Conducting from the Viola Chair
Conducting from the Viola Chair RFT Music Stories
67
Conducting from the Viola Chair
When I lived in Santa Cruz, I had the honor of conducting some of the best musicians in the San Jose area; I was Associate Conductor of the Santa Cruz Chamber Orchestra. This was a group which had previously been contracted and directed, before I entered the scene, by a guy who was good at getting money but pretty lame as a conductor. He was a very interesting, intelligent man who played very good Dixieland trumpet, and who was possessed of many high-level aesthetic sensitivities; he was a genius at getting grant money, and I will be eternally grateful to him for providing me with the opportunity to lead such fine musicians in six or seven concerts paid for with an $18,000 grant he got as a tax write-off for some local rich folk. Unfortunately he was the second worst conductor in the world.
We fell in with each other when his wife played the flute in a performance of Beethoven's 1st Symphony by a community orchestra I put together right after I came to town. He was very impressed with the sound I was able to get out of some amateur players, and a few local professionals who liked working with me. He decided on an arrangement whereby I would contract the string players, using my Santa Cruz Symphony connections, and he would contract the winds. We then shared the podium for each concert, he conducting usually about two-thirds of the program, while I played viola, and I got to conduct two or three pieces, often including original compositions of mine and of a few other local composers.
From a political point of view, the orchestra was a great success: new orchestral music was presented in performances by excellent musicians, the best players in the area got to play together and make money together in the intimacy of a chamber music setting, I was blessed with the most potent professional conducting experience of my life, local soloists got to perform concertos backed by a good group, and Santa Cruz audiences got to hear some very excellent performances on some of the best stages in the area.
The problem was that, as a conductor, he totally sucked. It became abundantly apparent, to all the musicians, who was the driving force behind the orchestra—me. Although, as usual, many of the musicians didn't
When I lived in Santa Cruz, I had the honor of conducting some of the best musicians in the San Jose area; I was Associate Conductor of the Santa Cruz Chamber Orchestra. This was a group which had previously been contracted and directed, before I entered the scene, by a guy who was good at getting money but pretty lame as a conductor. He was a very interesting, intelligent man who played very good Dixieland trumpet, and who was possessed of many high-level aesthetic sensitivities; he was a genius at getting grant money, and I will be eternally grateful to him for providing me with the opportunity to lead such fine musicians in six or seven concerts paid for with an $18,000 grant he got as a tax write-off for some local rich folk. Unfortunately he was the second worst conductor in the world.
We fell in with each other when his wife played the flute in a performance of Beethoven's 1st Symphony by a community orchestra I put together right after I came to town. He was very impressed with the sound I was able to get out of some amateur players, and a few local professionals who liked working with me. He decided on an arrangement whereby I would contract the string players, using my Santa Cruz Symphony connections, and he would contract the winds. We then shared the podium for each concert, he conducting usually about two-thirds of the program, while I played viola, and I got to conduct two or three pieces, often including original compositions of mine and of a few other local composers.
From a political point of view, the orchestra was a great success: new orchestral music was presented in performances by excellent musicians, the best players in the area got to play together and make money together in the intimacy of a chamber music setting, I was blessed with the most potent professional conducting experience of my life, local soloists got to perform concertos backed by a good group, and Santa Cruz audiences got to hear some very excellent performances on some of the best stages in the area.
The problem was that, as a conductor, he totally sucked. It became abundantly apparent, to all the musicians, who was the driving force behind the orchestra—me. Although, as usual, many of the musicians didn't
Conducting from the Viola Chair RFT Music Stories
68
like me, they all respected my musicianship and my leadership, and basically
hated it when he was the conductor; he had the quite amazing ability to
make excellent musicians actually sound worse, by giving false or
contradictory signals, bringing no interpretation whatever to the music, and
using the rehearsals to practice his conducting moves, while the rest of us sat
around waiting for him to get it together. The worst thing about his
conducting was simply that he was unclear, so that any sort of unison
passage, where we really needed a strong leader, often came out garbled and
weak.
