On the Principles and Practice of Conducting

Erscheinungsjahr 2024
ISBN: 978-1-64825-096-5
Verlag: Boydell & Brewer Ltd.

Buch, Englisch, 146 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 230 mm, Gewicht: 240 g

A practical manual for building musical understanding and physical skills, intended for conductors at all stages of development.

This book is a practical manual for anyone who stands on a podium helping an ensemble make music. The four main chapters address the major obligations of the conductor: (1) bringing the musical tones to life in the most beautiful, most moving way possible; (2) freeing the mind to fully absorb all the tones; (3) freeing the body of unnecessary tension; and (4) effectively using the freed mind and body to influence the sounds. Each chapter begins with a summary of the underlying principles, presents real-life applications, and offers exercises for developing skills.
Video demonstrations of the exercises as well as downloadable scores and parts are available on a companion website. The parts, in multiple transpositions, allow for hands-on experience where standard instrumental complements are unavailable.

Markand Thakar, music director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, is an internationally renowned pedagogue of conducting. A protégé of the legendary Sergiu Celibidache and former assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic, Thakar is author of Looking for the "Harp" Quartet: An Investigation into Musical Beauty (University of Rochester Press, 2011) and Counterpoint: Fundamentals of Music Making (Yale University Press, 1990).

Autoren/Hrsg.

Thakar, Markand

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikinstrumente Instrumentenunterricht & Lernanleitungen
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikgattungen Sinfonische Musik & Ensembles

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface
Acknowledgments
Make Beautiful Music: Involving Singularity of Tones in Succession and of Tones Sounding Simultaneously
Free the Mind, Hear Everything: Connecting the Open Consciousness to All the Sounds, All the Time
Free the Body: Involving the Necessity of Freeing the Body from Unnecessary Muscle Tensions
Be the Music: Applying the Free Body in the Service of a Maximally Beautiful Performance
Addendum A. Starting, Stopping, and Fermatas: Achieving a Collective Sense of When to Begin and End the Sound
Addendum B. Odds and Ends: A Miscellany of Matters Musical, Physical, and Practical
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Thakar, Markand
MARKAND THAKAR is an American conductor and music director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.