Opera Scotland

Wagner, the Father of modern conducting philosophy 2015Wagner Society of Scotland

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Meetings of the Wagner Society of Scotland take place at the Edinburgh Society of Musicians, 3 Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3BL on Sunday evenings 7.30-9.30pm unless otherwise specified. Prospectve members are warmly welcome

Speaker: CHRIS GRAY: "Wagner, the Father of modern conducting philosophy"

Chris Gray writes:

"Wagner's 1869 essay 'Über das Dirigiren' made a revolutionary statement about the changing roles and responsibilities of the conductor, moving conductors away from generations of administrative functionality to a future with unquestioned musical control. Wagner's desire to place the conductor at the epicentre of musical performance starter a period of development that led directly to the creation of a language and grammar for modern conductors.

My talk will look the history of the conducting leading to Wagner's emergence as a master conductor, his essay and the period of exploration and discovery that followed. 

My interest in Wagner has spanned my entire musical life, having played his works as a young double bass player, experiencing the Meistersingers Overture at the age of 16, and then to the adventures of the Ring Cycle at Scottish Opera and Lohengrin under Runnicles at the BBC SSO some years later. As a conductor I have had the opportunity to explore many of his works with both young, amateur and professional orchestras. 

I currently split my life between Aberdeen where I am Depute Head of Music at the University of Aberdeen and Glasgow where I am the Director of Scottish Opera's Youth Company: Connect."

Admission: Members £7 / Non-Members £10