Weekend Recommendation #15

Conductors

This is the time of year when my wife and I try to watch the films  we have yet to see that are up for Academy Awards.  In recent years, this has been a less than satisfying experience.  “This is up for the best picture?  You have to be kidding me!”   

Often there are films that might not be worthy of the best picture award, but that are great star vehicles for the lead actors.  One of those films is “Tar” about a narcissistic, driven, cruel, and incredibly accomplished conductor, played with stunning brilliance by Cate Blanchett.  I am a Blanchett fan and this is one of her best acting performances.  My wife and I both agreed that if she wins the Oscar for this film, it would be no surprise.

Blanchett’s performance in “Tar” was so brilliant that it prompted me to reflect back on the great conductors that my parents introduced me to as a child and to others, I have come to as an adult.

Here are a number of videos of some of the greatest conductors – of symphony orchestras and big bands- that will move you. These conductors are completely absorbed in what they do and, in some cases, can be brutal in their strive for perfection.

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