What are composers doing when they’re waving the stick?

Question

If everyone has sheet music and all the timing information down, then what’s the composer’s role?

In: 952

Answer 1

The way music is written down is not objective; what you as a trumpet player consider fast tempo could be different to what your violinist buddy in the back considers a fast tempo, what the drummer thinks is loud differs from what the piano player thinks is loud, and so on and so forth. Imagine fifty instruments trying to play when everyone has their own idea what fast or loud or quiet is. So, the conductor’s task is to bring a unified vision of how the piece should be played, and ensure the entire orchestra knows it. The waving of the stick is how they convey this vision to the other performers.