With one work, Igor Stravinsky single-handedly transformed the role and function of the conductor. The rhythmic complexities of Le sacre du printemps immediately increased the dexterity and technical skill required from conductors. It is remarkable that today, most self-respecting orchestras will expect a competent conductor to produce an acceptable performance of this towering masterpiece of orchestral invention in a single three-hour rehearsal. With amateur orchestras and even schoolchildren able to play this shattering work, it is little wonder that composers have felt free to demand more and more from performers. Without Le sacre, it is difficult to imagine the complex scores of Boulez, Stockhausen, Berio, Birtwistle, Carter, Takemitsu, Ferneyhough, or Dillon ever emerging. Without it too, orchestral technique would not have developed at the rate that is has. This technical progress has also meant that first-rate performances of difficult twentieth-century works regularly feature in the programs of all professional orchestras. This is a cause for great rejoicing; Le sacre has raised both the demands on and the abilities of modern conductors. It has thus ensured a rich supply of conductors able and willing to conduct new music, often even more demanding than Stravinsky's masterpiece.

The return of composer-conductors

Until the eighteenth century, composers were usually involved in the performances of their own music. The nineteenth century saw the rise of conductors who specialized in leading the music of others: while some composers were capable conductors, others could now turn their scores over to other musicians for performance. Today,however, it is rare to find composers who have not actually conducted their own music. While conducting requires special skills (especially with complex modern scores) many musicians will attest to the very particular kind of “magic” even the most technically ill-equipped composer can bring to the performance of his or her own music.