I’ve heard Yannick Nézet-Séguin described by an ultra-reliable source as our generation’s Bernstein. In a recent amazing interview with Terry Gross, they had the following exchange:
GROSS: I’m wondering if you think there’s a generational shift that has happened in conducting ’cause I think we think of the maestro as being this, like, more authoritarian figure.
NEZET-SEGUIN: […] I internalized this love that I should be the one sharing at all time to remind people around me why we all do this. We are there to communicate. We are there to generate some emotion that’s been written in the scores we have to play.
Fresh Air With Terry Gross, April 4, 2019
And for me, I think we understand now more in this generation as a whole. I mean, we’re still different, individually, you know? I’m talking about the generation of Gustavo Dudamel and Andris Nelsons, to name my colleagues here in the U.S. But, you know, we all have our different ways of leading. But I think we all understand that it’s better to be the one sharing the positive about the music and – in order to get the best.
The truth seems to be that leading through strength, authoritarianism, or even cruelty is possible, but only really effective in the short-term. In the long run, we have better results with love–both from a musical perspective and from an interpersonal perspective.