The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
L'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
The Conductor and the Score
Game and Activity
For Further Information
Table of Contents
The Instruments of the Orchestra
The History of Orchestral Music
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
1.7 The Musicians of the OSM
1.6 The OSM Chorus
1.5 The Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique
1.4 The OSM Around the World
1.3 The Maison symphonique
1. The OSM
Intro What is an Orchestra ?
3. A Short History of Orchestral Music
2.3 The Brass Instruments
2.2 The Woodwinds
2.1.3 The Struck Strings
2.1.2 The Plucked Strings
2.1. The Great String Family
2.1.1 The Bowed Strings
2. The 4 Families of Orchestral Instruments
2.4 The Percussion Instruments
What is an Orchestra ?
Most major cities in the world have their own orchestra!
Noun. (latin orchestra, from the Greek orkhêstra) The word orchestra comes from the Greek orkhêstra, which designates a space within a theatre between the stage and the audience, where you would have found the chorus in an ancient Greek tragedy. Eventually the musical group that occupied that space took on the same name. In time, all large instrumental groups would come to be known as orchestras.
ORCHESTRA
These orchestras are created to perform musical works (like symphonies, concertos, overtures, etc.) written by composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Hector Berlioz, Johannes Brahms or Claude Debussy. But also works by contemporary female composers from all over the world.
The OSM
Over the course of many years, the OSM became an important part of cultural life in the city. Today it has 90 to 100 musicians (the number varies according to the music being played), selected from amongst the very best players from Quebec, Canada and North America. The OSM is led by conductors who come from all around the world. Together, they perform concerts all year long. Certain concerts are recorded for broadcast on television, on social media or even the radio. The OSM has also recorded a great many records and discs.
Montreal has had its own orchestra since 1934! That means that the OSM has been giving concerts and playing the most beautiful works from the classical repertoire for over 80 years.
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal at one of its very first concerts in 1934! Can you spot one of your great grandparents?
Discover the great family of OSM musicians here!
The Maison symphonique
The OSM performs most of its concerts at the Maison symphonique de Montreal. Inaugurated in 2011, this concert hall was built especially for concert music.
The interior of the hall is finished in wood, but not just any wood: beech wood! The type of wood was specially chosen by experts for its superior acoustic qualities. The hall is also equipped with curtains (on the sides) and acoustic panels (on the ceiling) that can be adjusted according to the desired acoustic for each concert. Even though it is built in the middle of downtown Montreal and overtop a metro station, no outside noises or vibrations disturb the inside of the hall… the 2100 audience members hear only the sound of music!
You can visit the Maison symphonique virtually here!
Taking its inspiration from the very best concert halls around the world, its rectangular shape is reminiscent of a shoebox (in fact its design is known as the shoebox style).
The OSM Around the World
Discover images from the OSM’s latest tours!
When the OSM is not performing at the Maison symphonique, it is probably either in a park during the summer season, or on tour in another city in Quebec, in Canada or around the world!
An OSM summer performance in a park
The Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique
In 2014 a new instrument made its appearance at the OSM in the Maison symphonique: The Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique This organ has no less than 6489 pipes and weighs some 35 tonnes. It was generously offered as a gift to the OSM by Jacqueline Desmarais. It bears the name of the OSM’s founder and first Director General: Mr. Pierre Béique This impressive instrument was made here, in Quebec, by the organ maker: Casavant Frères.
Did you know ? Organ
The OSM Chorus
In some works, a choir with as many as 120 singers can be added to the orchestra. When there are fewer singers, the choir is sometimes placed on the stage with the orchestra. But when bigger choirs are needed, the choristers take their place in the seats situated behind the orchestra (this section is called “the choir”), near the organ. The OSM Chorus was founded in the 1980s at the request of the Music Director at the time, Charles Dutoit. Made up of 50 professional singers, and from 80 to 100 volunteer singers, the Chorus joins the OSM regularly to perform the great masterpieces of the repertoire.
The Musicians of the OSM
Click with you finger or hover your mouse over the faces of the musicians to discover their instruments!
The 4 Instruments Families
An orchestra is a family story!
