Posted by Jay Bertolet on July 07, 2002 at 15:20:58:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Rehearsal Horror Stories posted by Oh, I see.... on July 07, 2002 at 11:59:06:
Oh, I don't know. I think you're being too hard on Joe. At least Joe has the guts to sign his own name when he's throwing rocks. You know what I mean Art?
Besides, are you suggesting that you've never worked for any conductor who displayed flashes of irrationality, inconsistency, or just plain spitefulness? If so, I'd say you're pretty naive. There are plenty of pretenders out there that wave a stick (my observation to date) and they can work anywhere, including in the touring shows from Broadway.
As an ensemble player, it isn't my responsibility to make up the conductor's mind (if he even has one) about how a given passage is supposed to be played. My job is to play that piece exactly like the conductor wants. If the conductor gives no clear or consistent guidance, what's next? Mind reading? Even worse is when that direction (funny, how they sometimes call these guys "directors") is lacking but the criticism isn't. I've been in that place too and it isn't comfortable. What do you do? The conductor doesn't know what he wants, doesn't have any qualms about criticizing the way you're currently doing it, and changes his views rendition to rendition. What do you do? What can you do?
Don't you assume that Joe did a "bad job" just because there was criticism from the podium. Without hearing what actually went on, neither of us can make that determination. In the absense of clear direction, a musician uses all his accumulated knowledge to make a decision that he thinks is appropriate. If the conductor doesn't like those decisions, who is to blame? Somebody has to step in and make those determinations and if the conductor is incapable of doing so, the musician must pick up the slack. It is a bad craftsman indeed that blames the functional tools for inadequate results.
My opinion for what it's worth...