Most of a conductor's work is done before he sees an orchestra. He spends many hours studying and preparing his scores, building an intimate and detailed knowledge of the music, and arriving at an interpretation. If you love a piece, this seldom feels like “work.”

The first aim in studying a score is to hear it in your mind and “sing” it inwardly, in its overall sound and in the details of the instrumentation. An excellent ear is essential and absolute pitch a great advantage. Your aim is to make the piece your own, to absorb it with heart and mind, and to remember it so well that you need to look at the score as little as possible. Few conductors are blessed with a photographic memory, so this can take a very long time. Thoughout the process your interpretation develops in two ways: by instinct, as you get to know the music, and by making conscious decisions about how it should be played. Performances you've admired can be an influence.

No two of us would go about learning a score in exactly the same way, but I have found the following guidelines helpful:

Grasping the overall shape of a piece is essential. You need to know the way it's constructed, the main keys it passes through, and the purpose and context of each passage. This will enable you to pace your performance well; some passages may be leading to a musical event, others may be relaxing and leading away from one, still others may be suspending the action or making a dramatic point.