A Brief History of the Conductor’s Baton

Send us Fan MailToday, most orchestral performances begin with the grand entrance of the maestro, as he/she takes their place on the podium and then emphatically points their baton at the musicians to indicate everyone (including the audience) should pay attention.But the use of the baton wasn’t always this elegant and didn't always convey the musical subtleties of conductor to musician. In this episode, I hopscotch through history to see how the modern-day baton came to be.About StevenSteven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.A Note To Music Students et al.All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions. Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] Love classical music? There's more to discover.If you enjoyed this episode, you can read the companion article and subscribe on Substack at The Classical Music Minute. And for a brand-new narrated classical music story every day, download the Classical Minute app for iPhone.Until next time, I'm Steven Hobé. Thanks for listening to The Classical Music Minute.