I'm often asked who's in charge during a concerto, the soloist or the conductor. As a general rule, when a soloist has the tune or the main feature, he takes the lead and the conductor accompanies; when the orchestra has the tune, the soloist follows the orchestra. When they bothhave the tune, they work together as a team. A conductor needs to be sensitive to soloists' various needs: some like to be conducted, while others close their eyes and expect you to keep the orchestra with them. The pianist Andre Tchaikowsky told me he never looked at conductors because he couldn't understand what any of them were doing.

To accompany concertos well, a conductor needs a number of skills. First is the ability to sense in advance what a soloist is going to do, a skill similar to playing chamber music. You need a good ear for details and nuances in the solo part, which you have to memorize. If you're reading it, you won't follow it well, and you won't have enough eye contact with the soloist.