Here's something you might be interested in.
Here we are with Mahler conducting in the 1880’s. Despite what was generally an anti-semitic era in Austria, Mahler’s conducting was universally praised by just about everyone except the players in the orchestras and the singers in the operas.
His style was demanding, autocratic, unrelenting. In some cases he single handedly lifted the level of performance an orchestra was capable of by holding them to a severe standard.
He did not get along with the players but the audience was transported to places some never thought possible. A youngish Vaughan Williams caught a concert with Mahler conducting Wagner’s Tristan. Vaughan Williams claimed that he staggered home and could not sleep for two days.
Mahler was the music director for what is now the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic. After relenting to the the constant carping of the orchestra members, he completed his conducting career in New York at both the Metropolitan Opera and the newly formed New York Philharmonic.
His New York career started well but faded quickly. Mahler’s second year in New York was marked by failing health and dogged by a rowdy Italian faction that was pushing Toscanini in the New World.
In spite of the challenges, Mahler stayed true to form. His performances were hailed as miraculous while the musicians resisted his iron-fisted approach.
While I don’t believe we have any film footage of Mahler conducting, there were several sketches drawn of his style.
It is the dynamic nature of his gestures while conducting that established Mahler as the first “modern conductor”--and yes, he had progeny, the most famous of which was Bruno Walter.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/aug/27/30372/
Here we are with Mahler conducting in the 1880’s. Despite what was generally an anti-semitic era in Austria, Mahler’s conducting was universally praised by just about everyone except the players in the orchestras and the singers in the operas.
His style was demanding, autocratic, unrelenting. In some cases he single handedly lifted the level of performance an orchestra was capable of by holding them to a severe standard.
He did not get along with the players but the audience was transported to places some never thought possible. A youngish Vaughan Williams caught a concert with Mahler conducting Wagner’s Tristan. Vaughan Williams claimed that he staggered home and could not sleep for two days.
Mahler was the music director for what is now the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic. After relenting to the the constant carping of the orchestra members, he completed his conducting career in New York at both the Metropolitan Opera and the newly formed New York Philharmonic.
His New York career started well but faded quickly. Mahler’s second year in New York was marked by failing health and dogged by a rowdy Italian faction that was pushing Toscanini in the New World.
In spite of the challenges, Mahler stayed true to form. His performances were hailed as miraculous while the musicians resisted his iron-fisted approach.
While I don’t believe we have any film footage of Mahler conducting, there were several sketches drawn of his style.
It is the dynamic nature of his gestures while conducting that established Mahler as the first “modern conductor”--and yes, he had progeny, the most famous of which was Bruno Walter.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/aug/27/30372/