It is made up of four different instrument families, which we often call “sections.”
Strings
percussions
Woodwinds
Brass instruments
The Great String Family
In the great string family, the instruments are classified according to several sub-families based on the way they are played:
The bowed strings
The plucked strings
The struck strings
The Bowed Strings
The bowed string instruments come in various sizes. They are all made of wood, they have a neck and a fingerboard, a bridge to which is attached 4 strings, and a resonating body.
In this video, Sylvie Lambert, cellist with the OSM, tells us all about string instruments:
In this excerpt, discover the agility and the power of the string section of the OSM
Musicians hold the instrument either between their chin and their shoulder (violinists and violists), in front of them and between their legs (cellists) or standing in front of them (double bassists)! In order to create a sound, they rub their bows across the strings.
Did you know? The Bow
Did you know? Stradivarius
The Concertmaster
In the 16th century, the concertmaster was at once a musician in the orchestra and the conductor. But today, the concertmaster acts more as the “right hand” of the conductor.
If you’ve ever been to a concert, you must surely have been impressed by the synchronised bows!
Such synchronicity is not a fluke, but the hard work of the concertmaster. In fact, before beginning rehearsals for a musical work, the concertmaster indicates the bowings in the score with special symbols. All the violinists must then follow those indications so that their bows move in the same way. It is also the concertmaster who plays any solo passages that are indicated in the score. That’s why in French, the concertmaster is call the violon solo. Solo is the Italian word for alone.
Andrew Wan, Concertmaster of the OSM, performs Ein Heldenleben by Richard Strauss with the Orchestra.
The Plucked Strings : The Harp
The harp is the orchestra’s primary plucked string instrument. Even though it is a very ancient instrument, it did not appear in orchestras until the 19th century. To play it, the musician leans the instrument on their right shoulder and plucks the strings with their fingers, but not the thumb.
The Quebec harpist Valérie Milot (winner of the 2010 OSM Competition) plays a piece from the orchestral repertoire, adapted for the harp as a solo instrument:
Did you know? Pizzicato
The Strucked Strings : The Piano
You may sometimes see a piano at the very front of the stage, when it is being accompanied by the orchestra.
At once a percussion and a string instrument, the piano produces its sound thanks to little felt hammers that strike metal strings. With its 88 black and white keys, the piano is the orchestral instrument with the broadest range.
Like in this video of the pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin with the OSM!
The piano is not always found on stage because not all pieces necessarily include a part for the piano.
How does a piano works?
The Woodwinds
In this video, Mathieu Harel, bassoonist for the OSM, introduces the woodwind section
Traditionally made out of wood, these instruments are easy to recognize by their elongated shape. To produce a sound, you blow into a small opening on one end.
The openings on the oboe, the bassoon and the clarinet are fitted with small pieces of wood called “reeds” that the players vibrate with their lips. There are single reeds and double reeds, depending on the instrument. As for the flute, it does not have a reed, but a little hole (embouchure) over which the flutist blows air to produce a sound.
Here they are playing all together in this movement from Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky!
Did you know? Saxophone
The Brass Instruments
We can see them from far off because they are shiny, we can hear them clearly because their sound is powerful: these are the instruments of the brass family!
In this video, OSM trombonist, Pierre Beaudry, introduces us to the brass section.
To produce a sound, we blow into the mouthpiece while vibrating the lips.
Did you know? Harmonics
Discover the brass instruments of the OSM in quintet formation!
The Percussion Instruments
The percussion family groups together many instruments that are quite different from one another. To play them, percussionists strike them, shake them, or even scratch them. Some percussion instruments are made of metal, wood, or even skin (membrane) stretched over a wooden frame.
In this video, OSM percussionist, Hugues Tremblay introduces the percussion section
In order to differentiate between all the different percussion instruments, they are divided into two large families :
At the beginning of the 20th century, increased globalization allowed unpitched percussion instruments like the tam-tam from Asia and pitched percussion instruments like the xylophone, the glockenspiel and marimba, inspired by African instruments, to take their place in the orchestra.
Adam Johnson, Conductor in Residence of the OSM between 2015 and 2019, explains traditional percussion instruments.
