federico fellini's 'prove d'orchestra' is an interesting movie, in
this regard
massimo
On 15/set/06, at 23:20, Jim Devine wrote:
The first violinist was the ur-conductor, so the conductor's role
wasn't totally new.
But I don't see why the job of conductor couldn't be rotated among
different members of the orchestra.
On 9/15/06, Michael Perelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Let me know if I am off base about this.
The need for coordination in a complex economy makes calls for a
cooperative
organization of production seem hopelessly utopian. A common
example is a production
of symphonic music where a conductor prevents the musicians from
creating a cacophony
of sounds. Even Karl Marx suggested the necessity of a conductor:
In all labour where many individuals cooperate, the
interconnection and unity of the
process is necessarily represented in a governing will, and in
functions that concern
not the detailed work but rather the workplace and its activity as
a whole, as with
the conductor of an orchestra. [Marx 1981, p. 507]
Surprisingly, conductors were a fairly new innovation at the time
Marx was writing.
Previously, a conductor wielding a baton did not lead the
orchestra. Instead,
musicians themselves, usually the first violinist, took on that
responsibility while
they were performing. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven all conducted their
own works -- often
from the keyboard.
According to Urs Frauchiger, previously director of Bern's music
conservatory, the
composer Carl Maria von Weber was the first to serve as a
conductor standing in from
of the musicians in a performance at Dresden in 1817. Later,
Ludwig Spohr conducted a
performance and Felix Mendelssohn soon followed. At the time,
another famous
composer, Robert Schumann, protested that the conductor's baton
contradicted
republican principles.
Within a short time, republican principles were soon forgotten and
the conductor
became a central figure in symphonic productions (Frauchiger 1982,
pp. 69 ff). The
development of Romanticism in the late 19th century made music
more complex,
reinforcing the perceived need for a conductor.
Leon Fleisher, a renowned pianist and conductor, advocates a
return to the earlier
tradition. .The Economist. reported on Fliesher's experience
working with the Orpheus
Chamber Orchestra during a rehearsal of Beethoven's "Emperor"
Concerto. At the time,
Fleisher exclaimed: "This part is always screwed up with a
conductor, but we've
played it perfectly twice. This is proof that conductors should
just sit down" (Anon.
2006).
The article cites Eric Bartlett, a cellist with both Orpheus and
the New York
Philharmonic Orchestra, who described the lower level of
individual intensity in the
latter organization: "If even a great conductor is empowered to
make all the
important decisions musicians start to play in a more passive way.
Orpheus has
removed a barrier between the audience and the music, the
conductor himself." The
article concludes: "So why aren't there more conductor-less
orchestras? Star
conductors sell more tickets than co-operatives."
So perhaps, the power of the conductor is just a case of markets
triumphing over art.
It certainly would not be the first instance of such an outcome. I
don't pretend to
be an expert on music, but Fleischer's experience with the Orpheus
Orchestra suggests
that forms of organization that we take for granted may not be the
best way of
organizing society.
Anon. 2006. "Headless." The Economist (3 August).
Frauchiger, Urs. 1982. Was zum Teufel ist mit der Musik los (Bern:
Zyglogge).
My old friend, Aldo Matteucci, supplied me with the information
about Frauchiger's
book.
--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929
Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
michaelperelman.wordpress.com
--
Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own
way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
