"What I’m looking for is that fraction of a second that at least I could remember the concert by." At the start of the 2013 BBC Proms season, photographer Chris Christodoulou let theartsdesk into the secret of snapping conductors at work. Now that the Proms are over for another year, we publish not the official shots, but the ones which are simply too quirky to be released by the BBC press office. These images may not particularly flatter their subjects, but they do capture what it is to be a silent maestro magically conjuring sound from the massed ranks of an orchestra. Make sure to click on the images to enlarge. And in the comment box let us know which is your favourite.
reviews, news & interviews
Wild things: Conductors at the 2013 Proms
Feast on our annual gallery of baton men and women
Sweet Prom 16: Jac Van Steen
the future of arts journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more classical music
A master pianist dives deep into the farewell moods of Brahms and Beethoven
Big sounds needing more space but no better playing
Neglected 20th century symphonies, a rediscovered violin concerto and colourful contemporary music
Style, sophistication and philosophical elegance
Styles harmonise in music of memory and mourning
A haunting encounter with Cassandra Miller’s Viola Concerto
Long-time collaborators offer great singing but some wobbly playing
Handel's Biblical tragedy strikes hard without stage trickery
Moving tribute to a great centenarian
Scandinavian symphonies, 20th century ballet music and a versatile conductor celebrated in box form
A uniquely baritonal, masculine cello sound in Shostakovich
Bayard Rustin-inspired programme has excellent music but a bit too much chat
Add comment