I came up with this very interesting solution. The string set up I preferred placed the violas on the outside, the celli in the center, such that my chair was on the extreme stage left edge of the orchestra. With a little clever maneuvering, I could put my seat so it was actually 6 inches or so BEHIND him, putting me outside his line of sight. Therefore, I could conduct the orchestra with my viola without him ever knowing. I arranged a little triangle of power between me and the second violin section leader to my right, and the concertmaster in front of me, again, behind him, which took care of leading the strings; of course, the winds, usually on risers, could see me very well from their elevated position, so when it came to important access, cues, or tempo changes, I was able to lead the group with my body movement, while they surreptitiously ignored him.
This is a good story because it shows how a good situation can be created out of a bad situation, by simply taking responsibility. Orchestra members often act like privates in the army, complaining and fussing about unacceptable conditions without ever doing anything about them. The fact is, there are many more bad conductors than good conductors, and if the musicians just accept bad leadership without attempting to compensate, they are just contributing to the problem, and have only themselves to blame for the mediocre outcome. The most famous example of this is the Philadelphia Orchestra, a group which, during the '50s and '60s was legendary for their fantastic string section. That orchestra made a number of tremendous recordings under the leadership of Eugene Ormandy, who was, unfortunately, almost as bad a conductor as him. It is obvious to the discerning ear, that it is the concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra who is actually leading the group. Ormandy's recordings with other
I came up with this very interesting solution. The string set up I preferred placed the violas on the outside, the celli in the center, such that my chair was on the extreme stage left edge of the orchestra. With a little clever maneuvering, I could put my seat so it was actually 6 inches or so BEHIND him, putting me outside his line of sight. Therefore, I could conduct the orchestra with my viola without him ever knowing. I arranged a little triangle of power between me and the second violin section leader to my right, and the concertmaster in front of me, again, behind him, which took care of leading the strings; of course, the winds, usually on risers, could see me very well from their elevated position, so when it came to important access, cues, or tempo changes, I was able to lead the group with my body movement, while they surreptitiously ignored him.
This is a good story because it shows how a good situation can be created out of a bad situation, by simply taking responsibility. Orchestra members often act like privates in the army, complaining and fussing about unacceptable conditions without ever doing anything about them. The fact is, there are many more bad conductors than good conductors, and if the musicians just accept bad leadership without attempting to compensate, they are just contributing to the problem, and have only themselves to blame for the mediocre outcome. The most famous example of this is the Philadelphia Orchestra, a group which, during the '50s and '60s was legendary for their fantastic string section. That orchestra made a number of tremendous recordings under the leadership of Eugene Ormandy, who was, unfortunately, almost as bad a conductor as him. It is obvious to the discerning ear, that it is the concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra who is actually leading the group. Ormandy's recordings with other
Conducting from the Viola Chair RFT Music Stories
69
orchestras are not nearly of the same quality as his recordings with
Philadelphia, and this is no accident.
Indeed, taking responsibility is the name of the game. I have many excellent students who have difficulty dealing with the small town, small minded musicianship of local public school music directors, after having worked with me. I sympathize with their situation, and appreciate their preference of me, but I do not approve of students giving up the opportunity to play music with other kids, just because they can see that their teacher is not as good as I am. I continually stress that music can always be a positive thing if the players draws on his/her inner resources, and does not accept the limitations imposed on him/her by circumstance. Music constantly draws the best out of ourselves, and we must never stop demanding the best of ourselves, even if no one else around us is doing so. If we are willing to make a good example, others will follow, and the worst conductor in the world cannot keep us from playing good music, and rediscovering, every time, our highest perceptible spiritual identity.
Indeed, taking responsibility is the name of the game. I have many excellent students who have difficulty dealing with the small town, small minded musicianship of local public school music directors, after having worked with me. I sympathize with their situation, and appreciate their preference of me, but I do not approve of students giving up the opportunity to play music with other kids, just because they can see that their teacher is not as good as I am. I continually stress that music can always be a positive thing if the players draws on his/her inner resources, and does not accept the limitations imposed on him/her by circumstance. Music constantly draws the best out of ourselves, and we must never stop demanding the best of ourselves, even if no one else around us is doing so. If we are willing to make a good example, others will follow, and the worst conductor in the world cannot keep us from playing good music, and rediscovering, every time, our highest perceptible spiritual identity.
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