Conducting for a New Era

Conducting for a New Era fills in a lacuna by offering guidance and practical advice for conducting twentieth-century and contemporary repertoire. The book begins with a look at the development of the art of conducting during the first half of the twentieth century. Distinctions are made between conductors who pursued populist careers and those who established the foundations for the new art form of the twenty-first century. The book goes on to discuss the technical resources required to negotiate the rhythmic complexity of so much music composed since 1950. Beginning with the rhythmic revolution created by Stravinsky in Le Sacre du Printemps (in which conducting unequal units within single bars was introduced), ten different categories of music are featured in an analysis of the technical and aesthetic characteristics involved.
The substance of interviews with distinguished soloists, orchestral musicians, conductors and composers is examined in assessing the changing role of the conductor in the twenty-first century. In a final section the technique and artistry of the progressive repertoire is discussed through detailed analysis of specific scores. Conducting for a New Era will be of interest not only to advanced students of conducting, in particular conducting of contemporary music, but also to the music enthusiast who might wish to know 'how it is done'. The book includes a DVD with conducting examples.

CONTENIDO:

List of music examples
List of figures
Foreword, by Sir Andrew Davis
Acknowledgements
Introduction

- Part one: Fundamental principies of technique
Fundamental principies of technique
The music stand
Stance
Eye-contact
Beating time units
Beating gestures
Irregular pulses
Independence of hands
Aleatoric scores
Extended instrumental techniques
Electronics with orchestra/ensemble
Orchestra/ensemble with tape or multi-channel computer-processed sound
Click-track involvement
Orchestra/ensemble with live electronics
Works involving voices

- Part two: Othervoices
Other voices
Technique
Metronome marks
Preparation of scores for premiéres and rehearsals
Vocal issues
Electronics
Practical issues
Academic aspects
Programming contemporary music

- Part three: Case studies
Pierre Boulez, Le Marteau sans maitre
Karlheinz Stockhausen, Zeitmasse
Olivier Messiaen, Couleurs de la cité céleste
Harrison Birtwistle, Silbury Air

- Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Contents of the DVD