Pitched percussions
Unpitched percussions
A Short History of Orchestral Music
From the Royal Court to the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
In Europe, up to the end of the 15th century, the purpose of music was for entertainment and dancing at royal courts. Musicians either came from noble families, or worked in their service.Since the 17th century, developments in instrument manufacturing, music theory, the evolution of musical genres and social transformations led to the emergence of many new forms of orchestral music. From Baroque opera to contemporary creations and everything in between, the structure of orchestral instrumentation has never stopped evolving in order to serve the needs of composers, musicians and the public.
To learn more, consult our thematic guide on orchestral forms
The Conductor and the Score
Table of Contents
1.3 What is conducting ?
1.2 Why a conductor ?
1.1 The Conductor
The Conductor
The Score
2.2 In the Score : Dynamics and Tempi
2.1 The Score
The Conductor
Who is this person with their back to the public that all the musicians seem to watch with such attention and who makes grandiose gestures with a little baton? It’s the conductor!
Did you know? Entrance onto the stage
For a long time conductors were almost always men. But these days, more and more women are taking on the role of conductor! In Quebec, like many other parts of the world, women conductors are seen leading the greatest orchestras. In France there is even a conducting competition exclusively for women!
The Conductor Dina Gilbert, Assistant Conductor of the OSM between 2013 and 2016, tells us about her profession
Why a Conductor ?
In the era of the first orchestras, there were far fewer musicians, sometimes only a dozen or so. As such, it was not that hard for the musicians to play together. Often the first violinist would signal to the other musicians when to start playing and when to stop. But with time, orchestras became larger and larger, and the music they played more and more complex. Eventually it was necessary to assign the task of leading the orchestra to a single person who was not playing one of the instruments. Great composers of the past often conducted their own works. After all, they knew better than anyone else how their own music should be played. But with time, the composers were no longer there to conduct their music, and so a separate conductor needed to take on the job.
The conductor is not necessarily a specialist in any one instrument. He or she must have a strong knowledge of each of the sections. Actually, we could say that the orchestra is the conductor’s instrument. It is with a precise gesture that the conductor communicates with the musicians in concerts and rehearsals. Like learning to play an instrument, this particular gesture require many hours of practice and refinement.
Here is a really impressive example of a conductor’s gestures!
What is conducting ?
Of course it involves communicating to the musicians when to start and stop, when to play louder or softer (dynamics), faster or slower (tempo). But, it also involves deciding the general intention and colour to give to the music.For example, we can tell when we listen to the same piece of music conducted by different conductors that each person brings their own energy and vision to the work in question.
In 2017, a humanoid robot named YuMi conducted several pieces during a concert in Italy.
There are hundreds of interpretations of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, with its famous first measures. Each version bears the distinctive imprint of the conductor who performed it.
A little listening game
Did you know? The Baton
The Score
The big book placed on the stand in front of the conductor on stage is called the score. It contains all the notes played by all the musicians, as well as all the expressive indications given by the composer (tempo, dynamics, etc.) As you can see in the score to the right, the instruments are indicated from the top to the bottom: The woodwinds, the brass and the percussion. Then come the choristers, also divided into sections according to their voice type, from highest to lowest (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), and finally the strings.We also see tempo indications: presto, which means that the tempo is very fast, and dynamics: ff, which means fortissimo, or very loud in English.
Have a look at the first pages of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.There are so many things taking place at the same time!
In the Score : Dynamics and Tempi
The dynamics, from the softest to the loudest
Italy was central in the development of music in Europe since the time of the Renaissance. It was at this time that Italian terms started to be used across Europe to indicate dynamics and tempi (tempo becomes tempi in the plural) in a score.However, some composers preferred to write their indications for tempo and expressivity in their own languages (in German, in French, and even in Russian!). Nonetheless, Italian has never lost its primary place as the language of choice for musical indications.
Tempi, from the slowest to the fastest in BPM (beat per minute)
40-60
52-68
112-160
60-80
88-112
76-100
140-200
~ 140
100-128
> 188
Adam Johnson (OSM Conductor in Residence between 2015 and 2019) tells us about the invisible elements of music
Did you know? Tuning
Game and Activity
Activity
Game
Symphonic Time's up
To baton or not to baton ?
