Return to blogA leader can sometimes be blind to what is obvious to everyone else. I learned this more than 25 years ago when I guest-conducted one of the most famous American orchestras in the Rumble scene from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story.
The Rumble is a violent piece, bursting with explosive, jagged syncopations. It’s tricky to count. I was really surprised when these renowned musicians struggled to get the rhythms right. But after one or two run-throughs at a slow tempo they had mastered it. Three days later, however, at the dress rehearsal the orchestra had forgotten everything we’d accomplished. Once again it was a shambles, but now there was no time to rehearse it any more. I left the podium feeling extremely lonely and isolated; none of the musicians seemed the slightest bit upset at the prospect of an embarrassing performance.
But the following evening when I raised my baton in the concert, out came a note-perfect performance – confident, accurate, full of character, thrillingly rhythmic and dynamic. I was dumbfounded. How had this happened? It wasn’t until two years later that I came to understand.
With my own orchestra I was preparing a performance of the complete West Side Story, including the Rumble. This time, remembering my previous ordeal, I took care to comb through the parts the musicians read. I was astonished to see that the music was illegible. The parts were photocopies from the original 1957 Broadway production, where copyists rush to scribble out the music against a last minute deadline. Only then did I realize what a marvelous job the previous orchestra had done.
Finally it made sense to me. The orchestra had struggled in the first rehearsal, learning just how to decipher the notation. Three days later at the dress rehearsal, of course, they’d forgotten how to do that. Still, all the musicians understood that it hadn’t gone well, and took the time at home to once again learn to read the notation. Then they delivered their typical stirring performance.
I clearly saw how blind I had been on the podium. Every musician in the orchestra knew exactly why they were struggling at the dress rehearsal. Their lack of concern was just a manifestation of their confidence. They knew that, with a little extra homework, they could play it perfectly.
This experience showed me how easy it is for a leader, who stands apart on a podium, to lose touch with the reality of the work – how easy it is to misinterpret what’s going on. Had I jumped to conclusions and chided the orchestra at the dress rehearsal I might have undermined whatever trust I’d built with the musicians.
I saw how damaging it can be to draw quick and facile conclusions about my people’s effort or motivation. The pitfall is to react without first informing yourself about the reality that the workforce experiences from their chairs.
To purchase the original cast album of West Side Story on Amazon click here.
To listen to the passage on YouTube click here.
Roger Nierenberg
