Arturo Llamas Orenday wrote:

>Jacek Niecko wrote:
>
>> But one thing about Muti strikes me as somewhat odd--he seems to be
>> conducting as if he were a machine--no smile, no lighter-hearted gesture
>> of any kind ever.
>>
>> The only other conductor I remember seeing on tape that behaved like
>> that is Richard Strauss.
>
>Surely you must remember also Furtwangler's style of conducting: Dry,
>no gesture, and according to some critics absolutely out of time.

Fritz Reiner was no "ham" either, he just stood there looking like
something smelled bad, from what I've seen, but what music he elicited!
Furtwangler's style was described on one documentary as "puppet on a
string".  Quite apt, I thought.  But again, the music!

I often think that the emotional actions of conductors are more for
their own sake, or the audience's, than for the orchestra's.  The emotion
will come out of the interpretation and rehearsals, not the gestures,
it seems.  I must confess, however, to being partial to conductors who
seem to be feeling the music very deeply, rather than standing there
like machines.  But neither seems to guarantee good music.

Miguel Muelle
Www.jacquelinedupre.net