Orchestral conductor Alexander Shelley discusses the unique technical role of a conductor in managing tempo fluctuations with Shane Parrish.
Opinion
Treating arts education as an optional extra misunderstands its intellectual rigor
“This idea that arts in school is an optional extra. It belies a complete Misunderstanding of what the arts are. Because if you're doing it properly, you have to engage your intellectual mind as well as, in fact, I don't know what the other mind is supposed to …”
Insight
Civilizations achieve historical greatness through cultural output, not accumulated wealth
“Countries are only really great if they have great culture. It's not like it's then you have a great country, and then you add culture. When we look back at history, we don't, you know, count how much money different civilizations have, because it's all relati…”
Insight
Concert halls mirror religious spaces through the power of collective silence
“And you can see parallels between concert halls and religious spaces. If you go into a cathedral, you don't necessarily have to be a believer. To sense something special happening when it's full of people, and when there's a silence, let's say, after a prayer.…”
Insight
Leaders must exercise authority to prevent paralyzing group indecision
“And frankly, as a conductor, you have to have both elements up your sleeve. It doesn't mean you have to be rude to people, although that's also an option. There have been some very rude conductors, but you have to sometimes just draw a line with an orchestra f…”
Insight
Music functions like mathematics through formal structures and analytical relationships
“There's actually an awful lot of form in music. It's like maths. It really is like maths. That's why a lot of mathematicians love music as well, because it's all about structures and forms and about relationships.”
Opinion
State-funded arts organizations must take artistic risks private entities cannot afford
“I think if you have a National Arts Centre, you have an orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, that receives funding from the central government, that yes, of course, we need to offer programs that fill our hall, but we also need to be able to take som…”