Quotes About Conducting

Conducting is a natural way to participate in one's own music. Almost every 19th-century composer Mendelssohn, Mahler was conducting or playing his own music. Mozart did both.

Conductors are performers.

After conducting Wagner, Beethoven's triple concerto is like taking an Alka Seltzer.

A music director cannot and should not be chosen on the basis of a first date. It is not so difficult to make a good impression with a single appearance, usually containing some of a conductor's party pieces, works they have performed successfully many times before.

This conducting thing happened. In 1983 I was sucked into this international career, which was a very scary experience.

Conductors don't suffer, they are part of the performance.

I was 16 when I got a scholarship to study classical composition at a conservatory. By that time I had already listened to Scottish folksong with my mother, sung in church choirs, and had sung solo with Benjamin Britten conducting.

Introduced and tabled for more comprehensive discussion at future meetings were such topics as the art of fund-raising, the art of the deal, the artistry of publicity, the art of social climbing, the art of fashion designing, the art of the costume, the art of catering, and the art of conducting without dissension and bringing to a close on time a meeting lasting two hours that was pleasant, uneventful, unsurprising, and unnecessary.

There is no relationship between the gestures and what an orchestra will do.

Warlords who fail in conducting war tend to fall from grace quickly.

Once at the White House I was asked to conduct the Drum and Bugle Corp. The man just handed me the baton and I finished the song. It was great. I got to keep the baton.

Conductors must give unmistakable and suggestive signals to the orchestra, not choreography to the audience.

Conducting" is when you draw "designs" in the nowhere-with a stick, or with your hands-which are interpreted as "instructional messages" by guys wearing bow ties who wish they were fishing.

Drummers are conductors - we set the pace for the music - so if you're not relaxed and feeling right, the whole thing goes out the window.

My music wouldn't sound the way it does if I hadn't had the experience of conducting.

The ability to conduct is a gift of God with which few have been endowed in full measure.

Our government declared that it is conducting some kind of great reforms. In reality, no real reforms were begun and no one at any point has declared a coherent programme.

Conducting, I tried it once off the cuff, and quickly realized there were subtle aspects that I was missing. There is a lot more to it that I was able to grasp simply by watching conductors.

At rehearsals, I began conducting the band, counting them in without thinking. I guess it came from watching salsa legends like my uncle and Tito Puente, who was very much the leader of his band on stage.

The act of conducting in itself, of waving my arms in the air and being in charge, I didn't miss. I missed the sensual pleasure of being in contact with music.

There's nothing more frustrating than seeing a conductor say, 'Play softer,' as they're waving their hands in huge gestures.

I've been a woman for a little over 50 years and have gotten over my initial astonishment. As for conducting an orchestra, that's a job where I don't think sex plays much part.

Sometimes I prefer when I can hear other people conduct my music so I can sit out and actually hear it. When you are in the middle of it, sometimes it's a little bit hard to hear and get the whole effect.

Writing is a little athletic for me. I get worked up a little bit when I do it. So I guess I'm a little bit like that composer conducting. There are a lot of things that go into what I do, but I think athletics really sort of shaped my ethic.