This cartoon captured my attention this morning. I studied the careers and conducting styles of the late Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan intently. Their approaches to conducting and interacting with musicians were as different as night and day.
Leonard Bernstein was a force of nature. I have addressed his talent as a composer in a previous post. His conducting was electric! He totally immersed himself in the music and communicated with orchestras with much passion. He valued what musicians offered, and their mutual respect resulted in collaborative concerts.
Herbert von Karajan produced many wonderful concerts. However, he was rigid and very much in control of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. I always felt his conducting style was rather unusual, in that he had his eyes closed during entire performances. He claimed this helped him to concentrate on scores. While many have dismissed this as simply a reflection of his desire for perfection, I preferred Leonard Bernstein's eye contact with musicians.
Both Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan built reputations for being two of the greatest conductors in the history of orchestral music. I personally preferred Leonard Bernstein's style, but this does not diminish the quality of Karajan's recordings.
As a side-note, the late Claudio Abbado replaced Herbert von Karajan. I loved Abbado's style of conducting, and the Berlin Philharmonic openly welcomed him to the podium. In fact, Abbado and the orchestra signed an agreement that brought about a 50/50 partnership between them, resulting in joint decisions on musical performances, as opposed to the complete control exercised by Karajan.
