Give The Conductor A Doggie Bone

Thanks to readers for reminding that I have not posted a story for almost a week. My only excuse for not being more prolific during the last few days is that I have been very busy — board meetings, conference calls, some travel, a bit of motorcycle riding necessitated by occasional bursts of sunlight, and far too many re-boots of Windows. There are many Internet technology related things to write about, but this short story will be about conducting.

Music is an important part of life for most people. In addition to appreciating the great composers and musicians of the world, we should also be thankful for the great conductors. Without the maestros, orchestras would not be coordinated nor would they be as dynamic and expressive. Even in an acapella arrangement, one of the singers provides the lead for the other singers.

Hearing the perfectly balanced New York Philharmonic orchestra perform Franz Schubert’s Symphony in C Major (the "Great") last weekend got me thinking about the art of conducting. Lorin Maazel is an amazing conductor — he has had a bit of practice — more than 150 orchestras in more than 5,000 opera and concert performances. He conducted the four part symphony with no score! The final movement alone is fifteen minutes of exuberance. He has obviously conducted this significant work many times before. He showed no signs of being tired of it. The Sony QRIO humanoid robot could conduct it a million times and not get tired of it. (read more)