ON CONDUCTING

Jorma Panula

May this introduction be an intimidation-stimulus-encouragement. The

curious will of course continue. How will you be able with your being
and hands to express everything going on in your head. You are
impatient. You want to bring out all your knowledge and explain your
vision in any way possible. It is good to have a vision, not just stand
there beating away. That too the orchestra senses. Whether the
performance machinery is ensemble, choir, opera, symphony orchestra,
whatever, there are in the group. Many artists behaving in a different
way who also have their own opinion of the piece at hand. Let's take for
example a symphony where there is usually four movements. Have you
thought of their relationship to each other? How much silence between
the movements do you want and why? For example Brahms 1, where
transition to the Finale must be sensed exactly, or Sibelius 2 the
transition to Finale. Are you slowing down under the tempo of Finale?
Rather not, because Romantic tempos go al next tempo. Questions are
pouring forth while examining the score. It is worth exploring for a
lifetime (Zecchi). Because you always find something new if you are
open for changes, an innovative musician. Yet, we haven't even talked
about beating or rehearsal technique. That is already a new subject.
When you open the score, there is the name of the work. Opus number,
composer, key maybe, tempo? And the menu…instrumentation. Where
do you begin? You relate notation to tempo. For example, if there is no
tempo mark (older music) look at bass lines, they cannot go very fast.
Think carefully before starting, otherwise the pulse will not live. It is
most important. Everything is movement, rhythm. Everyone has their
own pulse. Find with it the pulse of the work, the composer. Does it
reject it… or?

In older music, markings were not so necessary. Dances were known,

and the suites are in their tempos. Menuet, allemande, gavotte,
sarabande etc., how many can dance them? it is worth taking some
courses. One has to only listen to tango or waltz to know that they are
played too fast. In the beginning of the waltz, women had long skirts,
not miniskirts (waltz musette). Men had heavy uniforms. These just as
hints for the tempo of these times.
Now we are only in the tempo marking. Easy but dangerous path is to
listen to the masters' recordings. Accelerated course to surface gliding.
Examine the score yourself. The notation gives the answer, the piece
will bring itself into focus. Character will also be found in the
instrumentation. Read the whole work in your chosen tempo. Now you
have a picture of the work in your head. Leave it there to stew in its own
juices. You can take pictures of other works. Take the same works out
after a week. You note that you remember many parts and at the same
time you can deepen the whole. Also those places you were wondering
about at prima vista have cleared. Now starts slower and deeper
exploration. Maybe tempo changes and modulations will clear, if not, do
it more times. If you can't hear it in your head, play it on your instrument
until you can hear the harmonies in your head. Explore the phrases,
bowings, balance. There you can find problems because quite few
composers were masterful in instrumentation. On the other hand, the
strength and colour of the instruments have changed over time. For
example, corno has doubled in power, French bassoon has changed to
Heckel. I have observed countless poor balances. Many places don't
function without changing them a little. Even Mozart has a couple of
spots. Why only every hundredth conductor corrects? Don't they hear or
dare? Beethoven sounds “dumpier” than Mozart. Brahms sounds too
often brass heavy. Sibelius doubles too much (many octave and fifth
pedals). In Berg it is already a question of colour…difficult... For
example the use of tuba and timpani in Sibelius is an eternal drag. One
can't leave them out but dynamics must be changed. Could it have been
Kajanus imposing his Germanness? More difficult case are the low notes
of oboe and bassoon. Not many players can play them ppp as marked.
Second oboists are afraid among other things of Dvorak cello concerto
second movement. It can be played by the way by english horn. The
same with Sibelius in many places for example in the Fifth Symphony
second movement long low notes. Tchaikovsky Fifth and Sixth are also
troublesome in this way. Try different kinds of bowing if possible. With
famous orchestras it is no longer possible but... (Berglund). Ask
experienced concert masters, don’t trust tradition. There you can find
only many bad habits. Funtek was a skilful violinist in his time, but his
fingerings in countless Bruckner passages didn’t go through anymore in
the sixties. In Prokofiev’s and Stravinsky’s scores are bowings and other
markings of which only part is in use anymore. Punta d’arco for example
in Sibelius has been erased in many spiccato places. One must find a
sound vision in the notation. It is more important than the marked way
of playing.
The tempos of the work are more important than one would believe in
the beginning of the studies. A young person is in a “Sturm und
Restaurant” period for many years and tempos go up and down (as it
should be), but they settle into their own little by little. They become
personal. There probably are not two people who think exactly the same
way. Above we mentioned already the transition to Sibelius 2 Finale.
More examples of misunderstanding: Brahms 2 first movement
Tranquillo towards end before that is rallentando, ok, but later again
rallentando, but sempre tranquillo - so more but rallentando may not go
under tempo. And then new tempo. Mamma mia! There are countless of
these. Explore for example Sibelius' use of al !!?? There is not always
where to. Then also he marks A Tempo and Tempo Primo. It looks like
it is meant to be the same but no. Valse triste for example. Read. There
are also many misprints, mainly missing dynamics. Not all conductors
even know the difference with A tempo, they pronounce it wrong, like
"ay" tempo. What then is B Tempo or C Tempo? I noticed this again and
as recently as May 21, 1997. Unknown markings are also piu and
sometimes meno. Sibelius' meno is in many places not observed, even
on recordings. Explore Sibelius 1, meno andante = faster....