Probably nothing that wouldn’t be distracting … since I’m a woman. Sigh.
Oh. But wait! I’m not a “cute girl”. Maybe I’m okay then?
The principal conductor of the National Youth Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic has provoked outrage by claiming that orchestras “react better when they have a man in front of them” and that “a cute girl on a podium means that musicians think about other things”.
When conducted by a man, musicians encounter fewer erotic distractions, Vasily Petrenko claimed. “Musicians have often less sexual energy and can focus more on the music,” he said, adding that “when women have families, it becomes difficult to be as dedicated as is demanded in the business”.
His comments to the Norwegian paper Aftenposten came before the Last Night of the Proms on Saturday, which will for the first time be conducted by a woman – the US conductor Marin Alsop.
Oh. My. Goodness.
