Andre Previn: Who Needs a Conductor? (1973)

In this Omnibus film, Andre Previn asks the question, 'Who needs a conductor?' 'Conducting,' said Leonard Bernstein, 'is the only profession in the world where you get paid for having a fit in public!' Previn debunks many of the conventional myths that surround the subject, exposing the foibles, prejudices, insecurities and backstage dramas that the general public knows little of. The London Symphony Orchestra, led by John Georgiadis, plays excerpts from some of the most popular pieces in the concert repertoire, including Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, Bartok's Dance Suite and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony.