Mystery of the maestros: what are conductors for?

How do conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Simon Rattle and Valery Gergiev work? Tom Service drops in on leading orchestras to find outThe first concert of orchestral music I ever went to – I was seven – introduced me to Mozart, his 29th Symphony in A major, K 201, a piece that opened up some place of resonance and meaning that I've been exploring ever since. But it also introduced me to the strangest profession in musical culture. Who was this person with a white stick in his right hand, wit...

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