V.com weekend vote: Do you prefer a conductor to use baton?
The baton has become an iconic symbol of the conductor - but is it necessary for a conductor to use one, to get his or her musical ideas across?
I thought about this last night, when I was watching British conductor Robin Ticciati direct the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto with violinist Lisa Batiashvili. (What a concert! Review on Monday...)
Ticciati did not use a baton (or a score for that matter), and he certainly seemed to get the point across. This was a "Casual Friday" concert, and during an after-concert talk from the stage, Ticciati spoke poetically about his choice, not to use a baton: "I think if you want to get close to the rhetoric, the gesture, the idea of a spoken language in music, you have to lose the white stick, and you have to invite and breathe and be as one body with the orchestra in a different way," Ticciati said. "But it takes the orchestra to sort of go, 'Okay, we know what you want here...'"
In other words, communication is a two-way street, and he felt that the LA Phil had met him halfway.
Of course, this is not the norm - most conductors use a baton. But certainly not all of them do - and I've seen some use a baton for one piece, then opt not to do so for another.
So my question for this vote is, what do you prefer? If you sit in an orchestra, do you prefer to see the stick, or do you feel conductors generally can communicate the tempo, cues, etc. without one? For those of you who conduct, do you use a baton, or not? And if not, what is the reason? Does the baton get in the way for you? Or do you find it a very effective way to communicate beat and tempo? Please participate in the vote, and then tell us more in the comments.
You might also like:
- On Conductors: A Good Beat, and You Can Play to It
- Tribute to Conductor Michael Morgan (1957-2021)
- Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen to Leave San Francisco Symphony in 2025
* * *
Enjoying Violinist.com? Click here to sign up for our free, bi-weekly email newsletter. And if you've already signed up, please invite your friends! Thank you.
Replies
A baton should be an extension of the conductor's arm, but some of them manage to have the two out of phase.
I wear glasses to read music and look over the top of them to see the conductor, but I'm myopic with astigmatism.
"Yes", although conductors needn't go so far as one we had a few months ago who used THREE batons.
The few conductors I have followed who did not use a baton had very expressive fingers. Between fingers, body and facial expressions there was a lot more information than expressed with a stick alone.
Using a baton is much better than using a toothpick, and I've seen both on YouTube. :-)
Our community orchestra conductor is also a singer and a choir director, and a violinist! (He was our CM before taking the baton when our previous director retired, and I moved from principal viola to CM). Anyway, one piece we played last semester was an adaptation of a choir piece by Eric Whitacre. Our director said that he'd like it to retain the choral feel, so he's going to experiment by conducting that one with his hands. And I have to say it was quite successful and a creative idea on his part.
My opinion is similar to Andrew’s. I prefer the baton because it’s easier to see in my peripheral vision, but if a conductor isn’t using one for whatever reason, I can adjust.
My preference for a baton increases the further back in the section I sit, for visibility reasons.
My opinion is similar to Andrew’s. I prefer the baton because it’s easier to see in my peripheral vision, but if a conductor isn’t using one for whatever reason, I can adjust.
My preference for a baton increases the further back in the section I sit, for visibility reasons.
Like many who've already chimed in, I prefer that the conductor use a baton to make it easier to see. I'm in a community orchestra, and when we got a new conductor in 2024, she did not initially use a baton. It was difficult to see her direction! When we convinced her to use a baton, things went much more smoothly for all sections. Our former conductor did not always use a baton and it wasn't a problem. His direction was very expressive, and his height and reach were great enough to be visible.
I did an informal poll of the 3 conductors in my family. My father used to routinely use a baton, but no longer does. Same for my brother. My husband said he always has a baton on the podium, but chooses when to use it. He pays particular attention to sight lines when in an orchestra pit as the baton can be very helpful in those situations.
I'm fine following a baton in orchestra. For small groups though, a baton is a bit of an affectation. I really dislike it for a capella choral groups, and for large choral works, I like to focus more on the conductor's facial expression, breathing, mute vocalization etc. assuming that she or he is really on top of the vocal score. That said, conductors are becoming something of a distant moving form as my eyes are no longer what they once were.
Just as a final note, the great Pierre Boulez never used a baton. People told him he'd give in or be pressured, but 'non!' Apart from Stokowski I can't think of any others.
Yes, but only because most conductors I’ve seen seem to communicate more clearly with a baton. If the conductor can communicate clearly without one, then I have no issue.
The baton is useful for tapping on the rostrum too, unless the conductor has the leader's col legno dowel easily to hand.
how do you hold a baton? I have little finger up on the end like a violin bow, too difficult to change....
I've only been in one orchestra: my current one. And my conductor tends to use a baton, which I find easier to follow than a hand I assume.
The OP mentions cues. I wish conductors would give a few more of these to string sections, at least in my experience. But I find the baton helpful anyway.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
Violinist.com is made possible by...
Dimitri Musafia, Master Maker of Violin and Viola Cases
Johnson String Instrument/Carriage House Violins
Subscribe
Laurie's Books
Discover the best of Violinist.com in these collections of editor Laurie Niles' exclusive interviews.
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1, with introduction by Hilary Hahn
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2, with introduction by Rachel Barton Pine
January 5, 2025 at 06:36 AM · I prefer a baton because it's easier to see in my peripheral vision, but it's only a slight preference. I've sung in choirs where batons are typically not used, and when I played low brass in school bands, neither of the band directors I had used batons. In my current orchestra, the director generally uses a baton, but usually dispenses with it for choral works, and I haven't had difficulty adjusting.