I work with a lot of young, insecure maestros. I've arrived at the point where I mentally approach rehearsals as performances, visualising the audience right there in the room. This entails high concentration and can be difficult and tiring, but does wonders for mental stamina; and practically eradicates altercations, as the energy is being positively channeled elsewhere. Plus, concerts are more relaxed.
(roysin, Fri 4 Nov 2011, 12:32, 1 reply)

I'm glad for you
but I really don't think this is relevent for my story. My 'maestro' isn't insecure, he simply encountered an area of a piece where the performance is divided between the hectic technical difficulty, and the issue of concentrating on what the rest of the orchestra are doing. As a comparative example, if you can find a performance where the last section of the Polovetsian Dances is played perfectly or consistantly, I'd love to hear it! As a rule it doesn't happen.

Even though your own personal approaches may be fantastic, there's no way you can expect every member of the orchestra to work in exactly the same way.
(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Fri 4 Nov 2011, 13:40, closed)