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| Some Seating Plans |
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Among the many things conductors have to do is to consider where they would like the players to sit. The plan is decided by considering the music to be played, the size of the stage, different levels and raised areas of the stage and by the sound balance that the conductor wishes to achieve. Compare the plan immediately below with the photograph that follows: there are some differences, but you can clearly see the eight basses on the right and next to them the tuba, three trombones and two trumpets.
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This photo is not actually of Ashkenazy conducting, but it does enable you to appreciate how the seating plans might look when the orchestra is actually assembled.
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More Ashkenazy seating plans: notice the placement of the keyboards and harps.
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Vladimir Ashkenazy is the Philharmonia Orchestra's Conductor Laureate which means that he appears with the orchestra several times a year. He is also one of the great pianists of our time. Watching him work with the orchestra is fascinating as he has a particularly intimate knowledge of Russian music which he often puts in his Philharmonia programmes. The musicians of the orchestra certainly benefit from his depth of understanding, which he communicates with boundless energy, undimmed after 50 years experience at the very top.
