Conducting
THE battle of the batons,' as one evening paper described it, presents an unusual facet of the perennial problem of musical free trade versus protectionism. Three foreign conductors have, in the last week, been appointed to permanent or semi-permanent posts in this country, and our native con- ductors are sore. The orchestras concerned say, very reasonably, that they cannot afford to make a young conductor's reputation; they must, for the sake of the box office, appoint a conductor whose reputation is already established. Yet how can a young conductor establish a reputation except by conducting an orchestra? Mr. Christie has complained that the Arts Council is doing nothing to train young conductors and suggests that they should learn their job under Sir Thomas Beecham—a rather far-fetched suggestion in the case of such an extreme individualist as Sir Thomas and one so frequently absent from this country. tish Symphony) and Boccherini, but too heavy-handed for Ravel's Mother Goose pieces. His gestures were too many—more than were strictly necessary, that is to say— and quite unusually `un-plastic' for an Italian, definitely unpleasing to watch. Signor Previtali is forty-seven, a son-in-law of Vittorio Gui and permanent conductor of the Roman Accademia di Santa Cecilia orchestra. What if his name had been Smith —would fewer people have bought tickets for the LSO concert? Probably; but I am quite clear in my own mind that there are at least six conductors of the second rank in England who could have directed that programme as well as Signor Previtali.
Everyone should have the chance to hear the really great conductors—Toscanini, Furtwiingler and the rest. But I cannot help wondering whether the importation of the second or third-rate conductor is really justified. There is, unfortunately, no doubt that a `great' conductor can cast his spell over an orchestra and induce them to play in a manner wholly superior to their every- day form. But when we leave the class of the .'great' and descend to the sound, knowledgeable, lively practitioner, is there really all that difference between man and man? And here two things should be said. First, that the interest in fine points of performance (as against the quality of the music itself) has reached a quite unhealthy
intensity; and secondly, that the role of the conductor has been greatly exaggerated.
There is plenty of eighteenth-century music-- the Boccherini symphony played under Previtali is a good example—that needs hardly more than overseeing by the con-
ductor; it virtually plays itself. Yet the elaboration of gesture and the pointing of
every detail gives the public the impression that the successful performance of such music, is due to the conductor alone. Great conductors cannot be formed by training; conductor.
Previous page
