Conductors in Conversation

by Robert Chesterman (Editor)

This is Robert Chesterman's second collection of exclusive interviews with renowned conductors of the world's pre-eminent symphony orchestras, transcribed from recordings he made over the years as an established CBC producer. Engaging, exciting, pithy and profound words of wisdom from these acknowledged "geniuses" of the Classical genre - often veering away from music into unexpected yet surprisingly relevant territory - create a powerful impression.

1 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Robert Chesterman grew up in Purley, a suburb of Croydon in south London, England. He studied piano with Percy Taylor and George Oldroyd at the encouragement of his mother Mildred, a pianist herself, who recognized his high aptitude and keen ear for music. After what he once described as an "undistinguished schooling" at Ardingly College in Sussex, followed by a brief period with the Royal Air Force, Chesterman emigrated to Canada in 1957. Two years later he joined the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) as a fledgling producer and became the host of "Music Diary", a weekly national radio magazine.

Chesterman was a facilitator and catalyst of quality arts programming from his early years with the CBC, and he later emerged as a creative initiator of artistic projects in various media. His supervision of and contributions to the CBC's 'Sunday Night', 'Saturday Evening', 'Monday Evening', 'Audience' and 'Monitor' series were significant in the development of western Canada's cultural fabric. He brought an international musical culture, as well as top Canadian dramatic and literary talent, to a receptive niche of listeners who were treated to first-class realizations of works by gifted emerging and established writers -- and later on, to an impressive output of world-class works with top international and local talents.

Chesterman's innate respect for artistic talent and temperament, along with his uncanny instincts for teaming up complementary artists and the high esteem with which he was held by artists, arts professionals and colleagues alike (many of whom became close allies/friends with Chesterman throughout his career) paved the way for numerous unique and exquisite - often poetic - collaborations..

His discerning ear as a casting director for his radio drama productions led to privileged working relationships with some of theatre's most respected names, including Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Doris Chilcott, Joy Coghill, Peter Haworth, Otto Lowy, Betty Phillips, Kate Reid, Bill Reiter, Eric Schneider, John Neville and many others. The list of actors who flourished under "Rob"'s gentle direction - virtually a Who's Who of Canadian theatre - kept CBC Vancouver's state-of-the-art recording studios buzzing as divergent talents were brought together to produce broadcasting magic under Chesterman's inclusive, wide-reaching umbrella.

At the heart of these creative hubs, often hand-picked by RC, were some exciting original scores masterfully translated into top-notch radio broadcasts, written by a succession of inspired literary talents - many of whom are considered today to be the top tier of Canada's literary/ performance landscape. Among them were such skilled wordsmiths as Margaret Hollingsworth, Laurence Gough, John Gray, Don Mowatt, John Murrell, David Watmough, George Woodcock.. the infinite endowments of a long, illustrious list of contributors with whom Chesterman worked was, he often remarked, one of the standout highlights of being a CBC producer - a position he felt was more weighty responsibility than personal entitlement..

Chesterman went on to produce many large-scale musical features recorded for radio in Europe and North America, and he holds various awards from the Canadian Music Council and Ohio State University.

Many of Chesterman's radio documentaries and features won major awards both in North America and abroad. His dual interest in music and theatre led him to produce an 8-part series of radio dramatizations of the lives of composers Mahler, Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, while his features on the Chicago and Philadelphia orchestras were considered models of their kind. His documentary on the choir at King's College, Cambridge was a highlight of 'CBC Tuesday Night' and the subject of his first Prometheus Films release The Boast of Kings [1981], which won a New York Film Festival Bronze medal.

Reviews

[SaRah (Saz) ChesTeRman]

See my review of Conductors in Conversation: The Complete Collection - @ this link:
Conductors in Conversation: The Complete Collection by Robert Chesterman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars






View all my reviews