# Conductors (and Musicians) as Composers



## Sudonim (Feb 28, 2013)

Off the top of my head (and bearing in mind my relative inexperience with classical music), I can think of two conductors who have made a more-or-less equally important contribution to the music as composers: Leonard Bernstein and Pierre Boulez.

There's Mahler, too, of course, but since none of his work as a conductor was recorded (was it? There was some recording done in his lifetime, but not much) we can't really judge his ability as a conductor. It seems from contemporary accounts that he was pretty well-respected, though certainly not without controversy. If he had lived another twenty or thirty years and been recorded, would his reputation as a conductor sit alongside his reputation as a composer?

I know that Klemperer and Furtwängler tried their hand at composing, but their work is certainly not often performed or recorded. Same with Glenn Gould, who composed (as I recall) at least one piece of chamber music. Can we assume from this that their music is not of the greatest quality? (I've never heard any of it.)

So, what other conductors or musicians (and by this I mean those whose _primary_ occupation or reputation is as a musician, like Gould) have also composed music? Should their music, in your opinion, be better known and more often performed/recorded?


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

One composer/conductor I've been following is Esa Pekka Salonen. His reputation as a conductor preceded his notice as a composer, and people like to debate the influence of his knowledge of the classical repertoire on his own music--and whether there isn't too much of an influence.

Here you can see him conducting his recent Violin Concerto: 




As to your question, I wish I had other recordings to compare it to--not that he's had as much difficulty as other contemporary composers getting his works recorded!


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Esa-Pekka Salonen, Reinbert de Leeuw, Bruno Maderna, John Adams.

I would say that Boulez's contribution as a composer is not something circunstancial. He's really one of the most important post-war composers, with a very well established core of stunning masterpieces. Yes, maybe his output is small.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Jose Serebrier is also a composer. In interviews, he's said that his knowledge of composition has helped him understand music from the composer's perspective a lot better, especially when it came to understanding Glazunov's symphonies and other orchestral works.


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## isridgewell (Jul 2, 2013)

Evgeny Svetlanov wrote a considerable amount of music.
Webern had a good reputation as a conductor.
Igor Markevitch thought of himself primarily as a composer.
More recently, Oliver Knussen has made some fine recordings.
I also have some recordings (Carmina Burana and Beethoven 7) with Penderecki conducting


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

isridgewell said:


> Webern had a good reputation as a conductor.


Based on the two recordings of his I know (his own orchestration of Schubert's German Dances and Berg's Violin Concerto), rightly so! I only wish he had left behind recordings of Mahler, as according to some, he was the best Mahler conductor after the man himself.


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

Rachmaninoff? While alive I read that his compositions were somewhat overlooked and he was regarded more for his piano playing and conducting.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

(...................never mind .....................)


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Rachmaninov conducted as well as playing the piano. I think a recording of him conducting one of his symphonies is available.
Stravinsky conducted his own music but critics are divided as to how good he was.
Benjamin Britten was also a fine conductor as well as a brilliant pianist.
Andre Previn is best known for his conducting but he is also a brilliant pianist and a composer.
From an earlier age Mendelssohn was a noted conductor and musicologist.


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## nightscape (Jun 22, 2013)

R. Strauss was considered a pretty competent conductor.


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## ShropshireMoose (Sep 2, 2013)

Rachmaninoff recorded both his 3rd Symphony and the Isle of the Dead with the Philadelphia Orchestra, they are superb performances.


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## Rapide (Oct 11, 2011)

Pierre Boulez of course, one of the towering composers and significant conductors active today. My membership name is named after a piano piece tempo indication by him.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I have the RCA CD of Rachmaninov conducting his symphony no 3 nd Isle of the Dead with the Philadelphia orchestra , the orchestr he admired so much , his only recordings as a conductor .


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Artur Schabel composed, ironically in a thorny atonal style given his concentration on the music of
Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms etc. 
Some of Victor De Sabata's music has been recorded, for example by his son-in-law Aldo Ceccato .
Other noted conductors living and dead who have composed include Paul Paray , Bruno Walter, Ernest Ansermet,
Hermnn Scherchen , Felix Weingartner, Michael Gielen , Lorin Maazel, Sergiu Celibidache ,
Antal Dorati , Rafael Kubelik, Jean Martinon, George Szell , Lamberto Gardelli , Erich Kleiber, Lovro von Matacic ,
Eduardo Mata, Michael Tilson Thomas , Leif Segerstam (over 200 symphonies !) , Bramwell Tovey ,Willem Mengelberg,
Andre Previn, Rymond Leppard , Robert Heger , Karel Ancerl , to name only some .


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

*Jörg Widmann*

Jörg Widmann is a clarinetist/composer.

In January, 2012 my wife and I attended a concert with the National Symphony where Mr. Widemann performed the Mozart _Clarinet Concerto_ a his _Armonica_, which was composed for glass harmonica and orchestra.






(Note: I could not find a recording of him performing the Mozart. I recall that his peformance was outstanding. The National Symphony's performance of the _Armonica_ was not as good as the above You Tube.)


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Another renowned conductor who composed I neglected to mention was Dimitri Mitropoulos .


