Andrys Basten wrote:

>As Dave Runnion says, this isn't true.  It's said most conductors have
>absolute pitch.  With this and musical training, one can look at a score
>and hear all the parts at once, as far as the pitches are concerned and
>your interpretation of the markings so that you 'hear' the dynamic changes
>too.

I would even go one step further and say that in certain ways I almost
prefer to "listen" to a piece of music just by studying the score.  I can
repeat any bar I particularly like.  I can "hear" it in my tempo.  So often
I am disappointed in listening to recordings, either by production faults
or just by tempi and dynamics and musical interpretation.  When I sit and
gaze at a score, the horns are LOUD in the Mahler 1st second movement, just
the way I like'em.

Another thing just occurred to me, there is a famous story about Pierre
Fournier, the cellist, who had to be hospitalized for some time.  He had
a concert scheduled soon after his release from hospital, but couldn't
practice while he was there.  Just from sitting in his bed with the score
in his hand he was able to learn the piece, and played it with very little
real preparation with the instrument.  Excuse me if this story is
apocryphal, but it's an illustration of the point.

David Runnion
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http/www.serafinotrio.com