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"The Big Broadcast of 1937"-
Stokowski looked like Dracula with grey hair, and the Hand Contortions he used
would put Spock in Rehab…
Hilarious stuff!
Follow Ups:
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By denying scientific principles, one may maintain any paradox.
Galileo Galilei
Very few things do.
And see, now we have Nikisch added.
I think it started a long time ago.
Warmest
Tim Bailey
Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger
I mentioned Nikisch because he was probably one of the earliest major star conductors who, unlike Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Liszt, Mahler, and Richard Strauss (who admired him greatly), was not first and foremost a composer (Von Bulow was also a major conductor but apparently nowhere near as charismatic.) He came around shortly before the dawn of the recording era, after which technical conducting skill became far more important, and the composer-conductor faded away in favor of the conducting specialist (without disappearing entirely, of course).Nowadays we've reached the point where music students study to be conductors from the get go, rather than stepping out of an orchestral player's chair to move to the podium. My point was, one can trace the trend towards specialization as far back as Nikisch.
Edits: 07/10/14
and how long and many threaded all that was.
Conducting from a podium wasn't anticipated for many of the works that are now conducted.
Now musicians are made to co-ordinate, before they had to do it for themselves.
Warmest
Tim Bailey
Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger
And I think the onset of recording was a factor in the increasing importance of conductors.
Bach and Handel had it easy "conducting" from the harpsichord but that won't cut it for Mahler!
By denying scientific principles, one may maintain any paradox.
Galileo Galilei
Nevertheless, despite all the hand contortions and Hollywood stuff, Stokowski was a great conductor! ;-)
(BTW, I love Celibidache's claim that there were only three great conductors in the twentieth century: Furtwängler, Stokowski, and Celibidache himself!)
I once heard Stephen Hawking assert that the world has, since time began, known 2 great physicists -- Isaac Newton and himself.
I told my father that I reckoned that Einstein had never been paid a higher compliment.
Jeremy
Actually, I've seen it persuasively argued that Arthur Nikisch was the original source of the modern cult of the conductor. He was greatly admired by Stokowski, Toscanini and Reiner. Apparently a highly charismatic guy who inspired both players and audiences.
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