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## AClockworkOrange (May 24, 2012)

I may be in a minority, but I actually enjoy Furtwangler's Symphonies. They will never rank with the Beethovens, Mahlers or Mozarts etc, but they do have much to offer.

They are a product of the times they were written and the man who wrote them. They may be regarded as unfashionable, being grounded in a style owed in no small part to Bruckner et al. but for me they are powerful pieces.

The second is the most widely played (not that that says much) and most importantly for me was recorded by the composer. As with anything Furtwangler, the live recordings (2 to my knowledge - I could be wrong here) are superior in every way. Furtwangler was himself unhappy with the Berlin Philharmoniker studio recording because he hadn't at that point played it live (as I understand). Barenboim also did an interesting recording of this too with the CSO.

The unfinished third is also fantastic under the baton of Wolfgang Sawallisch. I prefer the programmatic names originally given to the movements but it is a powerful piece of music. 

They are niche but they made their own small contribution and given Furtwangler's (well earned) renown as a conductor that is unlikely to change. Whilst in the grand scheme he will always be known as a conductor with good reason, it seems a little harsh to sweep him aside.


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Andre Previn leaps to mind immediately. I know he spent a lot of time working in ollywood and in jazz combos, but his classical music is really good too. Check out _A Streetcar Named Desire_ and _Brief Encounter_. Excellent stuff.


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## Whistler Fred (Feb 6, 2014)

Both Copland and Stravinsky were primarily known for conducting their own works. But I had the privilege of hearing a concert where Copland conducted music of W. Schuman, Ives and Berlioz in addition to his 3rd Symphony.

Paul Hindemith also conducted and was reputed to be quite good at it.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Whistler Fred said:


> Paul Hindemith also conducted and was reputed to be quite good at it.


I have a copy of Hindemith conducting Monteverdi. The recording isn't competitive, but some may enjoy it as a curiosity: http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Name/Wolfram-Mertz/Performer/209554-2

Doesn't seem to be on youtube, unfortunately.

*p.s.* Now that I listen to it, it's not as bad as I remembered--I appreciate the reminder.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Leonard Bernstein comes to mind readily. A great conductor, he was a very good composer. His Chichester Psalms, the Three Symphonies, Music for West Side Story and On the Waterfront, are excellent. And plus, he was a very good pianist.

Svetlanov fits that mode also, almost to the tee (although he was not as good of a composer as Bernstein). But great on the podium, and very good at the keyboard. And Elgar as well as Goossens are worthy of mentions.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Wilhelm Furtwangler tried his hand at composing. Said to model symphonies after Bruckner.
Why am I not surprised-this conductor-among the slowest of the slow.


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## classifriend (Mar 9, 2014)

Schoenberg was a pretty good conductor
Schoenberg conducts Verklärte Nacht (fragment) 1928
Schoenberg conducts his Lied der Waldtaube (1934)
Schoenberg conducts his Suite op.29 (Paris,1927)
Schoenberg conducts Mahler Symphonie n2 (2nd Mvt ) 1934
here he looks like a very emotional and intense conductor
Schoenberg conducts (silent movie) 1935


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

hpowders said:


> Wilhelm Furtwangler tried his hand at composing. Said to model symphonies after Bruckner.
> Why am I not surprised-this conductor-among the slowest of the slow.


And the greatest of the great....


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

I've always liked Andre Previn as a composer, aside from his jazz and movie scoring. A Streetcar Named Desire is wonderful stuff, as is Brief Encounter.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Conductor-composers not mentioned hitherto, but recorded: 
Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Jan Krenz, Stanislav Wislocki, Ole Schmidt, Sten Broman, Peter Eötvös, Serge Koussevitzky, Emil Tabakov & HK Gruber. 

Pianist composers: many - but including Samuil Feinberg, Fazil Say, Ernst Levy, Olli Mustonen, John Ogdon, and Samson Francois.

It´s my impression that Feinberg, Eötvös and Skrowaczewski in particular have been good and ambitious composers.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

The Scottish composer Oliver Knussen has had a distinguished dual career, too.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Slightly more obscure, perhaps:

Conductor Alexander Rahbari composed some work. I once heard him conducting a piece titled "Half Moon," and as I recall, it wasn't half bad. 

And then there is Leo Brouwer, guitarist and composer. His work is very highly regarded in guitar circles. I don't really know much of it.


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## nightscape (Jun 22, 2013)

Since I've been in Enescu mode the last few days, I'll name drop him here. Aside from being a child prodigy, well-respected and sought after violinist and teacher, not to mention his side job as a supremely gifted and uniformly talented composer since early age, he was a also used as a conductor throughout Europe and America.


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## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

There has been great deal of very influential conductor-composers such as Mendelssohn, Wagner, Berlioz... 

Sibelius conducted his own works quite succesfully.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

superhorn said:


> Leif Segerstam (over 200 symphonies !) .


Does he write one a week or something?


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## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

Debussy also became a conductor of his own music in his later years. Mainly and unsurprisingly because it paid relatively well, which still wasn't enough to sustain his bourgeois life. He was apparently rather mediocre at the task and didn't like it; but he pretty much didn't like any of the grand scale musical activities he engaged with in his late life anyway... with the exception of that opera this world was not destined to experience.


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