What Does A Conductor Do?

Joanna Lumley has a few questions about her husband’s profession. As well as being a composer and pianist, Stephen Barlow is a conductor - but what does that actually mean? What is it that a conductor actually does? Do they set the speed of the music? How long have they been around for? Are they really needed at all? In this episode Stephen answers these questions and takes us behind the velvet curtain into the backstage life of the conductor.