On Monday, June 27, 1994 at 11:50:05 PM UTC-4, Adour Vahe Kabakian wrote:

In article <1994Jun26...@eagle.wesleyan.edu>,
<eh...@eagle.wesleyan.edu> wrote:

Well, frankly, I don't even know how he got the BPO post. He is a horrible >conductor in front of a great orchestra that plays despite of him. Have
you seen his AWFUL videos? He seems to be totally somewhere else as the >orchestra plays beautifully on.

Eric Hung

Almost all of the conductor's job is done before the performance,
during rehearsal. After sufficient practice, world class orchestras
can render a decent performance of most pieces without assistance from
a conductor. During the performance, the conductor's job is to make
sure things are proceeding as planed. This includes assisting the
orchestra during complicated passages, which is best done with
precise, clear movements. Those conductors who seem like they are
playing a Greeks tragedy, widely waving the baton and shaking their
heads are much less useful to the orchestra; they are usually just
putting on a show of their own. One may not like HvK for many
reasons, but saying he is a terrible conductor because he is not
squirming like a lunatic on stage is simply absurd.
As a side note, I recently heard Olli Mustonen play Chopin's
First Concerto with the SF symphony. While most performers do a lot
of both planned and involuntary gesturing during a performance,
Mustonen was in a league of his own. He was often leaning sideways
into a horizontal position, pretending to be overwhelmed by his
emotions. He was wiping off his sweat in an exaggerated theatrical
sweep, then disposing of the droplets in "oh such a romantic" way,
etc. It was basically very lousy and unconvincing acting. Maybe he
thinks it boosts record sales, and perhaps many people find that it
enhances the performance on stage. But I found his poorly performed
and exaggerated mannerism very distracting, downright irritating and
almost insulting. Does anyone else get really ticked off by excessive gesturing and poor acting approaching buffoonery that is exhibited by
some performers? Or am I just irritable today? :-)
-adour

I had season tickets for the SFSO from 1973 until 1978. Ozawa swooped and danced like a virtuoso, but there were awful sounds and mistimed entries from parts of the orchestra. One guest conductor prodiced a great sound with no noticeable bloopers from
the orchestra. He stood firmly on his feet, very erect, with a clear beat and hand movements. At the climax of a movement he permitted himself to lift his heels from the floor. I never heard the orchestra play better. His name was Hans Vonk.
Richard

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