{"id":2601,"date":"2011-03-26T03:09:40","date_gmt":"2011-03-26T02:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/?p=2601"},"modified":"2016-07-12T17:20:46","modified_gmt":"2016-07-12T16:20:46","slug":"vftp-exclusive-the-real-top-20-of-conducting-part-three-11-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2011\/03\/26\/vftp-exclusive-the-real-top-20-of-conducting-part-three-11-15\/","title":{"rendered":"VFTP exclusive- The real Top 20 of Conducting. Part Three: 11-15"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Part three of our survey of the real 20 greatest conductors of all time is now ready. <a href=\"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2011\/03\/25\/vftp-exclusive-the-real-top-20-of-conducting-part-one-1-5\/\" target=\"_blank\">Part one is here<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2011\/03\/25\/vftp-exclusive-the-real-top-20-of-conducting-part-two-6-10\/\">part two is here<\/a>. We hope that you will appreciate the many careful minutes of preparation and consideration that went into this list, and the dozens of meticulously managed seconds spent crafting the commentaries that follow.<\/p>\n<p>Seriously- keep those comments coming!<\/p>\n<p><strong>11. <\/strong><strong>Thomas Beecham<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Beecham excelled at what people like Jochum, Wand and Asahina fall short at- elegance, elan and grace. In that sense, he resembles Bernstein in being able to turn corners, but far excels Lenny in attention to sound quality and precision of articulation. Not just a light-music god, though. His Schumann, especially tragic Schumann, is quite amazing<\/p>\n<p>PROS- Must have been a record producer\u2019s dream- able to get precise, elegant and refined playing in almost no time through combination of good hands and great preparation of his own library of parts. Fantastic Schumann and Haydn conductor. Funniest conductor ever.<\/p>\n<p>CONS- Now we\u2019re all expected to invest the family pharmaceutical fortune to start our own London orchestra.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sir Thomas Beecham: Interview and Rehearsal\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GKgG3nrzaqg?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>12. <\/strong><strong>Charles Munch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Munch was a phenomenon. He certainly divides people- my friend Michael Steinberg found him evil incarnate as an interpreter. Granted, Munch is about as daring, impetuous and interventionist a performer as you\u2019re going to find, but he gets away with it in my book because he had the most astonishing skill set ever and everything came from the heart. It may be over the top, but it is honestly\u00a0 and thoughtfully over the top.<\/p>\n<p>PROS- Possibly the greatest hands ever, certainly gives Kleiber, Bernstein and Karajan a serious run for their money on the technique front. The greatest interpreter of French orchestral repertoire I know- much of his Debussy, Berlioz, Ravel and Franck may never be bettered.<\/p>\n<p>CONS- Like Lenny, <strong><em>he is not to be imitated<\/em><\/strong>. Those freedoms and liberties belong to him, not you or I.\u00a0 Sometimes, he does push the envelope too far, but I can live with that.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Charles Munch and the Orchestre de Paris: &quot;In Rehearsal&quot; 1967 - Rare!\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/h7aGvWlEBhw?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>13. <\/strong><strong>Adrian Boult<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Quite possibly the most under-rated conductor ever. I\u2019ve never heard a bad recording by Boult. Unlike some British conductors, he excelled at all kinds of repertoire, including har-core German and even Russian repertoire, which he conducted like a native. Gave the first UK performance of Mahler 3 in the 30\u2019s, now available on CD, \u00a0and it is an AMAZING document.<\/p>\n<p>PROS- Great musical decision maker- his performances make sense, but they also have tremendous energy. Nothing is ever, ever boring, nothing ever feels self-indulgent, but neither does anything sound too cold or puritanical. His music-making is full of intensity, purpose, commitment and passion.<\/p>\n<p>CONS- If he had been a little more charismatic and demonstrative, he would have been the most popular conductor of all time. At\u00a0 the end of the day, reaching our audience is part of our job, and needs all our tools, not just our musicianship.<\/p>\n<p>(Actual conducting starts at 2:50- worth finding!)<\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FND1COgyV6w<\/p>\n<p><strong>14. <\/strong><strong>Eugene Ormandy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Critics hate Ormandy. It must be the first &#8220;fact&#8221; they teach at critic school- always work in an Ormandy slam into every article your write. Record collectors hate him, too. \u00a0I just don\u2019t get it. The film of him looks pretty impressive- classical and classy conducting technique, not at all showy. His Philadelphia Orchestra was the only real rival to Karajan\u2019s Berlin for sonic beauty in the 50s-70s, but was also a tighter and more versatile band.<\/p>\n<p>PROS- Incredible memory. Listen to something like the Shostakovich 1<sup>st<\/sup> Cello Concerto with him, Rostropovich and the Philly Orchestra. Everything is perfectly balanced, perfectly voiced, totally together. Listen to the blend and power of the woodwind, the cohesion of the strings. It\u2019s about as good as orchestra playing gets, and in a concerto- how many conductors on this list come up short as accompanists? Not Ormandy. Let\u2019s face it, there is no orchestra or conductor on earth that can currently make a sound to rival the playing on Ormandy\u2019s Shostakovich 10 or Sibelius performances. Before we slag him off, show me any band that sounds that coherent, lush, vibrant and powerful.<\/p>\n<p>CONS- Since he never gets a good review and seems to carry no street cred with anyone, I\u2019m going to spare him. He was, however, very, very short.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nOsdz7zMnJk<\/p>\n<p><strong>15. <\/strong><strong>Rafael Kubelik<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Critics love Kubelik. He\u2019s the anti Ormandy- all street cred. The record collector crowd love him, too. Few writers ever miss the chance to point out something he did better than the interpreter under discussion. \u00a0\u00a0His performances have what Ormandy\u2019s are said to lack- fire, primal energy and danger. They also often lack what Ormandy\u2019s had- polish and professionalism. His Dvorak symphony cycle with Karajan\u2019s Berlin Philharmonic is as good as it gets- some of the most exciting performances in music history. His Dvorak Overtures and Tone Poems set with his own Bavarian Radio Symphony is way less polished, and quite disappointing as a result. In that sense, he\u2019s like a Czech Bernstein crossed with Furtwangler. Tons of mojo, tons of storytelling, rather less refinement.<\/p>\n<p>PROS- Drama, energy, commitment, passion. His live Das Lied von der Erde with Janet Baker is a desert island disc, as is his Dvorak 7 with Berlin. A great communicator<\/p>\n<p>CONS- Poor orchestra trainer to judge by the technical standards of the BRSO during his tenure, and a rather strange, Furtwanglerian technique.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Smetana Ma Vlast Moldau Kubelik Czech 1990.wmv\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FfnGDZG8gSI?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0;float:none;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2011\/03\/26\/vftp-exclusive-the-real-top-20-of-conducting-part-three-11-15\/\" send=\"false\" layout=\"box_count\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"true\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Part three of our survey of the real 20 greatest conductors of all time is now ready. Part one is here, part two is here. We hope that you will appreciate the many careful minutes of preparation and consideration that went into this list, and the dozens of meticulously managed seconds spent crafting the commentaries [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1157],"tags":[622,621,623,624,620],"class_list":["post-2601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-opion-life-as-a-performing-musician","category-lists","tag-adrian-boult","tag-charles-munch","tag-eugene-ormandy","tag-rafael-kubelik","tag-thomas-beecham"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2601"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7576,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601\/revisions\/7576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}