Master conductor
Henrietta Bredin 10:21am
It was the final of Maestro on BBC TV last night and I have been glued to every episode. Despite being extremely wary to begin with at the thought of a bunch of amateurs plunging in to try their hand at something so complex as conducting, a skill that requires years of study to master, I became entirely fascinated by just how much the participants managed to learn and the different ways in which they approached the challenge. They all became more and more serious about it and more entranced by the music they were dealing with. Alex James was the most disarmingly direct with the orchestral players, asking them despairingly how he could make them go faster; Jane Asher applied herself to the task with implacable, intently studious dedication; Goldie disarmed everyone by seeming to be able to do the thing entirely instinctively with unmistakable, innate musicality. And the winner, resoundingly the right choice, was Sue Perkins, who, once she stopped gurning and mugging to camera to hide her nerves revealed herself to be both passionate and hugely accomplished.
The only major problem with the programmes was that they failed to show anywhere near enough of the process of learning and studying that the competitors went through. That was the interesting part, far more so than the point where they got all tussied up in unsuitable clothing and clambered on to the podium.
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salieri
September 10th, 2008 11:01am Report this comment"The process of learning and studying" how to do the job you pretend to be able to do is precisely what the BBC wants to avoid showing, lest it seem highbrow or 'elitist'. On BBC1 & 2 culture can only mean popular culture. As in the recent Young Musician of the Year furore, where hardly any actual music was allowed to intrude on the life-style trivia and inane discussion, all that matters is the image of the end-product.
In just the same way, the judges were each allowed a sound-bite but nothing at all about the technical rights and wrongs.
A programme about learning to BE a conductor would be fascinating. This wasn't.
Anthony
September 10th, 2008 11:39am Report this comment"As in the recent Young Musician of the Year furore, where hardly any actual music was allowed to intrude on the life-style trivia..."
Arrrgh! Don't get me going on this, I've only just been able to get over it and move on!
Alexandrovich
September 10th, 2008 12:09pm Report this commentMy money was on Mike Tyson so I was quite surprised when Ben Elton won.
Scott
September 10th, 2008 12:11pm Report this commentI had this discussion with the sound engineer for the Edinburgh International Festival Fireworks Concert last week, who pointed out that the rehearsal is where a conductor actually earns their money, crafting the orchestra sound, and therefore significantly more interesting technically. The final performance offers much less scope for the conductor to influence things.
SUSAN HILL
September 10th, 2008 12:30pm Report this commentThe Proms. z list celebs sitting on sofas chatting inanely. presenters wearing silly jumpers. and that wasn`t on the Gilbert and Sullivan night either.
The Maestro programme was another example of the cult of the amateur..anyone can do anything you see in a few easy lessons. Then they`re a conductor/literary critic/art critic.... fill in the dots where applicable.
I know a young man who has spent 3 years at music college learning to conduct. Has anyone told him he needn`t have bothered ?
Rush-is-Right
September 11th, 2008 6:07am Report this commentI thought this was going to be a piece about Vernon (Tod) Handley who died recently. Instead it's a puff for a crap piece of TV. Shame. Link
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