Any musical instrument needs a performer. Under the sensitive fingers of the master, the true essence of the work is revealed. And this is especially important when an instrument is understood as a whole orchestra.
It is difficult to imagine how subtle the ear, understanding of the piece, the lively perception a conductor should have. This is a master who catches every note on the fly, a subtle nuance, understanding flaws, tracking the most imperceptible dissonances and disruptions in the body called an orchestra. If a player is needed for a separate instrument, then a conductor is needed for an orchestra, since for a person the whole orchestra is the very instrument on which wonderful melodies can be played.
Conductors - where are they from
It is interesting to note that the art of conducting finally took shape only in the nineteenth century. However, already in the early bas-reliefs of the Assyrian and Egyptian civilizations there were images where one person with something like a rod controlled a group of people playing musical instruments. Something similar happened in Ancient Greece, where a special person controlled the performance of music with the help of hand gestures.
The closest relative of the conductor's baton is the violin bow, since it was to them that the accompanist or the first violin often set the pace.
It should be said that in the early stages of the development of orchestral performance, it was not as difficult as it is now. And the conductor was not always necessary. The art of the conductor, as well as the need for it, is partly justified by the further development and natural complication of the works.
19th century - contemporary conductors
The further complication of symphonic music, the increase in the number of instruments in the orchestra demanded that all this be directed by a special person - the conductor. He was holding in his hands a special stick in the form of a tube made of leather, or simply notes rolled into a tube. The familiar wooden stick appeared only at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The first to use it was the Viennese conductor Ignaz von Mosel.
Interestingly, initially, for the sake of decency, the conductor ran the orchestra, facing the audience.
In the practice of performers, there was a tradition that composers themselves often performed their works. They toured with their own orchestra or played music at their permanent location. In this case, the composer acted as a conductor.
The Conductor's Significance
The average orchestra consists of two or three dozen performers, and if you take more, you can operate with a figure of about a hundred. Despite the fact that everyone has their own score, a person may have their own opinion on how to play: soft, louder, faster, slower. As you know, how many people - so many opinions. Imagine a crowd of people, each with their own understanding of the work. The end product of such disorganization will be at least cacophony.
This is where a leader is required. The one who will tell you where to play a little quieter, where to make an expressive accent, how to pause correctly. The sophisticated science of running an orchestra allows you to give precise instructions to both individual musicians and entire groups. Only in this way does a work of genius acquire completeness, wholeness and live for centuries.
