What does it mean to conduct an orchestra today? This book traces the figure of the conductor from his birth - in the middle of the 18th century - to what could be his future, which seems to be in danger as robots are being created to replace him. With pages from the great literature - Wagner, Berlioz, De Sabata and others - the book offers insights for both, the simple classical music lover and the specialist.

The author


Aldo Ceccato was born in Milano in 1934. He studied Pianoforte under the renowned Maestro Carlo Lonati, Composition with Bruno Bettinelli and Orchestra Conducting with Sergiu Celibidache. Since his debut in Milan with Mozart's Don Giovanni in 1963, Ceccato has conducted the most prestigious orchestras in 36 countries, such as the new York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Boston Symphony, the London Philharmonic, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the NHK of Tokyo, Israel Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle of Dresden and many others. He was Musical and Artistic Director of the Hamburg Philharmonisches Staatsorchester, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the RAI Orchestra of Turin, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Brno, the National Orchestra of Spain in Madrid, and his long involvement with the "Musical Afternoons" in Milan earned him designation as Conductor Emeritus. Aldo Ceccato has had shared artistic experiences with the most celebrated soloists and singers, including Serkin, Arrau, Pollini, Argerich, Magaloff, Brendel, Milstein, Perlman, Mutter, Rostropovich, Maisky, Fischer-Diskau, Ghiaurov, Cappuccilli, Kraus and Gedda, to name but a few. He has recorded numerous discs for the labels EMI, ABC, Philips and Frame. A brilliant public speaker, he is also a writer: his writings include his "updatings" of the complete works of Beethoven (Beethoven 2000, pub. Pendragon 2010). Aldo Ceccato is a member of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, he received the Gold Medal from the City of Milan per civic and cultural merit, and he was decorated Cavaliere di Gran Croce [Knight of the Grand Cross] of the Italian Republic.