Books on Technique

Brock McElheran - Conducting Technique– not so good.

Edwin Roxburgh – good book for contemporary music.

Max Rudolf – The Grammar of Conducting (hardcore German exercises, informative but
dry).

Herman Scherchen – Alex likes it mainly for musical ideas and history, rather than
technique.

Gustav Maier – The score, the orchestra, and the conductor. Useful as a reference book.
Some ideas for score preparation and technique, very comprehensive book.

Ennio Nicotra. With an accompanying DVD. Musin’s branch.

Elizabeth A. Greene – The modern conductor. Builds on Malko’s seven exercises and has
some written-out exercises. This is the sequel to Malko – The Conductor and His Baton. ‘The
conductor and his score’ – Malko started but died before finishing. His student, Elizabeth A.
Greene, finished it (it’s on score preparation).

The Conductor - His Artistry and Craftsmanship by Michael Bowles. Has anyone read it??
John Longstaff thinks it may be regurgitated Sir Adrian Boult (Bowles was his pupil).

Diane Wittry – Baton Basics. This has a link to a demonstration website. Cathal recommends
for more novice conductors.
(same author as Beyond the Baton – a career book).

Harold Farberman- Conducting Technique a New Perspective. Heavy going. Does have some
analysis ideas.

Sir Adrian Boult – at the point of the stick. Brilliant book recommended by Toby.

Sir Henry Wood – About Conducting. Contains some things not directly about technique,
stories from his time. Alex thinks it’s only really of historical interest.

Warwick Braithwaite – exercises on how to conduct Rite of Spring.

The way of the conductor – Karl Kreuger. Very old book. Sheldon can’t recall what’s in it.

Books by conductors: Ch. Munch, B. Walters. Dialogues with I. Markevitch, O. Klemperer, H.

von Karajan

Videos on Technique
Denise Ham

Musin

Hideo Saito (sp?). Yuri thinks it contains some useful teaching ideas. DVD on amazon.co.jp

Elizabeth Greene demonstrating Malko’s exercises

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZYFi89Ph4g

Ennio Nicotra.

Books more like Composer’s Advocate

Leinsdorf – the Composer’s Advocate. Toby’s top pick for conductors to read. Apparently he
wrote a second book as well (Leinsdorf on Music) which isn’t quite as good. Written in a
historical context in which ‘maestroism’ was high, and he was responding to extremes of the
performance style of his time.

Norman del Mar – books on individual composers. Of their time. Elgar one is good. Relieves
the loneliness of the conductor.

Bamberger – The Conductor’s Art. Toby recommends. Recommended by several in the

group.

Bruno Walter – best of all worlds because it brings in good bits from other books.
Autobiography: theme and variations, of music and music-making....

R. Strauss -

Legendary Conductors of the Past, Great Conductors of the Past (Videos to view)

Robert C. Marsh – Toscanini and the art of orchestral performance

David Ewens - Dictators of the Baton (and The Orchestra speaks)

Harnoncourt books – Baroque music today, there’s another.

Boulez on Conducting. Quite incomprehensible.

Weingartner – On Music and Conducting, performance of Beethoven symphonies,

symphonies since Beethoven. Give you an idea of standard retouchings to horn parts that
were common then.

Wagner – small book on conducting. Very highly recommended by Cathal. Every conductor
should read, especially once started.
Furtwangler books
Fuchs – psychology of conducting. Chapter on working with soloists. How to handle yourself
in professional situations, interviews with 10 conductors of the time e.g. Barbarolli,
Bernstein....Asking ten questions about the role of conductors

Gunther Schuller – the compleat conductor. Alex thinks it’s worth reading to the end,
although he gets annoying as it goes through.

Hans Swarowsky. Musical approach and analysis.

Schuller – Daphnis in G. some wrong notes corrections, one harmonic reading advice was
useful

Mozart tempos. (Canford recommended text, difficult to get hold of). By Jean-Pierre Marty.
Not easily available. Very systematic but worth it.

Chris Seaman – inside conducting. More than just a bit of fun, recommended. Conveys a lot
in a short span. Also written for today, remains relevant.

Leonard Slatkin's is a bit similar to Seaman's. And Mark Wigglesworth's. And "Waving not
drowning"

Lev Parikian - Waving not Drowning

BOOKS ABOUT ORCHESTRATION

Christopher Adey

Norman del Mar – Anatomy of the orchestra, The companion to the orchestra, Orchestral
variations, confusion and error in the orchestral repertoire (hard to get hold of but very
useful).

Gordon Jacob – how to read a score. Recommended by Alex, very brief. Look out on Amazon
as prices can fluctuate.

Clive Brown – Classical and Romantic performing practice

Orchestral technique: The Dynamic Orchestra by E. Green, Orchestral bowings and routines
by …. Green, I think

Cecil Forsyth orchestration book – enjoyable because well written and

entertaining.Brass may have more notes.

Adam Carse - the GREAT Englishman! I think all by him is good!

Arnold Dolmetsch – interpretation of music seventeen and eighteenth

centuries. Of its time.
Walter Piston – Orchestration. Recommended by Michael.

Rimsky-Korsakov – Principles of Orchestration

Adler- The study of orchestration Recommended by Michael, Toby’s goto.

Textbook and CDs (exerpts), might not need workbook.

Bernard Jacobsen – conducters on conducting

Robert Shaw (website) Collects lots of speeches he has given, rehearsal

stuff, vowel sounds

On strings. J. Kjelland. Orchestral bowing: Style and function (it has 2

parts: textbook and "workbook" - to use with a youth orchestra)

Robert Shaw Reader

FUN AND SALACIOUS CATEGORY

Andre Previn – Orchestra (collection of interviews with orchestral

players). Puts you in the mind of an orchestral player and much remains
true today.

The Maestro Myth – Lebrecht. Who earned what when, worth reading.

Chord and Discord – Malcolm Tillis. Viola player in Barbarolli’s Halle.

Ancient gossipy

Conductors in Conversation

Shoot the Conductor – Too close to Monteux, Szell, and Ormandy

The LSO speak about themselves is great! Like this ORCHESTRA oneThere are
several by/about the LSOConductor or the metro-gnome

Koury – Orchestral performances in the 19th century. Lots of stuff about

seating etc, good period performance book, dry.

Real Men Don't Rehearse: (Adventures in the Secret World of Professional

Orchestras)

Charles MacKerras, latter part of his life, chapter by chapter on different

musical enterprises. John recommends.

'Conductors on Conducting' by Bernard Jacobson

Tales from the pit Peter Neville

An interesting one on orchestration is Textures and timbres by Henry Brant.

Very interesting approach to grouping orchestral colours

MTT Viva voce. conversation with Edward Seckerson

Neumann – instrumentation and orchestration in Mozart

Torno – Verdi, Italiano (available in multiple languages

Elena Matheopolos – interviews with conductors

Frederic Prausnitz - Score and Podium – very intellectual and long

REPERTOIRE

Kenyon – Rattle biography, contains all his repertoire lists.

Boyd Neill orchestra book also contains all programmes, can’t remember
titles
Daniels – Orchestral Music a Handbook (now on 5th edition may be better than
4th edition). Essential though contains obscure American composers.
Penguin Guide to opera lists many orchestrations
Wikipedia
Zinfonia.com for finding orchestrations

MISC

Ricci – Candenzas from Puccini operas. Ricci was Puccini’s assistant.

WEBSITES

NYPhil digital archive

The scores of Eugene Ormandy (book, some available online). Iconoclastic

approach to bowings, some gems in there.

Archive.org

Barenboim’s website

Mark Wigglesworth’s

Parvo Jarvi