大象传媒

When conductor Ben Gernon tells people what he does, he鈥檚 almost always met with the same response 鈥渙h how fascinating鈥� now tell me, what do you actually do?鈥� It鈥檚 a universally unanswered question.

In The Silent Musician, Ben answers that question, charting a sonically rich and provocative ride through the conducting jungle, and opening our ears to the possibilities in performance that different conductors create. He unlocks the traditions and sound worlds of our best orchestras, and explores what happens to the music making when there is no conductor.

Beneath the surface lies a fascinating and unusual profession. The conductor鈥檚 job spec includes refining colour, manipulating sound and balance, interpretation and philosophy. They think deeply about music, culture, history and performance practice and they need to inspire 70 or so - sometimes rebellious - musicians. But how does that all come together to create a distinctive performance?

Ben introduces key elements from the conductor鈥檚 toolkit: tempo, rhythm, dynamics, clarity, story, balance and emotion, revealing the personal tricks and techniques that conductors use to achieve them. Once a conductor鈥檚 fingerprint becomes recognisable, listeners begin to hear the music differently.

Beethoven: Symphony no. 5 in C minor op 67, 1st movement
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlos Kleiber (conductor)

Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Part 1: Nocturne
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Yannick Nezet Seguin (conductor)

Foulds: Le Cabaret op. 72a: Overture
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth (conductor)

Shostakovich: Symphony no 5 in D minor op. 47 4th movement
New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein (conductor)

Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream - Overture Op. 21
Berlin Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado (conductor)

Puccini: Madama Butterfly: Vogliatemi bene
Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Orchestra dell鈥橝ccademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano (conductor)

Zappa: Night School
Ensemble Moderne, Jonathan Stockhammer (conductor)

Nielsen: Symphony no 1 in G minor op.7 2nd movement
London Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis (conductor)

Weinberg: Symphony no. 21 op 152, Presto,
CBSO, Mirga Gra啪inyt臈-Tyla (conductor)

Produced by Freya Hellier
An Overcoat Media production