Conducting Mozart – part 4 (finale)

The conducting lessons with Maestro Sidney Rothstein were over. He had taught me a lot in a short time and was about ready to push me out of the nest to raise the baton and conduct. The first rehearsal broke the ice and I realized it was actually possible for me to conduct not just an MP3 on the home audio system but real people — professional musicians. It is the people who make all the difference. The key question for me was whether the musicians would accept me as their temporary maestro. No doubt, the question on their minds was whether I had learned enough about conducting to not embarrass myself and the orchestra or would they have to stare at the floor for fear that my conducting would distract them from playing the music. (read more)