Stone Ramirez

Conducting Observation

The video starts at 0:00 and the conductor begins rehearsal at 0:45. At 12:11 in the video,
the conductor singles out an individual performer to correct their sound. This is necessary even if
it makes the performer uncomfortable in order to improve the orchestra as a whole. The rehearsal
of the piece runs until about 46:00 of the video until the official performance begins around 7:20.
The performance then ends around 1:04:00 of the video. The conductor is very particular on how
he wants the piece to sound, perhaps more so than the conductors of the previous videos.
Although he is very strict with the sound he is looking for, he still is not in any way disrespectful
to the musicians. Perhaps this conductor seems more strict because he is German.
Overall, this piece contains a wide range of dynamics which are able to demonstrate the
skill set of the conductor. The conductor of this orchestra is very dynamic in his movements. He
tends to use his entire body to express the emotions of the piece. The conductor jumps off the
ground when the piece is fortissimo, and delicately glides the musicians at the pianissimo
sections. During the performance of the piece, the musician he singled out in rehearsal has
clearly adjusted his playing style. This shows that even though a performer can play the notes
written on the page, it should not be assumed that they understand the intentions of the
composer. Watching these conducting rehearsals only supports the understanding that a
conductor is vital to a large ensemble. If there was no person to interpret the intentions of the
composer, or to hear the music how it was meant to be played rather than how it is written down,
then every performance would suffer. Around 6:18 of the video, the conductor mentions that the
composer of this piece made a mistake upon its first publishing. This again shows just how
important conductors are to the music world, and how much study goes into the preparation of a
piece. The movements of the conductor perfectly match the music- his movements are legato
when the music is legato, and staccato when the music needs to be staccato.