Dress code for conductors: This dress code is completely outdated

display

Often you can see Néstor Bayona in almost daring fashionable suits and with an iPad instead of heavy scores under his arm scurrying onto his conductor's podium.

Yes, he does a lot differently than some older colleagues.

But that is exactly what the classical music industry urgently needs, believes the Berliner-by-choice, who is currently working with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice.

The 34-year-old originally comes from Spain, but then studied in Manchester, Geneva and Berlin - and that's where he settled after completing his master's degree.

The almost six years that he has now lived in the capital can be heard in his language.

Sometimes he still switches to English, and a little Spanish creeps in while he talks about how he wants to overcome borders with classical music in a not entirely conventional sense - social media, fashion and a little bit of the corona pandemic play into it Hands.

ICONIST:

Home office is difficult to imagine for a conductor.

display

Néstor Bayona:

In fact, many concerts were canceled or postponed during the first Corona wave.

But now most orchestras just stream live.

It actually feels completely normal, just without an audience.

We young conductors are even benefiting from the crisis, because many of the older conductors belong to the risk group and currently do not want to travel - so we step in for them.

I recently received an inquiry and was supposed to take over the orchestra the day before rehearsals started.

It's stressful, but fun and above all a great opportunity.

ICONIST:

Many musicians simply gave house concerts during the lockdown and broadcast them via social media.

Bayona:

Yes, I also gave a few home concerts on Instagram.

To do this, I worked with other musicians, and really surprising things came about - less classical, more pop.

It is important that the art remains - come what may.

display

ICONIST:

Why are you experimenting with modern pop pieces?

Bayona:

My goal is to introduce young people to classical music.

Sometimes you have to risk breaking the norms.

ICONIST:

Which standards?

display

Bayona: Performing

in a penguin costume typical of a conductor, for example, or conducting with an iPad.

Sometimes you have to take risks to get in touch with young people.

At the Opéra de Marseille I conducted Macklemore's “Thrift Shop” in Beethoven style.

The young people were enthusiastic.

You address them much more directly and you can create a connection.

A conductor is like a translator between the orchestra and the audience - what is written on the manuscript is transferred to the audience.

In order for that to work, you have to open up - for example for experimental collaborations with other musicians.

This is what Macklemore's “Thrift Shop” sounds like in Beethoven style:

Here you will find content from YouTube

In order to interact with or display content from YouTube and other social networks, we need your consent.

Activate social networks

I consent to content from social networks being displayed to me.

This allows personal data to be transmitted to third party providers.

This may require the storage of cookies on your device.

More information can be found here.

ICONIST:

Who would you like to work with?

Bayona:

With Kanye West in a symphonic concert!

I find his music really interesting.

You should also work more with young composers - they are currently going through a difficult time.

I also envision collaborations with video artists and other contemporary creatives as interesting.

In the past few years I have given some film music concerts - in 2019 I had a project with the composer John Williams, which was quite successful.

For me, the key is to combine old traditions with new ones.

ICONIST:

Because the classics have simply been played too often?

Bayona:

Masters like Beethoven and Mozart will always remain - that's something we simply need as musicians.

But you also have to hear new voices and give them the chance to perpetuate themselves.

If one withdraws from new styles or musical fusions, there would always be the same repertoire to be heard - but that no longer reaches the younger generation.

ICONIST:

Do young people really have such a classical deficit?

Bayona:

Yes, I think that this has to be brought closer to them.

Most of them don't know what to do with this genre.

That's why I created this project, I want to address you directly.

It's surprisingly easy to reach them on social media.

display

ICONIST:

And

without a classic penguin costume brings you even closer to the young audience?

Bayona:

Exactly, you will then see that a conductor can also be cool - and doesn't necessarily have to belong to the old, often somewhat dusty school.

For example, I am currently cooperating with the Tiger of Sweden fashion label.

You will equip me with a suit for my next concert with the National Symphony Orchestra of the Polish Radio on December 6th.

Live on December 6th at 6 p.m. - Néstor Bayona and the National Symphony Orchestra of Polish Radio:

Here you will find content from YouTube

In order to interact with or display content from YouTube and other social networks, we need your consent.

Activate social networks

I consent to content from social networks being displayed to me.

This allows personal data to be transmitted to third party providers.

This may require the storage of cookies on your device.

More information can be found here.

ICONIST: Are

conductors dressed by designers for their concerts like actors for the red carpet?

Bayona:

Exactly, that's completely normal - at least for me.

You always associate something sublime with an orchestra.

But no, it's not like that anymore.

ICONIST: So

you mean that fashion is also important for a conductor.

Bayona:

Like music, fashion is an art and both are closely related.

Just as you hear the same piece by Beethoven in different ways, you can wear clothes differently.

And the world of classical music is slowly becoming more fashion-conscious - Vivienne Westwood equipped the Vienna Philharmonic a few years ago.

Such collaborations should be more frequent.

