19 May
2005
19 May
'05
7:27 a.m.
On Thu, May 19, 2005 at 12:01:02AM +0200, Jens M Andreasen wrote:
On Sat, 2005-05-14 at 13:45 +0200, Fons Adriaensen
wrote:
Yes, but the violins are not playing all the time, and anyway the
bow strokes are determined by musical phrasing and not by meter.
Such a performance without a conductor is possible only if the piece
has been rehearsed before with a conductor, and everybody has agreed
on interpretation, tempo changes, etc.
On Sat, May 14, 2005 at 12:48:34PM +0200, Jens M
Andreasen wrote:
Ah! But the up/down stroke of a violin player is very visible ... There is a rule of thumb regarding when you need
a conductor, which is
about when the the band exceeds 8 people. It is not the anarchy that
naturally evolves, but the distance between the furthermost band members
causing the problem.
It's rarely done these days, but in the 19th century it was quite normal
for a symphonic orchestra to play without a conductor. That's the origin
of the title 'concert master' for the first violin player. I guess that the First Violin Player is supposed to
give up some of
his/her artistic integrity in order to let their fellow musicians have a
common clue of time?
Don't suggest that to a concert master - they tend to be sensitive ;-)
--
FA