not the transference of
his personal will, but the mysterious act of creation that
called the work itself into being takes place again in him,
and transcending the narrow limits of reproduction, he
becomes a new-creator, a self-creator.

[Footnote 3: Weingartner, _On Conducting_, translated by Ernest
Newman, p. 56.]

This quality is indispensable to all musicians, be they creators or
performers, but is especially desirable in the conductor, for he needs
it not only from the standpoint of interpretation, as already noted,
but from that of manager or organizer. Upon this latter point we shall
have more to say later, but it may be well to state just here that if
the conductor could imagine what was going on in the minds of his
players or singers, and could see things from their viewpoint; if he
could forecast the effect of his explanatory directions or of his
disciplinary rulings, nine-tenths of all the quarreling, bickering,
and general dissatisfaction that so frequently mar the work of any
musical organization could easily be eliminated. We might also add
that if the conductor could only foresee the effect upon his audiences
of certain works, or of certain interpretations, his plans would
probably often be materially altered.

[Sidenote: ORGANIZING ABILITY AND A SENSE OF LEADERSHIP]

But the conductor must be more than a humorous-minded and imaginative
musician. He must also (especially in these modern times) be an
organizer, a business man, a leader. The qualities of leadership and
organizing ability are so closely connected that we shall for the most
part treat them together in our discussion, and they are so important
that a fairly extensive analysis will be attempted.

In an article on Schumann in _Grove's Dictionary_ Dr. Philip Spitta,
the well-known historian and critic, comments upon the conducting of
this famous composer as follows:[4]

Schumann was sadly wanting in the real talent for
conducting. All who ever saw him conduct or played under his
direction are agreed on this point. Irrespective of the fact
that conducting for any length of time tired him out, he had
neither the collectedness and prompt presence of mind, nor
the sympathetic faculty, nor the enterprising dash, without
each of which conducting in the true sense is impossible.
He even found difficulty in starting at a given tempo; nay,
he even sometimes shrank from giving any ini