PLAY
PLAY
Have fun imagining the personality of a conductor, and play the role while conducting a movement from a symphony!
Time’s up is a guessing game in which two teams race the clock to try and guess the most words in 30 seconds!
For every orchestra, a conductor
How to play
Personality Profile
Full name : Age : Nationality : Character : Language(s) spoken : Country of residence : Instrument(s) played? If yes which one(s)? : With or without a baton?: Favorite musical work: Why are you a conductor?:
Now its your time to play!
Here you will find many resources to help perfect your technique as an orchestral conductor
According to the characteristics that you assigned to your conductor, try your hand at conducting a movement from a Beethoven symphony! If you have access to costumes and wigs – even better!If there are a few of you doing this activity, compare your interpretations and hold a vote for the most convincing performance.
Now observe some famous conductors
Refresh your memory about the role of the baton in this video
Valery Gergiev
PLAY
Han-na Chang
Herbert von Karajan
Kent Nagano
Try conducting the measures with the help of the following 3 images
Do you know the game Time’s up?
It’s a guessing game in which two teams race the clock to guess as many words as possible in 30 seconds! The words to guess are rolled up into little balls.
Download the words
HOW TO PLAY
MATERIaL
For further information
The OSM on your smartphone!
Did you know that there is an OSM app that allows you to discover the orchestra from the inside out? It’s called OSM Polyphonique!
Once the app is open, all you have to do is scan the area around you, and the orchestra will virtually appear.
Then you can walk around the virtual orchestra to hear the different instruments up close, all to the music of Beethoven!
You can download the app on your smart phone or your tablet here!
Playlists
The Espace OSM
Right next to the Maison symphonique, the Espace OSM is open to all, and allows you to experience the OSM beyond the concert hall.
Through out this specially designed space we offer the public an immersive journey through the most significant events from the history of the OSM.
The Espace OSM also hosts special events and innovative installations – all of which present opportunities for the orchestra to create closer relationships with its community.
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Transcript
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
L'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
The Conductor and the Score
Game and Activity
For Further Information
Table of Contents
The Instruments of the Orchestra
The History of Orchestral Music
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
1.7 The Musicians of the OSM
1.6 The OSM Chorus
1.5 The Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique
1.4 The OSM Around the World
1.3 The Maison symphonique
1. The OSM
Intro What is an Orchestra ?
3. A Short History of Orchestral Music
2.3 The Brass Instruments
2.2 The Woodwinds
2.1.3 The Struck Strings
2.1.2 The Plucked Strings
2.1. The Great String Family
2.1.1 The Bowed Strings
2. The 4 Families of Orchestral Instruments
2.4 The Percussion Instruments
What is an Orchestra ?
Most major cities in the world have their own orchestra!
Noun. (latin orchestra, from the Greek orkhêstra) The word orchestra comes from the Greek orkhêstra, which designates a space within a theatre between the stage and the audience, where you would have found the chorus in an ancient Greek tragedy. Eventually the musical group that occupied that space took on the same name. In time, all large instrumental groups would come to be known as orchestras.
ORCHESTRA
These orchestras are created to perform musical works (like symphonies, concertos, overtures, etc.) written by composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Hector Berlioz, Johannes Brahms or Claude Debussy. But also works by contemporary female composers from all over the world.
The OSM
Over the course of many years, the OSM became an important part of cultural life in the city. Today it has 90 to 100 musicians (the number varies according to the music being played), selected from amongst the very best players from Quebec, Canada and North America. The OSM is led by conductors who come from all around the world. Together, they perform concerts all year long. Certain concerts are recorded for broadcast on television, on social media or even the radio. The OSM has also recorded a great many records and discs.
Montreal has had its own orchestra since 1934! That means that the OSM has been giving concerts and playing the most beautiful works from the classical repertoire for over 80 years.
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal at one of its very first concerts in 1934! Can you spot one of your great grandparents?
Discover the great family of OSM musicians here!
The Maison symphonique
The OSM performs most of its concerts at the Maison symphonique de Montreal. Inaugurated in 2011, this concert hall was built especially for concert music.
