Maestro: Encounters With Conductors of Today

by Helena Matheopoulos

Interviews with the world's twenty-three top orchestral conductors provide the basis for accounts of their training, musical tastes, podium techniques, repertoires, lifestyles, and achievements

Genres: Music

536 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1982

About the author

Born in Athens, Helena Matheopoulos has lived in London most of her life and now spends several months of the year in her native city.. She holds a BA Honours and MA Degree in Medieval History from London University (UCL), and has worked as a journalist on the Tatler, the Daily Express, The Times and Opera Now and as a contributor to Gramophone, The Sunday Times and the Greek newspaper To Vima, and was International Editor at Large of Greek Vogue from 2001 until its demise in 2013.

Her books include Maestro, (Hutchinson, 1982 and Harper & Row, 1983) named Music Book of the Year by Stereo Review magazine, Bravo:Today's Tenors, Baritones and Basses Discuss Their Roles (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, and Harper & Row, 1986 under the title Divo), Diva:Today's Sopranos and Mezzos Discuss Their Roles, (Gollancz, 1991 and Northeastern University Press, 1992), Diva: The New Generation (Little, Brown, 1998) and Placido Domingo: My Roles on Stage, (Little, Brown, 2000 and Baskerville Press, 2002).

She was Artistic Advisor and British representative of the Athens Megaron for its first five years (1991-1995), and Special Consultant for Vocal Projects at the Philharmonia Orchestra from 1996-2004. Parallel to her writing and journalistic activities, she is currently Artistic Administrator of Apollonian Enterprises and organized concerts in Milan and London titled “Greek Gods, Myths and Heroes at the Opera” under its auspices.

She is also a frequent lecturer on subjects related to her books in prestigious venues such as the |Cheltenham and Oxford Literary festivals, the Metropolitan Opera, English National Opera, The New York National Arts Club, the Hellenic Centre in Lonon and artistic organizations in Cleveland, Dallas and Florida.

Reviews

[Sembray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating delve into the world of conducting, covering the role of the conductor, the characteristics required to become one and the personal experiences and styles of the individuals covered. Being written in the late 1970s, it's very much a product of its time (every conductor featured is male), but Matheopoulos has gained a staggering level of access to the conductors and many of the musicians and producers who've witnessed their careers first hand. This book is filled with insights into the classical world which will whet the appetite of music nerds such as myself, as well as humourous anecdotes aplenty. The chapters on Abbado (my favourite), Karajan and Kleiber are worth the price of admission alone. Anyone wondering what makes people embark on this unique and misunderstood career or how important the conductor really is (hint: very), or who wishes to meet some of the greatest musicians of all time and learn what makes them tick, needs look no further.

[Isidore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mainly for the light it sheds on the background and personalities of some prominent modern conductors. The tone occasionally approaches press agent puffery, although Matheopoulos allows the occasional tart comment and sometimes mentions disparaging critical reviews. Most of the articles are based on interviews, and quoted comments range wildly from the careful and banal (nearly all the subjects are quick to insist that they are pals with their orchestras, and that they would never dream of tyrannizing over them as did the great conductors of yesteryear) to the intriguing and musically insightful.

A few things struck me: nearly all her subjects evince a very imprecise understanding of the history of conducting, culminating in Rattle's bizarre claim that Nikisch was the first conductor who was not also a composer and Mackerras' vague assertion that Furtwangler invented modern orchestral sound. Nearly all of them despise the new avant-garde operatic producer/directors (Davis is the main exception, Solti hates them the most). Again with the exception of Davis, all of the non-Soviet conductors covered come from comfortable or affluent backgrounds (Rostropovich's stalwart defence of the egalitarian Soviet system of musical education stands out in this context, particularly given his vicissitudes at the hands of the regime). Top non-western conductors who did not defect are not only not covered (because of their unavailability for interviews?), they pass completely unmentioned: so don't expect to hear anything about Kondrashin, Mravinsky, Rozhdestvensky, et al.

Where Matheopolous really drops the ball, however, is in the largest entry in the book, devoted to Karajan. Her attitude toward him is not so much one of admiration as of uncritical infatuation. This section needs to be used with great caution, not just because the author threw away her critical detachment and wrote a great deal of swooning nonsense, but because Karajan thoroughly conned her about many aspects of his life and career (Hilariously, on the back of the book pundit Alan Blyth praises her for obtaining this "frank" interview).

On the whole, I found it interesting, but after closing the cover felt a strange compulsion to listen to some Toscanini, Szell, or Furtwaengler, or one of those other old-time martinets who somehow make this lot seem like musical milksops.

[Antonio Moreno Pini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conjunto de entrevistas de los mejores directores de los años 80. cubre un ampli oespectro desde algunos directores que dirigían desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial, hasta los nuevos directores que estaban en la cresta de la ola en esos momentos.

Las preguntas y respuestas son muy interesantes, pues cubren un amplio espectro y dan una visión muy buena de como se enfrenta a las partituras y las obras cada director. Casi cada uno de ellos tiene un enfoque diferente dando por tanto una visión de las múltiples facetas con las que se puede abordar una obra musical de gran envergadura como son las sinfonías y las óperas.

Un gran selección de imágenes de todos los directores en diferentes etapas de su vida.

Leí la versión inglesa. Existe una versión en español, pero no es tan completa pues omite varios directores relevantes

[Milan Perera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply an exceptional book. Read it.