Fritz Reiner conducts Mozart (vaimusic.com)

[brianwells456comcast]

The great conductor(and wonderful composer)Richard Strauss told the young Reiner "Inspiration,not perspiration"! in regards to conducting style.Check out Strauss conducting on YouTube-you`ll see where Reiner got his general approach,there is a strong resemblance.Not a lot of movement or facial expression but super results!

[poopoo111222333]

fritz dracula

[radiootoo]

WOW!! First time EVER seeing Fritz conducting... some shoulders! he raised me most 1950's Sunday afternoons via RCA LP on the old SCOTT Hi-Fi . . .

[japanesesweet]

Great performance. Reiner looks not entirely friendly...bordering on scary.

[sphere82]

I think the video and audio are not fully coordinated...sound must be a tiny bit ahead...because it is hard to believe that the orchestra would rush ahead of his baton so much at 3:00 and even more later on, (3:32)......

[69Reinier]

he's pretty much impressive, some say he's a minimalist, but if you look more in the style, he tries to get the best out of the musicians.

First he makes them know why they are there, second he askes them to be the best (as possible) in what they do. That way he only has to do almost nothing about the way people feel and play the piece they all make. To be a good musician ain't good enough, you should be willing to become the best...

[rwocmo]

I wish that some of today's "monkey-face" contortionists would learn from the likes of Reiner, Szell, and Toscanini. Brilliant, and minimal.

[metteholm75]

I´ve never heard Mozart performed that way before, - and surely I will  try to find recordings with him.

[DasKindespiel]

jajaja, es un militar dirigiendo una orquesta

[geoffreylarson]

conducting with the ear, rather than with the baton

[arterifell]

The conductor's main contribution is during rehearsals, something not to be forgotten. Fritz Reiner is one of the greatest conductors of all time, a master, and it is apparent in this performance which shows the perfect control of nuances with a result that marvelous.

[kirkporterpaaert]

What a great stick! His left hand at his side shows so much respect in a way too to the orchestra as if to say you don't need me to tell you something extraneous. You know what to do. It is telepathy really. Watch Walter and Munch by contrast and yet they do it too i.e. let their understanding speak through what they impart (and don't) with their bodies.

[ipmoic]

What wonderful control Reiner exhibited. He had a fabulous internal clock of the right tempi and expression.

Although outwardly cool looking, the results he got were exhilarating and anything but cool.

A master.

[metphmet]

Mr Patmike , the military band seem very good in your country.

[patmike12]

Boring conducting. He looks like he's conducting a military band rather than an orchestra. Awesom other than that...

[PoseidonRM]

The question is patmike, what really IS the purpose of a conductor. All the flowery stuff does not make ANY sound, it is the musicians that makes every beautiful sound that comes out. All the conductor REALLY is is a glorified metronome. Unfortunately many conductors have bought into a belief that their stick makes a sound.

Reiner recordings are always fabulous, so that shows that the floweriness is not essential to producing a great product.

I'll take clarity of stick and thought over BS.

[catherinebsteele]

You just have to be careful when you criticize a "great"! That's all! You're going to get many opinions back from your own. :)

[atomicmrpelly]

There are very very few conductors that musicians seem to unanimously agree are 'great'.

Instead of arguing about it and getting hung up on whose 'interpretation' (awful word!) is best, shouldn't we just try to appreciate what different conductors bring to music and agree to disagree about whose performance we prefer!?

[traydb]

Where's the rest?

[joeocho88]

Reiner was a Brahms and a Richard Strauss conductor.

I would leave the Mozart and Rossini to Sir Colin Davis or someone like him.

There used to be a guy back in the 1980s who always wore a hat who was a good conductor too but I forgot his name. He can conduct a real Rossini/Mozart piece too. You have to have that light touch which calls for a lot o restraint in the brass and winds and the strings can't overpower either.

[wattever333]

Giulini?

[3Drichie]

@joeocho88 "I would leave the Mozart and Rossini to Sir Colin Davis or someone like him."

Davis may bring out nuances in Mozart and Rossini that Reiner misses, but Reiner certainly wasn't too shabby either. His performances of the Rossini overtures with the CSO are among the best ever recorded. To this day, his William Tell still stands as one of the most exciting performances of anything ever recorded, a stunning display of the Chicago Symphony's virtuosity during its Golden Era.

[joeocho88]

Actually, he wasn't. There were much better conductors and Herbert von Karajan comes to mind. I think he was the best of all!

[rolandonavarro]

Sorry but your are wrong, my dear friend. Karajan is a marketing products. Szell, Reiner, Kubelik, Kleiber (father and son), Barbirolli, Beecham, and son on. They are really GREAT conductors.

[jacquesurlus]

D'accord avec vous mais j'ajouterais Bohm, Jochum et Kempe.

[o0Prometheus0o]

Yes, Szell, Reiner, Kubelik, Kleiber (father and son)... are really GREAT conductors. Also Klemperer, Karl Böhm, Bruno Walter, but the best of all is Wilhelm Furtwängler : )

[themouseofevil]

His 3/4 pattern is so hard to read! I've been using these videos of Fritz Reiner to teach myself better conducting, but it is hard! The guy was amazing!

[wally5353]

You have to remember that orchestras like Chicago or Vienna, when playing standard repertoire like this don't need to have a clear three beat all the time.

[themouseofevil]

Good point

[oboest]

Bravo....nicely put

[jkircher314]

I love Reiner!

[carygrant06]

Reiner "...did well with a lot of composers, but Mozart wasn't one of them." Well, besides not having mastered the english language, it is also abundantly clear you have no expertise in the realm of conducting nor in the realm of classical music performance.

Maybe you should try stamp collecting as a new hobby.

[olaig100]

George, VAI made a DVD of this? Can I ask for a copy?

Thanks Olaig100

[Music2Die4]

Reiner did great with a lot of composers, but Mozart was not one of them.....