From Blog Archive

Watching Dudamel for the first time
Never seen him before.  Whoa, he’s so flow-ey my cousins in LA see him all the time. Its like a religious pilgrimage for them.  Shameful I haven’t seen him live, yet.  (Watching on PBS) I think it’s the arm movements.  And of course, the hair.  Something about the tux and sideburn combo.   And the silences, as well.

The Silences
The Silences.  Maybe its a good conductor thing. I remember how impressed I was when I saw my DC buddy, George Steele conduct the early music chorus my friends Hai Ting and Wesley sang in.  George would just hold those silences in his palm.  A little beyond the place one would expect.  It was okay, though cause we (those of us watching) were right there with him.

From Blog Archive

The Motion
I think what Dudamel is more about motion than silences.  Contant motion.  This thing he does with his eyes before starting another section of the orchestra also grabs me.  Its like he raises his eyes toward the section of the orchestra about to play, as though to give permission.  And then the music just tidal waves forth.  And you realize prior to that it was just held there, anticipating.  And there another thing about Dudamel.  He gets the softnesses also.  And the light part are like these tiny mountain river streams.  It’s all so utterly in motion the entire time; doesn’t stop until the end.

The Audience
Was sharing these thoughts with Wesley, who now directs opera, while writing them and this is what he pointed out to me:  “Being a good conductor is partly about your personality–it’s all about your ability to have and project musical ideas to other people, so manner and all kinds of communication are key.”