The interior of the hall is finished in wood, but not just any wood: beech wood! The type of wood was specially chosen by experts for its superior acoustic qualities. The hall is also equipped with curtains (on the sides) and acoustic panels (on the ceiling) that can be adjusted according to the desired acoustic for each concert. Even though it is built in the middle of downtown Montreal and overtop a metro station, no outside noises or vibrations disturb the inside of the hall… the 2100 audience members hear only the sound of music!
You can visit the Maison symphonique virtually here!
Taking its inspiration from the very best concert halls around the world, its rectangular shape is reminiscent of a shoebox (in fact its design is known as the shoebox style).
The OSM Around the World
Discover images from the OSM’s latest tours!
When the OSM is not performing at the Maison symphonique, it is probably either in a park during the summer season, or on tour in another city in Quebec, in Canada or around the world!
An OSM summer performance in a park
The Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique
In 2014 a new instrument made its appearance at the OSM in the Maison symphonique: The Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique This organ has no less than 6489 pipes and weighs some 35 tonnes. It was generously offered as a gift to the OSM by Jacqueline Desmarais. It bears the name of the OSM’s founder and first Director General: Mr. Pierre Béique This impressive instrument was made here, in Quebec, by the organ maker: Casavant Frères.
Did you know ? Organ
The OSM Chorus
In some works, a choir with as many as 120 singers can be added to the orchestra. When there are fewer singers, the choir is sometimes placed on the stage with the orchestra. But when bigger choirs are needed, the choristers take their place in the seats situated behind the orchestra (this section is called “the choir”), near the organ. The OSM Chorus was founded in the 1980s at the request of the Music Director at the time, Charles Dutoit. Made up of 50 professional singers, and from 80 to 100 volunteer singers, the Chorus joins the OSM regularly to perform the great masterpieces of the repertoire.
The Musicians of the OSM
Click with you finger or hover your mouse over the faces of the musicians to discover their instruments!
The 4 Instruments Families
An orchestra is a family story!
It is made up of four different instrument families, which we often call “sections.”
Strings
percussions
Woodwinds
Brass instruments
The Great String Family
In the great string family, the instruments are classified according to several sub-families based on the way they are played:
The bowed strings
The plucked strings
The struck strings
The Bowed Strings
The bowed string instruments come in various sizes. They are all made of wood, they have a neck and a fingerboard, a bridge to which is attached 4 strings, and a resonating body.
In this video, Sylvie Lambert, cellist with the OSM, tells us all about string instruments:
In this excerpt, discover the agility and the power of the string section of the OSM
Musicians hold the instrument either between their chin and their shoulder (violinists and violists), in front of them and between their legs (cellists) or standing in front of them (double bassists)! In order to create a sound, they rub their bows across the strings.
Did you know? The Bow
Did you know? Stradivarius
The Concertmaster
In the 16th century, the concertmaster was at once a musician in the orchestra and the conductor. But today, the concertmaster acts more as the “right hand” of the conductor.
If you’ve ever been to a concert, you must surely have been impressed by the synchronised bows!
Such synchronicity is not a fluke, but the hard work of the concertmaster. In fact, before beginning rehearsals for a musical work, the concertmaster indicates the bowings in the score with special symbols. All the violinists must then follow those indications so that their bows move in the same way. It is also the concertmaster who plays any solo passages that are indicated in the score. That’s why in French, the concertmaster is call the violon solo. Solo is the Italian word for alone.
Andrew Wan, Concertmaster of the OSM, performs Ein Heldenleben by Richard Strauss with the Orchestra.
The Plucked Strings : The Harp
The harp is the orchestra’s primary plucked string instrument. Even though it is a very ancient instrument, it did not appear in orchestras until the 19th century. To play it, the musician leans the instrument on their right shoulder and plucks the strings with their fingers, but not the thumb.
The Quebec harpist Valérie Milot (winner of the 2010 OSM Competition) plays a piece from the orchestral repertoire, adapted for the harp as a solo instrument:
Did you know? Pizzicato
The Strucked Strings : The Piano
You may sometimes see a piano at the very front of the stage, when it is being accompanied by the orchestra.
