Maestros in (cyber) space

I’ve interviewed a lot of musicians over the past 25 years and by far the most magnetic – on the whole – have been the conductors. I suppose not making any noise on their own, they need to communicate powerfully to the 100-plus performers surrounding them. (Pianists generally come a close second, though they tend to be rather technique-focused.) One of the great musical explicators of our time is Michael Tilson Thomas, picking up the musical torch from that other great conductor-composer-educator, his erstwhile mentor Leonard Bernstein. In a quite masterly 20 minutes and 13 seconds of a TED lecture, MTT traces music from ancient times to the remix of today. It’s beautifully delivered with colossal eloquence, insight and accessibility. I do commend it to anyone interested in Western music, or to anyone who admires MTT’s intellectual heft. (ted.com/talks – and then follow the links.)

Another American maestro who heads a major orchestra is Alan Gilbert, MD of the New York Philharmonic. The sponsors of the NYPO, Crédit Suisse, have created a nice little App (nothing fancy) that allows you a peek into the conductor’s studio at Avery Fisher Hall and a look at the various books and scores that can be found on his piano and desk (sadly the two bottles of wine – possibly Burgundy – on the shelf aren’t identified, though it’s good to see a maestro with a little stash of vino in his room). I particularly like the framed score of Aaron Copland’s Connotations, inscribed to Bernstein and with the conductor’s annotations. (Search in the Apple App Store for Les Amis du Crédit Suisse – and if you’re into tennis you can also take Roger Federer’s tennis challenge in the same App!)

Alan Gilbert is a violinist, though I doubt he’d need to avail himself of Sightread4BowedStrings, a neat App from the same people who brought us Sightread4Piano. The App is aimed at players at all levels of competence, and when you get to the upper reaches of the violin repertoire, you’ll be treating yourself to the input of fiddler Tasmin Little. The various instruments (violin, viola, cello and double bass) are available in two groups, Grades 1‑5 and Grades 6‑8. It’s hard to explain how it works without sound or visuals, but if you’re a budding string player, check it out at the App Store; it’s surprisingly good at encouraging you to ‘keep going’ and it doesn’t rap you over the knuckles either! You can download a basic version for £1.49 and then move on to a more sophisticated App for about £22. 


James Jolly