The conductor is extremely important. He makes the difference between a lifeless or mechanical performance and a vital and alive one. Conductors have different styles, and some of the great conductors are instantly recognizable by sound (Stokowski in particular).
The best analogy for it I can come up with is, imagine the same basic "boy meets girl- boy loses girl- boy gets girl back" story directed by Hitchcock, Lubitsch, Chaplin, John Ford and Woody Allen. The differences would be as striking as the differences between Toscanini, Stoki, Karajan, Furtwangler, Bernstein and Szell all playing the same Beethoven symphony.
I highly recommend the DVD titled "The Art of Conducting". It has interviews and performance clips that illustrate exactly why a conductor is so important. It's one of the best documentaries I've ever seen.
See ya
Steve
Last edited by bigshot; 05-16-2008 at 10:49 PM.
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