From Paul Burkett Igor Stravinsky, despite his derision for the Russian revolution, also had a low opinion of conductors as they have developed under capitalism. He felt they got in the way of accurate execution of composers' musical visions. Here are some of his comments from POETICS OF MUSIC (Vintage, 1956, pp. 131-132):
"In regard to interpretation, the last century left us in its ponderous heritage a curious and peculiar species of soloist without precedent in the distant past * a soloist called the orchestra leader. "It was romantic music that unduly inflated the personality of the KAPELLMEISTER, even to the point of conferring upon him * along with the prestige that he today enjoys on his podium, which in itself concentrates attention upon him * the discretionary power that he exerts over the music committed to his care. Perched on his sibylline tripod, he imposes his own movements, his own particular shadings upon the compositions he conducts, and he even reaches the point of talking with a naive impudence of his specialties, of HIS fifth, of HIS seventh, the way a chef boasts of a dish of his own concoction. Hearing him speak, one thinks of the billboards that recommend eating places to automobilists: "At so-and-so's restaurant, his wines, his special dishes." "There was never anything like it in the past, in times that nevertheless already knew as well as our time go-getting and tyrannical virtuosos, whether instrumentalists or prima donnas. But those times did not suffer yet from the competition and plethora of conductors, who almost to a man aspire to set up a dictatorship over music." -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
