Conducting Quotes

“The orchestra is my instrument.”

“It's no good having a great stick technique if you've got nothing to say.”

“A conductor must have the score in his head, not his head in the score.”

“The conductor must be a despot, but a benevolent one.”

“The score is a roadmap, but the conductor must choose the path.”

“To conduct is to hold the tempo of life in your hands.”

“The conductor's first job is to get the orchestra to play what is written. His second job is to get them to play what is not written.”

“A conductor should be a musician first, and then a conductor.”

“Any good conductor knows what he's doing. Otherwise, he is not a good conductor.”

“The role of the conductor is to make it possible for the orchestra to sound like themselves.”

“For me, conducting is a way of being in the music, of being part of the music.”

“My job is to be the advocate for the composer.”

“To be a conductor is to be a servant of the music.”

“Conducting is the art of suggestion, not of domination.”

“I don't think that there's that much difference between a conductor and a surgeon. It's very important to be clear about what you want to do.”

“Conducting is a matter of conviction.”

“There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what happens in between.”

“I'm not interested in having an orchestra sound like itself. I want it to sound like the composer.”

“Technique is communication: the two words are synonymous in conductors.”

“Conducting is about communication. You're communicating with the orchestra, and through them, to the audience.”