The Omniscient Mussel

Radetzky x5

or why conductors matter. Miss Mussel was relieved to see that bloggers and journalists didn’t take the bait in regards to Phillipa Ibbotson’s thoroughly ridiculous article about the value of conductors. Poorly argued and grossly uninformed is just the tip of the iceberg. Miss Mussel is going to quit talking about it before she gets all wound up again. Where’s Runnicles has a thoughtful response if you’re interested.

The Radetzky March is a tradition at the New Year’s Concert in Vienna. The orchestra can play it in their sleep and a steady beat is provided by the drums corps, so in this case the conductor really is unnecessary. Following that line of thinking, you would expect all five versions to be exactly the same. But they’re not.

Discuss.

Karajan 1987 – succeeds in making New Year’s fluff seem creepy. His schtick seems to be to act as if the audience is an annoyance that must count itself lucky to be accommodated by such towering genius. Yawn.

Kleiber – having the most fun hands down. Gergiev has his toothpick but, as of yet, Miss Mussel has not seen anyone else conducting with their toes.

Abaddo 1991 – most charming with the crowd. He’s in on the fun with them instead of patronizing.

Mehta 2007 – mixing it up with the walk-on and achieving an actual parade tempo. It is not too difficult to imagine teenaged girls tossing batons and flashing their vaselined teeth at the quarterback.

Ozawa 2002 – goes around the world and then settles in for a leisurely stroll around the parade ground.

Sartorial Footnote: Well cut, matching suits with straight ties look very smart. If the Viennese are able to find a suitable alternative to tails, then so too can North America.