Recently I was listening to a Bruckner Symphony, and therefore needed
something to occupy my thoughts.  I started to wonder if conductors'
hairstyles affected their music-making.

Consider the evidence:

Bubble-perm Afros: Levine, Mengelberg, Rattle - distinctive interpreters
with a penchant for flexible tempi.

Baldies: Furtwangler, Mitropoulos, Solti - electric and superintense.

Combovers: Boulez, Haitink, Hogwood - cool and circumspect.

Coiffed: Bernstein, Karajan, Stokowski - self-regarding "Look at me!"
conductors.

All very compelling and plausible, I'm sure you'll agree. In future, I need
only one glance at a batonist's "barnet" to predict his interpretation.

And finally, were these guys separated at birth?

James Levine:
http://www.operaworld.com/giff_artist/levine.gif

Hair Bear from the Hair Bear Bunch:
http://www.yesterdayland.com/images/glossary/101.jpg

James Kearney
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