Ron Chaplin asks: >I was wondering if any list members would care to comment on gymnastic >conductors they've seen. Thanks, as always. Yes indeed. As a conductor myself, I must say that the gymnasts are about as annoying as an out of tune oboe. Andrew Litton is notorious for the amount of hang time he gets in a concert, and I cannot see where is serves the music at all. I believe that the most effective conductors are the most efficient ones. Just recently, I saw Wolfgang Sawallisch conduct the Philidelphia Orchestra. It was absolutely amazing to observe the musical result of such economy of motion. It was breath-taking. Those conductors who hop and dance and carry on are doing so simply to attract attention to themselves. It's distracting and unclear to the musicians, and tiresome from an audience perspective. As a younger man, I did all that stuff too, until I watched a video tape of myself and realized how stupid I looked up there gesticulating like a wounded octopus. Other calm and effective conductors that come to mind are Lorin Maazel and Claus Peter Flor, both of whom achieve fabulous performances with clear concise and non-acrobatic podium antics. Kevin Sutton Artistic Director and Conductor The Helios Ensemble