BATON (CONDUCTING)

A 'baton' is a stick that is used by conductors primarily to indicate the musical beat of a piece through horizontal and vertical movements. They are generally made of a light wood, fiberglass or carbon fiber which is tapered to a grip in a 'pear' shape, usually of cork or wood. Professional conductors often have them made to their own specifications based on their own physical demands and the nature of the performance: Sir Henry Wood and Herbert von Karajan are some examples^[1]. When Gaspare Spontini arrived in Dresden in 1844, Wagner was required to have a baton made - a thick ebony staff with ivory knobs at either end^[2].
Batons vary in length from about 10" up to 24" which Sir Henry Wood requested when his baton was being made^[3]. The record for the world's largest baton is currently held by Kenton J. Hetrick, who on 14 October 2006 conducted the Harvard University Band in the introduction to "Also Sprach Zarathustra" with a baton 10 feet long.^[4]

Contents

Usage

References

Usage

The baton is usually held in the right hand though some left-handed conductors hold it in the left. The usual way of holding the baton is between the thumb and the first two fingers with the grip in against the palm of the hand. Some conductors like Pierre Boulez, Leopold Stokowski and Dimitri Mitropoulos however, chose not to hold a baton, preferring to conduct only with their hands. This method is common with smaller groups and choral conductors^[5].
Whether or not conductors use batons, it must have direct relevance to the music being performed. Leonard Bernstein is quoted as saying 'if [the conductor] uses a baton, the baton itself must be a living thing, charged with a kind of electricity, which makes it an instrument of meaning in its tiniest movement. If [the conductor] does not use a baton, his hands must do the job with equal clarity. But baton or no baton, his gestures must be first and always meaningful in terms of the music'^[6].

References

1. José Antonio Bowen et al, ''The Cambridge Companion to Conducting'' (UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003) p.3,4
2. ibid, p.104
3. ibid, p.4
4. Article in the ''Harvard Crimson''
5. Bowen, op.cit., p.4
6. Leonard Bernstein, The Art of Conducting in ''The Joy of Music'' (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1960) p.150