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In the passage about conducting, Igor Stravinsky expresses his total disrespect for conductors and their personalities. He exposes this irreverent attitude by his comparisons of conducting to such deceiving professions as politics and acting. Continuing his attack on conductors, he also presents the actual flaws in their character and outlook. Relentless in his criticism, Stravinsky uses his images throughout the passage to reveal his own disrespectful and scornful attitude toward the art of conducting. Specifically, he reveals his attitude through his comparison of conducting to the duplicity in politics, and his reference to conductors as egotistical and mindless individuals. Igor Stravinsky first exposes his scornful attitude by comparing conducting to politics, a profession that is usually associated with lying and deceit.
He first states that conducting, like politics, rarely attracts original minds and is more for the exploitation of personalities. This statement shows his irreverence, since he implies that conducting does not require intelligent individuals, but rather individuals that are able to deceive other peoples thoughts and ideas. Furthermore, this comparison of the process of conducting to exploitation in politics also shows his disregard since the conductors are relying on their skill of taking advantage of other people. Stravinsky continues that conductors and politicians are merely in it more for the making of careers than a profession for the application of exact and standardized disciplines. Therefore, both politicians and conductors engage in their profession solely for their own appearance in society. Stravinsky also disgusts conductors since they do not possess the devotion to follow the disciplines or specific rules and guidelines that normally govern a respectable profession.
Furthermore, he adds that the successful conductor can be an incomplete musician, a compleat angler, [but has the] skill [of] power politics. Through this image, Stravinsky regards these successful conductors as incomplete, or incompetent, but the conductors, like politicians, only have to know how to use power politics to reel in the audience like an angler would reel in a fish. Stravinsky believes this skill of power politics and deception is a requirement for politics and also for a conductor to be sucessful, thereby exposing his own disregard of conducting and conductors. Through his bold comparison of the art of conducting to the treachery and deceit usually associated with politics, Igor Stravinsky thus conveys his own disdainful attitude toward conducting.
Stravinsky also reveals his total disregard for conductors through his depictions of conductors as egotistical and selfish. He describes conductors as having a [high] incidence of ego disease, again emphasizing his disrespect of the fact that conductors are concerned primarily with themselves. Stravinsky also adds that this disease grows like a tropical weed under the sun of a pandering public. The authors tenor of scorn is evident here since the conductors become more haughty and contempt as they become more distinguished within their profession. Therefore, it causes the conductors to have a false, arbitrary authority. As a result, Stravinsky reveals his own opinion of the unimportance of the conductors beliefs since these egotistical beliefs have no value.
In fact, Stravinsky even goes as far as to say that these great conductors, great actors, and titans of the podium are the worst obstacle to genuine music-making. These conductors are unable to play anything but themselves, and instead adapt the work to themselves, their style, [and] their mannerisms. In these comparisons to self-importance, Stravinsky refutes the idea that conductors generally are worthy of respect and admiration, and instead indicates the opposite. Therefore, the authors own opinion of the incompetence and inability of conductors to help create music is developed through these images. Through his images of conductors as egotistical, incompetent, and deceitful individuals, Igor Stravinsky reveals his own scorn toward conductors and their characteristic traits.
His particular choices of imagery effectively reveal his own tenor since the reader is able to quickly relate to the comparisons made of conducting. For example, the imagery of politics is particularly effective, since politics are a daily part of society and often one is able to identify with all of the duplicity and deception normally associated with politics. Also by comparing conducting to politics, Stravinsky effectively reveals his own loathsome opinion towards conducting, which is similar to the way in which people regard politics. Furthermore, his strong images of egotistical, selfish conductors also help to develop this irreverent opinion. Overall, Stravinsky's choices of imagery serve as an effective means to reveal his own scornful attitude on the insignificance of conducting. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Conductors As Egotistical Comparing Conducting To Politics Stravinsky
