Conductor

Conductor, the director of the modern orchestra. Though from the earliest days of the orchestra abroad he has always performed his duty by beating time with the baton, the practice was unknown in this country till introduced by Spohr in 1820, at a concert of the Philharmonic Society of London. Previously the orchestra was kept together by the leader of the violins, the conductor simply sitting at the harpsichord or piano with the score before him, occasionally putting in a few chords, or accompanying; but the result was clearly unsatisfactory, and the conducting stick had only to be introduced to gain general acceptance at once. The art of conducting as now practised requires so many qualifications that it may be considered rather as a special gift than an acquirement to be learnt. But few eminent composers have also distinguished themselves as conductors. The greatest recent conductors are Costa, Von Bülow, and Richter.