Editing Conducting (section)

===19th century===
[[File:Verdi conducting Aida in Paris 1880 - Gallica - Restoration.jpg|thumb|[[Giuseppe Verdi]] conducting his opera ''[[Aida]]'' in 1881]]
By around 1820, it became the norm to have a dedicated conductor who did not also play an instrument during the performance. While some orchestras protested against the introduction of the conductor, since they were used to having a concertmaster or keyboard player act as leader, eventually the role was established. The size of the usual orchestra expanded during this period, and the use of a baton became more common as it was easier to see than bare hands or rolled-up paper. Among the earliest notable conductors were [[Louis Spohr]], [[Carl Maria von Weber]], [[Louis-Antoine Jullien]] and [[Felix Mendelssohn]], all of whom were also composers. Mendelssohn is claimed{{by whom|date=May 2025}} to have been the first conductor to use a wooden baton to keep time, a practice still generally in use today. Prominent conductors who did not or do not use a baton include [[Pierre Boulez]], [[Kurt Masur]], [[James Conlon]], [[Yuri Temirkanov]],<ref>Libbey, Theodore (2006). ''The NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music'', p. 44. Workman. {{ISBN|9780761120728}}.</ref> [[Leopold Stokowski]], [[Vasily Safonov]], [[Eugene Ormandy]] (for a period), and [[Dimitri Mitropoulos]].<ref>Galkin, Elliott W. (1988). ''A History of Orchestral Conducting: In Theory and Practice'', p. 521. Pendragon. {{ISBN|9780918728470}}.</ref>

The composers [[Hector Berlioz]] and [[Richard Wagner]] attained greatness as conductors, and they wrote two of the earliest essays dedicated to the subject. Berlioz is considered the first [[virtuoso]] conductor. Wagner was largely responsible for shaping the conductor's role as one who imposes his view of a piece onto the performance rather than one who is just responsible for ensuring entries are made at the right time and that there is a unified [[Beat (music)|beat]]. Predecessors who focused on conducting include [[François Habeneck]], who founded the [[Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire|Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire]] in 1828, though Berlioz was later alarmed at Habeneck's loose standards of rehearsal.{{cn|date=May 2025}} Pianist and composer [[Franz Liszt]] was also a conductor. Wagner's one-time champion [[Hans von Bülow]] (1830–1894) was particularly celebrated as a conductor, although he also maintained his initial career as a pianist, an instrument on which he was regarded as among the greatest performers.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Bülow raised the technical standards of conducting to an unprecedented level through such innovations as separate, detailed rehearsals of different sections of the orchestra ("sectional rehearsal"). In his posts as head of (sequentially) the [[Bavarian State Opera]], [[Meiningen Court Orchestra]], and [[Berlin Philharmonic]] he brought a level of nuance and subtlety to orchestral performance previously heard only in solo instrumental playing, and in doing so made a profound impression on young artists like [[Richard Strauss]], who at age 20 served as his assistant, and [[Felix Weingartner]], who came to disapprove of his interpretations but was deeply impressed by his orchestral standards. Composer [[Gustav Mahler]] was also a noted conductor.{{cn|date=May 2025}}