[James
DePreist conducts Oregon Symphony]
The New
York Times
Daniel J. Wakin
April 6, 2012
“ARMS carve the air. A hand closes as if to pull taffy. An
index finger shoots out. The torso leans in, leans back. And somehow,
music pours forth — precisely coordinated and emotionally
expressive — in response to this mysterious podium dance.
“Concertgoers,
who train their ears on the orchestra, inevitably fix their eyes on
the conductor. But even the most experienced listener may not be
aware of the subtle and deep connection between a conductor’s
symphony of movements and the music emanating from the players.
So in an attempt to
understand what is going on, we interviewed seven conductors as they
passed through New York in recent seasons with an eye to breaking
them down into body parts — like that poster in the butcher shop
with dotted lines to show the different cuts of meat — left hand,
right hand, face, eyes, lungs and, most elusive, brain.”
“The
nature of the downbeat — how abrupt, how delicate — tells the
orchestra what kind of sound character to produce. The baton can
smooth out choppy phrases by moving through the beat in a more
sweeping way. A more horizontal motion can create a more lyrical
quality, said James DePreist, the former director of orchestral and
conducting studies at the Juilliard School.
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