Conductor Spotlight

Leopold Stokowski was larger than life. He was also quite the showman. Maybe you remember the story about his decision to dim the lights on the orchestra and have a spot focusing on his hands? While I do not have video of that performance, the following is an excerpt of Stokowski conducting the Orchestra Internazionale Giovanile, St Moritz and Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in a 1969 performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, so you can see the famous hands in action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QVKU_izuRY How far will a conductor go to be in the spotlight? Well, just ask Francis Schwartz. He wrote the Concerto for Solo Conductor, which was premiered by conductor Roberto-Juan Gonzalez at the Napa Valley College Theater in 2006. Here's a video of that performance; it's actually pretty entertaining, and the audience gets into the spirit of things. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY5ux_l2ZiI