/classical/

[Kevin Anderson]

alright fellas, can you tell me what to look for/hear when it comes to listening to different conductors? in general, when I hear works by different orchestras, piano players, etc. they sound pretty much the same with the odd exception
Would be neat if you could post links to youtube videos between two others so i can see

general classical music discussion as well

[Jack Fisher]

Different conductors are fun to watch but not different to listen to I think its up to the performer how they phrase it in most cases if its a solo or feature.

[Eli Wright]

>fun to watch
how does watching have anything to do with the music?
>phrase it
dunno what that means

[Asher Carter]

are you fucking baiting?

[Andrew Diaz]

who's the fluid druid?

[Noah Robinson]

no lol
me xoxo

[Ryan Wright]

>conductors
Unless you REALLY know classical music I don't feel like conductor will make much of a difference.
Maybe if you exclusively favor one conductor you'll begin to pick up their preferences.

You're much better off focusing on composers. Pick someone you like and listen to as much of their work as you can. You'll very quickly begin to pick up not only what sets them apart but what similarities they share with other composers. Do a little research and you'll more often than not find out they studied with each other or under the same teacher.

You'll reach a point where you can listen to a new song blindly and say with confidence "This was composed by [name]"

[Wyatt Hughes]

h-HI!

[Jayden Edwards]

Until you really get to know a piece, you won't hear too much difference between recordings. Also, conductors are overrated and it's really the performers that make things stick out from each other.

[Connor Taylor]

Even though classical music has a lot of exact or specific instructions in its notation (most significantly with respect to melody/ordering of notes), there's still a lot of room for interpretation that's up to the performer (or in the case of an orchestra, the conductor who is leading the performers).

Dynamics is one of the most subjective, and its notation demands outside interpretation, and for a conductor, dynamics also plays a part in the balancing of emphasis among different sections/instruments.

Timing is another hugely subjective aspect, from tempo (especially older works that don't indicate exact bpm) to rhythm (consider swing rhythm in jazz, which falls under a gradient of "heavy" and "light" in feel, again leaving a lot for interpretation).

It's not a big thing to be concerned about if you're just getting into a piece. Just find a trusted version to start (i.e. not the local community college volunteer orchestra conducted by Little Sick Timmy for his Make-a-Wish). But if you find a piece that really grabs you, it can be interesting exploring the realm of interpretation and comparing versions with others.