At once a percussion and a string instrument, the piano produces its sound thanks to little felt hammers that strike metal strings. With its 88 black and white keys, the piano is the orchestral instrument with the broadest range.
Like in this video of the pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin with the OSM!
The piano is not always found on stage because not all pieces necessarily include a part for the piano.
How does a piano works?
The Woodwinds
In this video, Mathieu Harel, bassoonist for the OSM, introduces the woodwind section
Traditionally made out of wood, these instruments are easy to recognize by their elongated shape. To produce a sound, you blow into a small opening on one end.
The openings on the oboe, the bassoon and the clarinet are fitted with small pieces of wood called “reeds” that the players vibrate with their lips. There are single reeds and double reeds, depending on the instrument. As for the flute, it does not have a reed, but a little hole (embouchure) over which the flutist blows air to produce a sound.
Here they are playing all together in this movement from Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky!
Did you know? Saxophone
The Brass Instruments
We can see them from far off because they are shiny, we can hear them clearly because their sound is powerful: these are the instruments of the brass family!
In this video, OSM trombonist, Pierre Beaudry, introduces us to the brass section.
To produce a sound, we blow into the mouthpiece while vibrating the lips.
Did you know? Harmonics
Discover the brass instruments of the OSM in quintet formation!
The Percussion Instruments
The percussion family groups together many instruments that are quite different from one another. To play them, percussionists strike them, shake them, or even scratch them. Some percussion instruments are made of metal, wood, or even skin (membrane) stretched over a wooden frame.
In this video, OSM percussionist, Hugues Tremblay introduces the percussion section
In order to differentiate between all the different percussion instruments, they are divided into two large families :
At the beginning of the 20th century, increased globalization allowed unpitched percussion instruments like the tam-tam from Asia and pitched percussion instruments like the xylophone, the glockenspiel and marimba, inspired by African instruments, to take their place in the orchestra.
Adam Johnson, Conductor in Residence of the OSM between 2015 and 2019, explains traditional percussion instruments.
Pitched percussions
Unpitched percussions
A Short History of Orchestral Music
From the Royal Court to the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
In Europe, up to the end of the 15th century, the purpose of music was for entertainment and dancing at royal courts. Musicians either came from noble families, or worked in their service.Since the 17th century, developments in instrument manufacturing, music theory, the evolution of musical genres and social transformations led to the emergence of many new forms of orchestral music. From Baroque opera to contemporary creations and everything in between, the structure of orchestral instrumentation has never stopped evolving in order to serve the needs of composers, musicians and the public.
To learn more, consult our thematic guide on orchestral forms
The Conductor and the Score
Table of Contents
1.3 What is conducting ?
1.2 Why a conductor ?
1.1 The Conductor
The Conductor
The Score
2.2 In the Score : Dynamics and Tempi
2.1 The Score
The Conductor
Who is this person with their back to the public that all the musicians seem to watch with such attention and who makes grandiose gestures with a little baton? It’s the conductor!
Did you know? Entrance onto the stage
For a long time conductors were almost always men. But these days, more and more women are taking on the role of conductor! In Quebec, like many other parts of the world, women conductors are seen leading the greatest orchestras. In France there is even a conducting competition exclusively for women!
The Conductor Dina Gilbert, Assistant Conductor of the OSM between 2013 and 2016, tells us about her profession
Why a Conductor ?
In the era of the first orchestras, there were far fewer musicians, sometimes only a dozen or so. As such, it was not that hard for the musicians to play together. Often the first violinist would signal to the other musicians when to start playing and when to stop. But with time, orchestras became larger and larger, and the music they played more and more complex. Eventually it was necessary to assign the task of leading the orchestra to a single person who was not playing one of the instruments. Great composers of the past often conducted their own works. After all, they knew better than anyone else how their own music should be played. But with time, the composers were no longer there to conduct their music, and so a separate conductor needed to take on the job.
The conductor is not necessarily a specialist in any one instrument. He or she must have a strong knowledge of each of the sections. Actually, we could say that the orchestra is the conductor’s instrument. It is with a precise gesture that the conductor communicates with the musicians in concerts and rehearsals. Like learning to play an instrument, this particular gesture require many hours of practice and refinement.
