One of the most exciting conductor/educators around today is Benjamin Zander. He's the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (since its inception 25 years ago) as well as a lecturer to both music organizations and business corporations. I first saw him in a video masterclass on conducting and I found it riveting, even though I didn't know a thing about conducting. His lectures to corporate/government-types are usually of the "positive thinking" variety, but are actually pretty good.
The other thing I love about Zander is that he takes Beethoven at warp speed. That is, he follows the metronome marks that are in the score. Frankly, it may actually be too fast even for me, but it's pretty bracing to see it once in a awhile.
Here Maestro Zander talks about and conducts the 1st and 4th movements of B's 5th Symphony with the "Youth Orchestra of the Americas". The sound is not the best but it gets better. Put on your seat-belt...
Here's a show where he entertains a non-musician crowd. What a ham! But excellent throughout.
Davos Annual Meeting 2009 (gets businessmen and government suits to sing in German):
He's a pretty "unbuttoned" dude.
Here's a selection of more Zander, all of it funny and educational.
Conducting Masterclass in London (55 Min) (this is the first Zander video I saw)
Zander on Music Education on Teacher's TV (14 min)
Interview with Zander (20 min, he talks a little about Beethoven about halfway thru)
Zander also has a bunch of CDs where he conducts a symphony and includes a commentary as a bonus track. These are a bit controversial (at least according to "anti-Zander" David Hurwitz), but what great speaker isn't?
Benjamin Zander's Website
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