Q&A with Osmo Vänskä

What is the role of a conductor?
If we are speaking about an orchestra of more than thirty players, they need a conductor for practical reasons because there are too many to play together. So the first thing a conductor should do for them is give them a rhythmic point to tell them when to play. Then there are many other things, such as dynamic level of the music and how the musicians should play musical phrases. The final result should be as if one player is playing the same piece—that’s what a conductor is trying to do.

Do professional musicians who can read music really need a conductor?
If you have a large orchestra, it is impossible for them to play together without a conductor’s help because there are too many things happening all at the same time. When musicians play, the sound of their own instrument prevents them from being able to hear other parts of the orchestra. Also, if we are speaking about a piece of music that has never been played before, there is no chance to survive without a conductor to tell when the first beat is and the second and so on. So, to the question, “Does an orchestra need a conductor?,” the answer is yes.

How do you go about getting the results you want from the orchestra, from rehearsal to the concert hall?
First of all, I need to do my homework. I need to know the score, to know what is more important and less important—how fast or how slow should we play? At rehearsal, I’m conducting for speed and trying to tell people with my hands what is important—this group or that phrase. It’s very simple—I am like a traffic policeman giving cues for people to follow. If that doesn’t work, I have to tell the players that in this place you are going too fast and this place too slow, or your intonation is slightly too sharp, so maybe there is a misprint on the score; maybe instead of F-sharp you should have E-sharp—those sorts of things. I think the conductor in rehearsal is some kind of manager who is leading the process so that we can put things together, but things change for the concert. In the concert, the conductor shouldn’t be any kind of traffic controller anymore—they should be giving inspiration to the orchestra and having nice ideas about the music. Rehearsal is about controlling things and putting them together. When they are in the right place, then in concert we start to enjoy the music.

How do you communicate with the orchestra all at once with all of that music going on at the same time?
If you watch the orchestra, and you have a feeling that they’re not watching the conductor, that’s not true. The good orchestras always see what the conductor is doing. The first thing is tempo—one, two, three, four. Then you must have real eye contact with the players and use your body also to make movements that are giving some kind of substance to the music.

The gestures you use as a conductor—are these standard, or do you have your own style?
The basic things are international—I can do the same thing in Tokyo, Minneapolis, Helsinki, or in London. The basic thing is [motions with hand]: One, two, one, two; or one, two, three, four; or one, two, three, four, five, and so forth. These are understood.

If you want the orchestra to get louder or softer, how do you communicate that?
You don’t need to be a professional to understand this very soft [lower his hands], and this is very loud [raises his hands high] with all kinds of variations in between.

Sometimes you conduct with a baton and sometimes without. Why is that?
It’s connected to the music. I prefer to use the baton when things are faster and more eye contact is necessary. But usually in slower things, I do it without the baton and use my fingers; and also to give people a chance to listen more carefully to each other. When I’m conducting without the baton, it’s more about the music than the pulse, and those sorts of non-pulse things I feel I can do better with my fingers. Of course, there must be a pulse, but in slow movements, you are able to feel the pulse in different ways than when it is very fast.

Do you conduct differently in concert than you do in rehearsal?
Yes, that’s a very important point. The rehearsals are for making sure we have the right notes at the right the time with the right intonation and phrasing so that we know the ensemble is working together. Then for the concert, I have to do different things to make it interesting. I think it’s boring if I’m some kind of schoolmaster in the concert. The concert is more about enjoying music-making and trying to find some new things, and that is possible if we are prepared enough, not only for me but for the musicians. When they know what to do, and they are playing beautiful phrases and people are listening and responding, they can find something new. Sometimes it goes the opposite way: I have an idea, and I say, ‘Let’s go this way.’ So there are many invisible [things] going on that make things happen in a really good concert. But it’s all based on preparation—without it, we wouldn’t have this kind of freedom in concert.

Do you have any special tricks that you keep in your back pocket for concerts?
[Laughs.] They are very spontaneous. Sometimes I am very surprised myself—both positively and negatively—about my special tricks.

Do you have any recommendations for budding conductors out there?
They have to love music. They have to listen to music. They have to play music. And they have to know how to read music. Then practice, practice, practice. The problem for conductors is that the orchestra is the conductor’s instrument—so how do you practice if you don’t have an instrument? You are not allowed to go in front of an orchestra unless you are a talented conductor, so practice can be a problem. There are things one can do, like get some of your friends together in some kind of chamber group and practice with them. But I wouldn’t recommend practicing with recordings because then you can get some surprises when people don’t respond like the recording. You can have a lot of fun doing that, but it is not great preparation for becoming a conductor.

What is the most important aspect of your job?
The most first and most important duty for a conductor is to help musicians to play together. Whatever I can do to keep them together and stay two seconds ahead to avoid accidents—that’s what I have to be ready to do all the time. The conductor should be the first one who understands that something is going in the wrong direction, and if the conductor can move at the right time, no one will hear where things weren’t quite so together. I have to be aware of where the orchestra might need me at all times, and sometimes it happens very fast—but I try to do it in a way that doesn’t make people in the audience nervous.