Lahav Shani, the designated chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic – culture

“A conductor is a skilled worker who needs twenty years of professional training.” This is how Herbert von Karajan once described his craft. And his antipode Sergiu Celibidache, the legendary general music director of the Munich Philharmonic, took a similar view: years of experience are one of the prerequisites for a good conductor. Of course you have to have the talent to understand symphonic contexts and to be able to structure them accordingly. Charisma and persuasiveness are among the indispensable necessities, the ability to make one’s own sound ideas clear to the orchestra in a score and to be able to transfer one’s desire for expression to the musicians – and also to the audience – by means of gestures and facial expressions. This only sees the conductor from behind, but in a certain way he also has to turn his back speak be able.