Conductors and Rehearsal Time

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

....... and what's the story about Elgar, Menuhin and the violin concerto ? or is that apocryphal ?

Depends whom you believe - Menuhin gives the "I'm off to the races" story, the piano accompanist (I've forgotten his name - but quite well-known) says there was a thorough run-through of the piece.

Of course - there might have been two separate incidents: the thorough run-through and another play-through scheduled (with a different pianist) that Elgar decided wasn't necessary. I don't see the need for Menuhin to invent the story. (But if there was a complete play-through, I wish he'd passed on details of what suggestions Elgar made about playing the piece. Far more interesting and useful than the "far more important things to do" bluff Englishman image.)

[salymap]

At 18 I worked in a hire library and if I was well I could tell many stories of keeping sets of parts sacred for Sargent,Beecham,etc.
I always found rehearsals as interesting as the concerts.

[aeolium]

saly, was it true that Beecham also did a lot of work on marking score parts? Some of the rehearsal extracts that have come down on disc sound rather perfunctory but perhaps it was the case that much of the preparation was done in advance.

[salymap]

saly, was it true that Beecham also did a lot of work on marking score parts? Some of the rehearsal extracts that have come down on disc sound rather perfunctory but perhaps it was the case that much of the preparation was done in advance.

Yes, George Brownfoot, RPO librarian, would give us partly marked up set of parts for us to completel
Also words to be added in vocal scores when Tommy was keen on old operas.

[salymap]

..... just trying to understand this. So a conductor as well as having his own full score of a work would also have all his own personal orchestral parts ready marked up ? I can see the sense of this, but just trying to understand the practicality of having full personal sets of parts for possibly hundreds of works - presumably not used by anyone else. Or is there a person in a library somewhere busily erasing other conductors' markings ? A full score and complete set of parts for a big orchestral work must cost a fortune (to own personally).

At Goodwin & Tabb library we had an electric eraser to clean up parts and put new corners on scores

[Pabmusic]

At Goodwin & Tabb library we had an electric eraser to clean up parts and put new corners on scores

I have an electric razor, but what is an electric eraser? - what happens? (I have spent many hours rubbing out bowings, only to find that someone has written in biro!)

[salymap]

I have an electric razor, but what is an electric eraser? - what happens? (I have spent many hours rubbing out bowings, only to find that someone has written in biro!)

It nearly electrocuted onr or two of us pab.

Keep away.[/I]

[Cockney Sparrow]

Heard Mackerras interviewed and saying he spent his iron curtain currency earnings buying orchestral parts from E German, etc, publishers, and taking them to engagements with his markings - saying it saved a lot of time in rehearsals........

[mathias broucek]

There's a Celi story about wanting loads of rehearsal with the LSO

The response was, "but you did this in Stuttgart with only xxx rehearsals".

Celi: "Yes, but you're a better orchestra....."

There's always a balancing act between working hard to get the best possible results and boring the musicians ("Key Klemps, you talk too much") Erich Kleiber put this well: "There are two enemies to good performance: one is routine and the other is improvisation