Here is a really impressive example of a conductor’s gestures!
What is conducting ?
Of course it involves communicating to the musicians when to start and stop, when to play louder or softer (dynamics), faster or slower (tempo). But, it also involves deciding the general intention and colour to give to the music.For example, we can tell when we listen to the same piece of music conducted by different conductors that each person brings their own energy and vision to the work in question.
In 2017, a humanoid robot named YuMi conducted several pieces during a concert in Italy.
There are hundreds of interpretations of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, with its famous first measures. Each version bears the distinctive imprint of the conductor who performed it.
A little listening game
Did you know? The Baton
The Score
The big book placed on the stand in front of the conductor on stage is called the score. It contains all the notes played by all the musicians, as well as all the expressive indications given by the composer (tempo, dynamics, etc.) As you can see in the score to the right, the instruments are indicated from the top to the bottom: The woodwinds, the brass and the percussion. Then come the choristers, also divided into sections according to their voice type, from highest to lowest (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), and finally the strings.We also see tempo indications: presto, which means that the tempo is very fast, and dynamics: ff, which means fortissimo, or very loud in English.
Have a look at the first pages of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.There are so many things taking place at the same time!
In the Score : Dynamics and Tempi
The dynamics, from the softest to the loudest
Italy was central in the development of music in Europe since the time of the Renaissance. It was at this time that Italian terms started to be used across Europe to indicate dynamics and tempi (tempo becomes tempi in the plural) in a score.However, some composers preferred to write their indications for tempo and expressivity in their own languages (in German, in French, and even in Russian!). Nonetheless, Italian has never lost its primary place as the language of choice for musical indications.
Tempi, from the slowest to the fastest in BPM (beat per minute)
40-60
52-68
112-160
60-80
88-112
76-100
140-200
~ 140
100-128
> 188
Adam Johnson (OSM Conductor in Residence between 2015 and 2019) tells us about the invisible elements of music
Did you know? Tuning
Game and Activity
Activity
Game
Symphonic Time's up
To baton or not to baton ?
PLAY
PLAY
Have fun imagining the personality of a conductor, and play the role while conducting a movement from a symphony!
Time’s up is a guessing game in which two teams race the clock to try and guess the most words in 30 seconds!
For every orchestra, a conductor
How to play
Personality Profile
Full name : Age : Nationality : Character : Language(s) spoken : Country of residence : Instrument(s) played? If yes which one(s)? : With or without a baton?: Favorite musical work: Why are you a conductor?:
Now its your time to play!
Here you will find many resources to help perfect your technique as an orchestral conductor
According to the characteristics that you assigned to your conductor, try your hand at conducting a movement from a Beethoven symphony! If you have access to costumes and wigs – even better!If there are a few of you doing this activity, compare your interpretations and hold a vote for the most convincing performance.
Now observe some famous conductors
Refresh your memory about the role of the baton in this video
Valery Gergiev
PLAY
Han-na Chang
Herbert von Karajan
Kent Nagano
Try conducting the measures with the help of the following 3 images
Do you know the game Time’s up?
It’s a guessing game in which two teams race the clock to guess as many words as possible in 30 seconds! The words to guess are rolled up into little balls.
Download the words
HOW TO PLAY
MATERIaL
For further information
The OSM on your smartphone!
Did you know that there is an OSM app that allows you to discover the orchestra from the inside out? It’s called OSM Polyphonique!
Once the app is open, all you have to do is scan the area around you, and the orchestra will virtually appear.
Then you can walk around the virtual orchestra to hear the different instruments up close, all to the music of Beethoven!
You can download the app on your smart phone or your tablet here!
Playlists
The Espace OSM
Right next to the Maison symphonique, the Espace OSM is open to all, and allows you to experience the OSM beyond the concert hall.
Through out this specially designed space we offer the public an immersive journey through the most significant events from the history of the OSM.
The Espace OSM also hosts special events and innovative installations – all of which present opportunities for the orchestra to create closer relationships with its community.