Maestros and Their Music: The Art and Alchemy of Conducting

"[The author describes how] conducting is itself a composition of legacy and tradition, techniques handed down from master to apprentice, and more than a trace of ineffable magic. He reveals how conductor's approach a piece of music (a calculated combination of personal interpretation, imagination, and insight into the composer's intent); what it takes to communicate solely through gesture, with sometimes hundreds of performers at once; and the occasionally glamorous, often challenging life of the itinerant maestro"--Amazon.com.