that they were not allowed to bring their best violins in because things fall into the pit (even with a netting above), which could damage the violin. Evidently, the insurance company wasn't responsible for damage to an expensive instrument.
Posted on May 1, 2005 at 01:13 AM From Jenny Elving
I will never forget when I played Shostakovitch' 8 with conductor Mark Wigglesworth last summer.. He was just fantastic! Posted on May 7, 2005 at 11:08 PM
From Sergio Guadagno
The best conductor I've ever played with is absolutely Claudio Abbado. I had a wonderful experience with him in April 2004... I toured in Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and we spent 2 weeks with him playing all around Europe.Posted on March 17, 2006 at 07:16 PM What really impressed me was that he never acted like he were a superstar...(and he is!). I mean he's very humble, never gets angry during the rehearsal, is very relaxed and conveyes his peaceful feelings to the orchestra...and that's what the orchestra needs to give its best! From the technical point of view, what I can say is that...you just can't get your eyes away from his arms while you're playing, because when you look at him, you just know what kind of sound he wants from you. It's all there, right in his hands... So I had to play the whole 9th symphony by Mahler by heart....I'm joking!!! :-D Another great conductor I played with in GM Jugendorcheser is Franz Welser-Möst. With him I played Richard Strauss's Alpine Symphony... What to say?? He's such a calm and polite person...but at the same time so powerful and energetic that I could even hear his heavy breaths in a passage in fortissimo! Ivàn Fischer is also great!! I played Mahler 3rd and Bruckner 7th with him. He's not so great in concert, but his rehearsals are very very useful even though a little bit tiring, but that's ok, and anyway he really knows how to work! From Ted Kruzich
During my undergraduate work at the University of Illinois, the music department in the early 1950s had as guest conductor the renowned Ernest Ansermet. For his program he included the recently composed Concerto for Orchestra by Bela Bartok. Ansermet had met with Bartok in New York and had then chosen to put this 1944 work on his many programs during his extensive world tours. Posted on March 17, 2006 at 11:29 PM The section I remember most was in the final movement. Ansermet cautioned the strings not to practice the furious “frizka “ figurations. Bartok had told him that these were a furious scramble by inept village band fiddlers, and anyhow they would never be heard above the brass fanfare. He had a sense of studied fun with our college orchestra and often would look at us sorrowfully when we made obvious mistakes. The percussionists loved the attention which he gave them and his precise conducting skills really made us pay attention and do our very best. His cuing in of solos and ensembles was impeccable and the soloists were permitted to be rather free in their interpretations. In the short time that he rehearsed us, he actually discerned, in each soloist, the particular orchestra member’s strengths and weaknesses. You can find a good history of the Concerto for Orchestra at: http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics/bartok.html Ted Kruzich From Jessica Smith
Dr. Walter Temme (Phoenix Symphony Guild) conducted regionals last year, and was amazing. I think part of it was that he made rehearsals so much fun. This years conductor was also good, but not great. Posted on March 18, 2006 at 12:14 AM On a smaller scale, the band and orchestra directors at my school are wonderful. I'm sure thats the reason that my school has one of the top music programs in the area. From Ian Dobie
I played under Anthony Maiello for the Idaho all-state performance. He was quite an amazing conductor. He didnt conduct with a score and he had absolutly every single measure number and note memorized for every instrument in the orchestra. He was a little hard to follow but his memorization skills were amazing. It really made for an easy rehersal because the only people looking for measure numbers were the musicians.
Posted on March 18, 2006 at 03:37 AM From Dag Anders Eriksen
Andrew LittonPosted on June 28, 2006 at 11:00 PM Kurt Sanderling Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos Paavo Berglund Dmitri Kitayenko Nicholas Kraemer From Stephen Brivati
Greetings,Posted on June 29, 2006 at 12:01 AM I played under a very good musician the other day. Japanese guy called Mr Koide who conducts a small orchestra near New York, maybe New Jersey. I kept asking him the name of it but his pronunciation was a little soggy and I coudln`t catch it. It wa ssoemthing like Sapphire, but it could have been Sophi Lauren.... Anybody know what I am talking about? Cheers, Buri From Ray Randall
I hired and played under Skitch Henderson for a few years. Doing the 1812 one time he hauled in 9 starters canons from a yacht club and had West Point come in with a Howitzer. The Howitzer was inside, but pointing out the stage door. Posted on June 29, 2006 at 12:39 AM When the canons went off the auditorium filled up with smoke. Couldn't see the music. Couldn't breathe all that well either. The Howitzer's concussion almost knocked me off the chair. And a police officer started to draw his gun thinking there was a gunfight going on. A good time was had by all and the audience went wild loving it. Cough cough. Wheeze. From Kevin Huang
Doc Severinsen to an orchestra: Posted on June 29, 2006 at 12:49 AM "You know I can't conduct, I know I can't conduct, so let's just have some fun and pick up our paychecks". From Luis Pernalete
In Venezuela: Mehli Mehta, Rony Rogoff, Gustavo Dudamel, Sergio Prudencio, Jaime Martinez.Posted on July 1, 2006 at 01:24 PM In Brazil: David Machado. In Argentina: Mario Benzecry |
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