The Concertmaster – a Leader or an Actor?

That confident violinist marches across the stage after everyone else does, lifts his/her bow, waits for an oboe to sound ‘A’ and tunes the orchestra. When the conductor comes onto the stage, he/she is the only one who gets to shake his/her hand. We all know that the concertmaster must be the most outstanding player among all violinists, but he/she also settles into a playing role like all the other orchestral players do after the tuning. What have he/she done as a leader to deserve so much attention from the audience? Or what’s his/her job to be a concertmaster except the tuning? Is he/she a second leader to the conductor, or, just an impressive actor?

Many music listeners, or even musicians, think that the conductor is the only boss of the orchestra, because he/she is the one who carries the baton and controls all the players. However, personally speaking, the role of a concertmaster is significant too. Speaking of being a second leader, they do lead the orchestra too, not all the time, but sometimes. Dated back to the Baroque period, there were orchestras merely leaded by a violinist (whom we call the concertmaster today). If you are lamenting the fact that you were born a few centuries late to see a concert led purely by the concertmaster, don’t worry. It’s not that common, but it does still happen today. Here’s a peek at the concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, David Kim, leading a rehearsal for Greig’s “Holberg” Suite, in 2014.

In my own opinions, instead of a leader, I would say he/she is the representative of the orchestra who acts as a liaison between the conductor and musicians. Imagine there is a guest conductor coming today, he/she doesn’t really have a complete understanding of this orchestra which seems unfamiliar to him/her. That’s the time for the concertmaster’s show. All in all, it’s more of a communication thing.