The maestro myth

by Norman Lebrecht

"There is no profession which an imposter could enter more easily," wrote the violinist Carl Flesch of conducting. The truth may be that "great conductors" exist primarily because we demand mythical heroes, visible leaders, cultural icons. In this vigorous anatomy of power on the podium, Norman Lebrecht argues that the great conductor's musical purpose is secondary to his commercial necessity. Lebrecht traces the rise of the orchestra conductor from Bulow, Richter and Nikisch in the nineteenth century, when composers abdicated responsibility for directing their increasingly unwieldy scores, to the stars of today, masters of the musical world and the media. Lebrecht contends that the supreme example of the omnipotent conductor was Herbert von Karajan, the richest musician in history. With the aid of previously inaccessible material, he exposes the roots of Karajan's career in the Third Reich and on New York's 57th Street. He reassesses the mercurial Arturo Toscanini, looks behind Sir Th