ICONIST:

What is the objection to the classic tailcoat as a conductor's costume?

Bayona:

I have nothing against the tailcoat.

It just doesn't fit my style.

You should also feel comfortable in clothing so that you can give your best performance.

In fact, I don't even have a tailcoat - and have never worn one.

In some opera houses it is compulsory and if one day I have to wear a tailcoat, I will simply borrow it.

display

ICONIST:

It is often criticized that classic orchestra

is too warm and too tight.

Bayona:

In my job, you have to be able to move freely on stage.

And yes, it's true that classic orchestral clothing is often too hot and too tight.

After conducting a concert, I often feel like I've run a marathon.

It's especially bad with pieces by Shostakovich, because you have to move a lot - after the concert I'm completely out of breath and sweaty.

Cultural conductor in Boss - instead of a penguin costume:

Here you will find content from Instagram

In order to interact with or display content from Instagram and other social networks, we need your consent.

Activate social networks

I consent to content from social networks being displayed to me.

This allows personal data to be transmitted to third party providers.

This may require the storage of cookies on your device.

More information can be found here.

ICONIST:

So you would need a tailcoat made of functional material.

Bayona:

At concerts I actually always wear a breathable running shirt made of sweat-wicking material under my shirt.

But yeah, I think concert clothing could use more functional material.

Especially so that the body can breathe well and musicians can move better.

Unfortunately, as a musician you don't have that many clothing options.

ICONIST:

Yes, there is probably even a clothing paragraph in the collective agreement that applies to many German orchestras.

For classic appearances, he prescribes black stockings and shoes, a white shirt and tie with a dark suit.

Bayona:

Oh, I didn't know that this paragraph existed!

When I performed in the Berlin Philharmonic, nobody said anything.

But I also make sure that I wear dark colors so that I adapt to the orchestra.

display

ICONIST:

Are you breaking the dress

conducting, for example, in a modern Tiger of Sweden suit, or are conductors allowed to be more daring than the orchestra?

Bayona:

Yes and no.

On the one hand the suit is not a traditional tailcoat, on the other hand I wear a suit in a dark color and thus conform to the "rules".

What I like about the suit is that it fits well, that I can move around easily and that I feel good.

Fashion and music combine in different ways, but never go too far.

I always pay attention to what I wear when conducting so that I don't disturb the orchestra.

If I wear something too flashy or have something strange on my arm, I disturb the players in their work.

You are in full concentration - and my job is to be 100 percent there for the orchestra.

ICONIST: But should

classical concerts in jeans and

remain taboo?

Bayona:

I wouldn't say taboo, rather not appropriate.

Because going to a concert is always something formal - and the audience expects a certain formality - even if the conductor is not wearing a tailcoat.

On the other hand, a concert is magic for the musicians and me.

You need this difference between

and concert

really experience the magic.

ICONIST: Do

you have a lot of competition as a young, modern conductor?

Bayona:

Yes, there is a lot of competition - even among younger conductors.

Nevertheless, everyone should find their own way, trust in themselves and slowly let their own style flow into their career - like an actor, he cannot play every role either.

ICONIST:

Do other colleagues also view you critically because they are devoted to a modern form of score reading?

Bayona:

Maybe.

But it makes things, especially traveling, so much easier, you have all the pieces in your online library - and it weighs nothing.

For a symphony one likes to travel with 150 sheets of paper.

There has recently been an interesting app that can read the music and then turn the pages independently.

ICONIST:

The digitization of the classic.

Bayona:

Exactly, but that's important in order not to lose touch with music.

This also means that orchestra concerts have been streamed live more frequently since Corona and are thus made accessible to a completely new audience.

ICONIST:

Every conductor has his own style.

But does every concert sound different - depending on who is conducting it?

Bayona: Definitely

!

Conductors are like football managers, apparently they don't do that much - they neither play an instrument nor sing.

But they guide the musicians, show the way - like a football manager.

And every conductor has his own style, so that a piece can flutter like a bat.

It sounds different depending on the conductor - a Sir Simon Rattle concert would never sound like one by Néstor Bayona.

ICONIST:

Your role model?

Bayona:

Yes, it was only because of him that I became a conductor.

I like the way he conducts.

But I also appreciate Gustavo Dudamel and Daniel Barenboim very much.

And of course my mentors Steven Sloane and Lawrence Foster - without them I would not have become who I am today.

ICONIST:

Back to the football

, they are usually older than their players - with you it is exactly the opposite.

Does that affect you?

Bayona:

That's right.

Professional football players are often not older than 30 years, but a music career goes on into old age.

As a young conductor you are of course more in focus.

If you are on the podium, you have to criticize.

But that happens through the music, not personally - it's about the violin, not the person who plays it.

In this respect, even as a younger conductor, one gains the respect of the musicians.

But criticism is necessary, because only through a maximum of rehearsals can an orchestra really reach a high level.