‘All manner of singular body movements…As a sforzando occured he tore his arms, previously crossed upon his breast, with great vehemence asunder. At the piano he crouched down lower and lower to show the degree of softness. If a crescendo entered he gradually rose again and at a forte jumped into the air.’ On Beethoven Conducting by Ludwig Spohr

‘The art of conducting consists in knowing when to stop conducting and just let the orchestra play.’ Herbert von Karajan

From Guido of Arrezo to Carlo Maria Giulini, Mozart to Mengelberg, Bach to Bernstein, and so many more, I shall attempt to examine the very nature of conducting, the technique, the personalities involved, the specialists, the pitfalls and the towering performances that continue to resonate to the present day.   Michael Lankester

1. The Origins

2. ‘All’s the World a Stage’

3. Sturm und Drang – Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven

4. Peacocks on the Podium

5. The Maestro

6. The Last Romantics – The First Modernists

7. The Winds of Change – A Question of Technique

8. A Personal Journey

Class will not meet October 5.