Imaginary conducting debut

[BBMmk2]

CONCERT I

Wagner Seigfreid Idyll; Mahler: Symphony No.5

CONCERET II

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS; Serenade to Music(orch version); Bax: Spring Fire; Bliss PC

[Alison]

Wow, we have the makings of a wonderful series here.

In particular I must say that virtually all performances of both the Mastersingers Overture
and the Introduction and Allegro seem but a pale shadow of what those works potentially
have to offer.

I am sure you guys can deliver those knock out performances of my dreams !

I'd be fascinated by the broad characteristics of Petrushka's Choral Symphony:
phrased with love, I imagine, moderate of tempo and no shortage of vibrato.

Ah, and the refreshing breeziness of BSP's Poulenc and Ravel programme !

I'm first in the queue for Gradus too.

[Petrushka]

I'm particularly taken with subcontrabass's Concert No 1 programme and Alison's Concert No 2. I'd pay good money to hear either.

A good programme has variety and contrast, perhaps pairing a modern work with the very familiar or perhaps including an unexpected pairing that the audience who've come to hear the second half can experience something they may not have even heard before. Rattle in his CBSO days was adept at doing this sort of thing. For instance, I recall a Schubert 9 preceded by Kurt Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagony and Bruckner 7 preceded by Tippett 4. A second half using massive forces can benefit from having a more intimate first half as in Alison's concert 2 and my own concert 2.

I've never even heard of Bax's Russian Suite so will investigate that one!

[Chris Newman]

CN, would you like me to be the imaginary soloist in the "Emperor"?

You're on, EA

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

[Vile Consort]

Concert 1

Symphony in C - Bizet
From Me Flows What You Call Time - Takemitzu
Symphony No 10 - Shostakovich

Concert 2

Overture Leonore No 3 - Beethoven
Variations on a Hungarian Folksong "The Peacock" - Kodaly
Symphony No 4 - Nielsen

[Eudaimonia]

I don't think I'd go the "safe" route with familiar pieces; you'd probably get better press if you found an obscure, specialist anniversary and hosted some sort of "Significant Weekend Retrospective." You know, with companion lectures and events at a local university in conjunction with musicologists and scholarly groups, etc. The bigger the better!

But then, the anniversary I'd pick depends entirely on timing: how far in advance do I have to plan this? The kind of events I'd slate for 2014 are poles apart from the constraints I'd face as a current season fill-in.

I'd also need to know if I could get a top soloist specializing in the repertoire to work with me-- oh, probably not. (After all, if they weren't tight with the budget, would they really have offered me the spot in the first place?) But with the reputation of a major orchestra behind me, it wouldn't hurt to have someone shop my ideas to different artists' management agencies to see if anyone is interested. "You don't ask, you don't get," as the saying goes. I'd make sure I was working closely with my patron; who knows what kind of programming possibilities might open up by being flexible and cooperative.

Another consideration: how many rehearsals will we have? The less familiar the repertoire, the more crucial this becomes... If they're going to be tight with the rehearsal time, choosing less demanding pieces might be a worthwhile trade-off.

Ew. I just re-read your question and thought of something truly unsavoury:

Let's say you've been conducting amateur or low class orchestras all your life when a chief executive of a top London band 'discovers' you at a local event. He/she offers you two dates in the orchestra's main season. As you've wasted quite a few years you are anxious to make a big impression.

Well, before I start celebrating and planning concerts, the VERY first thing to determine would be whether this is a genuine offer based on merit, or merely a flimsy pretext to try to sleep with me. If the answer is both, how attractive is he or she? What are they into? Would it just be them, or would I be expected to do their friends too?

Sorry, just keeping it real.

[Sydney Grew]

[Cellini]

Oh dear. A conducting debut means that I would have to have given up being a real musician!!

No thanks, I don't want to lose my creativity and just wave my arms about and make myself look silly and very unpopular too!!

Better become a toilet cleaner, at least that job is usefull to society.

[maestro267]

Programme 1
Strauss: Tod und Verklarung
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor (Resurrection)

Programme 2
Bax: Tintagel
Elgar: Sea Pictures
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 1 (A Sea Symphony)

[DoctorT]

Beethoven: Egmont
Glazunov: Saxophone concerto (conducted from the saxophone )
Elgar: Symphony no 1

Second concert would depend on the response to my sax playing!

[Martin]

I

Janacek From the House of the Dead, Orchestral Suite
Verdi String Quartet, arr String Orchestra by B. Tovey

Stravinsky The Rite of Spring


II

Adams A Short Ride in a Fast Machine
Strauss Metamorphosen

Shostakovich Symphony No. 5

[Cellini]

You can't be serious!!!!!!!

Everyone is taking this thread so seriously!! Think about it, you are all in cloud cuckoo land.

Anyway, MY programme would consist of one work, Stockhausen's 73rd Symphony. It last for 5 hours and is performed in 6 helicopters at 8,000 feet ...

[amateur51]

Sorry, just keeping it real.

I think the clue lies in the word 'Imaginary', Euda

[Cellini]

Ew. I just re-read your question and thought of something truly unsavoury:

Well, before I start celebrating and planning concerts, the VERY first thing to determine would be whether this is a genuine offer based on merit, or merely a flimsy pretext to try to sleep with me. If the answer is both, how attractive is he or she? What are they into? Would it just be them, or would I be expected to do their friends too?

Sorry, just keeping it real.

I wouldn't have a problem here because I never sleep with people. I always stay awake to get the most out of the session ...