The Virtuoso Conductors; The Central European Tradition from Wagner to Karajan

by Raymond Holden

• ISBN13: 9780300093261
• ISBN10: 0300093268
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2005-10-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

While Weber, Spohr, Mendelssohn, and Berlioz were all conductors of repute, it was the thoughts and practices of Richard Wagner that laid the foundation for the modern virtuoso conductor. Though he was more celebrated for his dramatic operas, Wagner's experience as a conductor brought a set of practices and principles that affected the interpretations of future generations, and conductors continue to pursue his example today. This book examines Wagner's conducting career and the principles of his musical performance. It then tracks the central European style through some of the greatest figures of modern musicNikisch, Mahler, Richard Strauss, Weingartner, Furtwangler, Toscanini, Walter, Klemperer, Beecham, Boult, and others through to von Karajan, Bernstein, and George Szell. In each case Holden, himself a professional classical conductor, traces the rise from apprenticeship to international acclaim, comparing rehearsal technique, the baton, eye contact, repertoire, tempo, recordings, vision, style, and performance practice. The result is a deeply informative, intriguing, and highly readable portrait of the finest exponents of the conducting tradition.

Author Biography

RAYMOND HOLDEN was formerly an orchestral, choral, and operatic conductor, and is tutor in postgraduate conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, London.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
List of Illustrations	viii
Introduction: Richard Wagner, Zukunftsdirigent	1	(10)
1 'The master-conductor Hans von Billow'	11	(26)
2 The Magician of the Podium: Arthur Nikisch	37	(24)
3 The Distiller's Son: Gustav Mahler	61	(36)
4 'An unrecognised genius'? Felix Weingartner	97	(22)
5 Richard III: Richard Strauss	119	(26)
6 'That greasy rascal Bruno Walter'	145	(26)
7 A Troubled Mind: Otto Klemperer	171	(32)
8 The Transcendental Furtwangler	203	(24)
9 'Das Wunder Karajan'	227	(32)
Conclusion	259	(5)
Notes	264	(81)
Bibliography	345	(9)
Index	354