Ralf Weikert about his profession

The book title Profession conductor is unspectacular. And this is exactly how the author presents himself with his language: direct, clear, comprehensible and hard on the subject, therefore with many details that are enlightening for the concertgoer, because in many intermission conversations one can learn how vague the knowledge about what happens "behind the scenes" and about the conditions of the concert business often is. Ralf Weikert, born in St. Florian (Austria) in 1940, who trained in Linz and Vienna (with Hans Swarovsky) and became chief conductor in the then German capital Bonn at the age of twenty-eight, was also chief conductor at the Zurich Opera House for almost ten years (1983-92) and has lived in Switzerland for a long time. He deliberately speaks of a profession, not a vocation - and of course he also means female conductors, as he emphasizes in the foreword - what a relief that the tedious double entendres are dispensed with!

Weikert focuses on the craft and thus the everyday aspects of this demanding and fascinating activity. In his remarks, he is thinking primarily of aspiring conductors and musicians and explains that much of this can be learned and that a convincing repertoire of works can only be kept ready to play with a lifetime of intensive work; however, he also shows that certain prerequisites must be fulfilled in order to be able to meet the requirements.

He then deals with the individual problem areas in a clearly structured manner, first in the music itself and the associated sheet music - this is also clearly documented with inserted score pages -, then he devotes himself to the music business, the acoustics in various rooms and the orchestral set-up; furthermore, he clearly distinguishes between the situation of the opera or concert conductor. He has extensive experience in both areas, having conducted at the Met in New York, in San Francisco, in Korea, in Japan and in many renowned opera houses and concert halls in Europe. He also addresses the current problem of the dominance of opera direction over music, giving numerous, mostly negative examples, but never loses his composure and subsumes them under "imponderables". A few succinct but nicely formulated memories of unexpected events and encounters are also included when he talks about the most beautiful profession he can imagine. However, the "feu sacré" cannot be learned.

Ralf Weikert: Beruf Dirigent, with disco/videography, index of persons, 189 p., hardcover, € 19.99, Böhlau, Vienna and others 2017, ISBN 978-3-205-20530-2