More than meets the eye

I hope you've had a chance to listen to the Mischke Broadcast on Sam's latest post; there are some really astute observations about the Orchestra and some great questions posed to the group of musicians who chatted with Mischke post-rehearsal.

I was waiting for the quintessential orchestra question/comment, and I wasn't disappointed: "I don't understand how you can [watch the conductor] and read the sheet music at the same time...". I've gotten the same sort of questions in the post-concert Q&A sessions at the "Inside the Classics" shows - "How do you know the orchestra is paying attention to what you do if they're looking at their music and not at you?". The answer, of course, is that peripheral vision plays a huge role in orchestral playing, as does a constantly shifting visual focus.

Players are obviously looking at music, but they have other things to visually attend to as well; string players, for instance, are not always looking at their fingers on their instruments, but if they have a huge leap up to a high note, they are certainly looking at the fingerboard to make the shift accurately. Section players keep a corner of their eye on their section leaders - it's crucial for ensemble playing for a section to be thinking and breathing together. And everyone keeps another eye-corner on the conductor; it's pretty amazing what you can pick up just by the velocity of movement without fully focusing on the actual gesture itself.

It's not to say that we on the podium are bereft of any direct eye contact whatsoever. When coming in for a big solo, most wind and brass players like a good second or so of visual confirmation - I've encountered instances where something went slightly awry before a big wind solo, and a clear cue with lots of eye contact is reassuring and usually very much appreciated. Usually, once the contact is made, it need not be continued - it's more of a "We're both just checking to make sure that everything's OK" moment. String section leaders, particularly the concert master, will make eye contact as well, especially when a conductor is indicating that something needs to change - the tempo is too fast/slow, the dynamic is not where it should be - and a quick look from both parties is all that's needed to confirm "I'm trying to get you to move the tempo/I get that you're trying to make us pick up the tempo".

Sometimes the visual contact is of a totally extra-musical nature. This past holiday season we played the "Evening Prayer" and "Pantomime" from Hansel and Gretel a half dozen times during Young People's Concerts, and a few weeks before the performances violist Matt Young had mentioned to me how much he loved a particular part of the "Pantomime". So of course during the first performance I glanced over to him at that moment and caught his eye - he smiled, I smiled, and from then on all week I always gave him a quick look, which was always returned. It's one of those "inside joke" moments that happens constantly onstage, which (as long as it doesn't distract from the performance!) I rather like - we might be creating extraordinary music, but we're just people, after all, and those wordless but deeply human exchanges that happen are part of what helps us feel connected to each other, which, in turn, makes the music even more extraordinary.