Conducting, I tried it once off the cuff, and quickly realized there were subtle aspects that I was missing. There is a lot more to it that I was able to grasp simply by watching conductors.
Through conducting, you express through your arms, through your face and even the body, what you want to tell, so the musicians of the orchestra understand.
Today, conducting is a question of ego: a lot of people believe they are actually playing the music.
Composers are not all good conductors.
It's different for people who have not seen a symphony conductor conduct from a chair. I feel very connected to the orchestra in a way that a conductor sometimes does not feel. I think it's more visceral.
And if you are strong enough, then you can grow as a conductor more and more.
There's nothing more frustrating than seeing a conductor say, 'Play softer,' as they're waving their hands in huge gestures.
When I started, I'd never had a conducting lesson in my life; I could just do it.
Basically speaking, conducting is quite a healthy profession.
I kind of alternate between conducting and playing and kind of juggling those things, but I don't use a baton.
Technique is communication: the two words are synonymous in conductors.
Good conductors know when to push and when to lay back. I've known so many great conductors that I'm still doing what I can to learn the craft of this role.
I admire Tom Ades: he's a brilliant conductor, and he gets just the right hard, brilliant sound from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for Russian music.
The act of conducting in itself, of waving my arms in the air and being in charge, I didn't miss. I missed the sensual pleasure of being in contact with music.
If you put four different people on a podium conducting the same downbeat, you get four different sounds. It's a little mysterious and fascinating. There's so much you can do with motions and body movements besides giving accurate beats.
It's been very exciting for me to start directing and conducting, exploring the symphonic repertoire, which I've always loved.
I have a big problem with conductors who gesture a lot.
For me to rehearse with a children's orchestra a Mahler symphony was to really work. We had three or four weeks of rehearsal with the orchestra, every day eight or nine hours, putting the First together. I had been conducting Tchaikovsky a lot and Beethoven, but Mahler was different.
I was different from most young conductors today.
The whole duty of a conductor is comprised in his ability to indicate the right tempo.
For me, the most enjoyable type of singing is opera. It allows you to move, to wear a costume... to do something with your body. When singing in concert, you have to stand up in front of the audience, next to the conductor, which is less natural.
Young conductors who are confident enough, they very often have success.
I conceived of an instrument that would create sound without using any mechanical energy, like the conductor of an orchestra. The orchestra plays mechanically, using mechanical energy; the conductor just moves his hands, and his movements have an effect on the music artistry.
Conducting is a natural way to participate in one's own music. Almost every 19th-century composer Mendelssohn, Mahler was conducting or playing his own music. Mozart did both.
I endeavor that all orchestras I conduct sound Central European.
