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A few of my friends and colleagues were playing a concert in a local orchestra and shared with me these notes from a Spanish conductor who is getting a lot of new work in this area. I would like to add that this is uncommon and I have never seen anything like this in my 28 years of professional orchestra playing. The below email that was sent to all the participating musicians was forwarded by a Miami contractor. Enjoy reading his comments below and imagine how it would be to work with him and bare in mind that Florida musicians are payed extremely poorly for their hard work.
Hi Everyone,
As predicted , here are some notes..
PLEASE, take a moment when you can before friday's performance and go over them..
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Did I miss the "notes" ?
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Ah.. I found it on
http://fiddlerman.com/2012/02/…..mon-tebar/
Hehe. That was quite long. I didn't read through it too well. But from what I could tell he really cares. But there was a lot of demands for a "poorly paid" orchestra as you mentioned 
Though.. I failed to see the point
It is however good that he takes his work seriously.
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It is a convincing demonstration that the man knows his subject and this should make the musicians pay closer attention.
Who could remember it all ?
The overall impact is probably positive (?)
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Bare in mind that conductors are human. They are often insecure and can also convince themselves that they are doing everything right. I can listen to almost any orchestra play and point out endless faults but who is to blame? Conductors can think that they are crystal clear and that everyone else is wrong. I haven't yet played with this conductor but I have played with others that like to blame all problems on the orchestra. When an orchestra plays great and is reviewed it is always, "The fantastic conductor". When an orchestra which did poorly is reviewed it's usually "The orchestra". The conductor gets the super hero role.
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Like other low paid 'vocations' I'm sure even musicians look for perfection in their performance.
Though in whose eyes this perfection is attained may be the real question here.
After watching my first 'live' performance last night, of the Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra in the magnificent Lichfield Cathedral, to me it was perfection.
Maybe not so for the Conductor, but what would he know, he didn't even have a stick!
(ps, the last sentence was an offshoot of my in-built English sattire and only meant in jest)
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I'll never be a pro. 
I'm just happy if I can keep my sound from touching the floor. (?)
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I can't say anything intelligible about that 
I'm incompetent in how possible is for example this:
…-Tutti, 3 before 2: it’s a tempo, you slow down too much (direction to the 2nd beat). Poco rit. is just 4 before 2. And please strings, careful with the intonation….
Really? You, professionals do it ? 
/My imagination is playing tricks on me right now…../
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What really gets me is how subjective a lot of it is. I'm now quite impressed that orchestras work at all.
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Being a conductor isn't it his job to take care of most of these things. If a section is coming in late it's his fault for the poor cue. If the cresendo is not righ, he is the one controlling it. The part that gets me the most is that he implies that now that the cheaper ticket performances are being played the members of the orchestra will not play to thier best.
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Good point Kevin.
Yes Naska, professionals play out of tune. However it's usually to another degree than what you are thinking.
Imagine the time a player would have to put in just to find these spots in the music and make a note. Then one players actions is not enough, everyone has to do it. A conductor's job is to fix these type of concerns during the rehearsals. With all the cutbacks often we play concerts after one or two rehearsals. He should probably try to help raise funds and pay the musicians for an extra rehearsal to repair these issues.
A great conductor can show you things you never imagined could be shown and get you to understand what he wants almost automatically. It's really hard to explain.
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I got bored after the first two points.
I wonder how many members of the orchestra did the same 
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I got bored after the first two points.
I wonder how many members of the orchestra did the same
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I wonder how many read it at all. I know these guys
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Fiddlerman said
Good point Kevin.
Yes Naska, professionals play out of tune. However it's usually to another degree than what you are thinking.
Imagine the time a player would have to put in just to find these spots in the music and make a note. Then one players actions is not enough, everyone has to do it. A conductor's job is to fix these type of concerns during the rehearsals. With all the cutbacks often we play concerts after one or two rehearsals. He should probably try to help raise funds and pay the musicians for an extra rehearsal to repair these issues.
I see now. But can't undestand until i try.. Doubt that i ever will have a chance to play with a conductor
A great conductor can show you things you never imagined could be shown and get you to understand what he wants almost automatically. It's really hard to explain.
HaaaHaaa! I always understand what my teacher wants to tell me by her face 
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