Oxford University Press, USA
The Compleat Conductor
The Compleat Conductor
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A world-renowned conductor and composer who has lead most of the major orchestras in North America and Europe, a talented musician who has played under the batons of such luminaries as Toscanini and Walter, and an esteemed arranger, scholar, author, and educator, Gunther Schuller is without
doubt a major figure in the music world. Now, in The Compleat Conductor, Schuller has penned a highly provocative critique of modern conducting, one that is certain to stir controversy. Indeed, in these pages he castigates many of this century's most venerated conductors for using the podium to
indulge their own interpretive idiosyncrasies rather than devote themselves to reproducing the composer's stated and often painstakingly detailed intentions.
Contrary to the average concert-goer's notion (all too often shared by the musicians as well) that conducting is an easily learned skill, Schuller argues here that conducting is the most demanding, musically all embracing, and complex task in the field of music performance. Conducting
demands profound musical sense, agonizing hours of study, and unbending integrity. Most important, a conductor's overriding concern must be to present a composer's work faithfully and accurately, scrupulously following the score including especially dynamics and tempo markings with utmost respect
and care. Alas, Schuller finds, rare is the conductor who faithfully adheres to a composer's wishes. To document this, Schuller painstakingly compares hundreds of performances and recordings with the original scores of eight major compositions: Beethoven's fifth and seventh symphonies, Schumann's
second (last movement only), Brahms's first and fourth, Tchaikovsky's sixth, Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel and Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe, Second Suite. Illustrating his points with numerous musical examples, Schuller reveals exactly where conductors have done well and where they have mangled the
composer's work. As he does so, he also illuminates the interpretive styles of many of our most celebrated conductors, offering pithy observations that range from blistering criticism of Leonard Bernstein (one of the world's most histrionic and exhibitionist conductors) to effusive praise of
Carlos Kleiber (who is so unique, so remarkable, so outstanding that one can only describe him as a phenomenon). Along the way, he debunks many of the music world's most enduring myths (such as the notion that most of Beethoven's metronome markings were wrong or unplayable, or that Schumann
was a poor orchestrator) and takes on the cultish clan of period instrument performers, observing that many of their claims are totally spurious and chimeric. In his epilogue, Schuller sets forth clear guidelines for conductors that he believes will help steer them away from self indulgence
towards the correct realization of great art.
Courageous, eloquent, and brilliantly insightful, The Compleat Conductor throws down the gauntlet to conductors worldwide. It is a controversial book that the music world will be debating for many years to come.
Author: Gunther Schuller
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 12/10/1998
Pages: 592
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.83lbs
Size: 9.32h x 6.20w x 1.55d
ISBN: 9780195126617
doubt a major figure in the music world. Now, in The Compleat Conductor, Schuller has penned a highly provocative critique of modern conducting, one that is certain to stir controversy. Indeed, in these pages he castigates many of this century's most venerated conductors for using the podium to
indulge their own interpretive idiosyncrasies rather than devote themselves to reproducing the composer's stated and often painstakingly detailed intentions.
Contrary to the average concert-goer's notion (all too often shared by the musicians as well) that conducting is an easily learned skill, Schuller argues here that conducting is the most demanding, musically all embracing, and complex task in the field of music performance. Conducting
demands profound musical sense, agonizing hours of study, and unbending integrity. Most important, a conductor's overriding concern must be to present a composer's work faithfully and accurately, scrupulously following the score including especially dynamics and tempo markings with utmost respect
and care. Alas, Schuller finds, rare is the conductor who faithfully adheres to a composer's wishes. To document this, Schuller painstakingly compares hundreds of performances and recordings with the original scores of eight major compositions: Beethoven's fifth and seventh symphonies, Schumann's
second (last movement only), Brahms's first and fourth, Tchaikovsky's sixth, Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel and Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe, Second Suite. Illustrating his points with numerous musical examples, Schuller reveals exactly where conductors have done well and where they have mangled the
composer's work. As he does so, he also illuminates the interpretive styles of many of our most celebrated conductors, offering pithy observations that range from blistering criticism of Leonard Bernstein (one of the world's most histrionic and exhibitionist conductors) to effusive praise of
Carlos Kleiber (who is so unique, so remarkable, so outstanding that one can only describe him as a phenomenon). Along the way, he debunks many of the music world's most enduring myths (such as the notion that most of Beethoven's metronome markings were wrong or unplayable, or that Schumann
was a poor orchestrator) and takes on the cultish clan of period instrument performers, observing that many of their claims are totally spurious and chimeric. In his epilogue, Schuller sets forth clear guidelines for conductors that he believes will help steer them away from self indulgence
towards the correct realization of great art.
Courageous, eloquent, and brilliantly insightful, The Compleat Conductor throws down the gauntlet to conductors worldwide. It is a controversial book that the music world will be debating for many years to come.
Author: Gunther Schuller
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 12/10/1998
Pages: 592
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.83lbs
Size: 9.32h x 6.20w x 1.55d
ISBN: 9780195126617
About the Author
Gunther Schuller is a composer, conductor, orchestral hornist, educator, author. He served as the Artistic Director at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood and as President of the New England Conservatory of Music. The author of the landmark studies Early Jazz and The Swing Era, Schuller was also a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation genius grant.
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