* A Financial Times Book of the Year *

'What does a conductor do? It may be a favourite joke among the musicians in an orchestra, but Wigglesworth wants to find a more thoughtful answer. Avoiding jargon, he analyses what he has discovered during 30 years in the job.' Financial Times, Books of the Year

A conductor is one of classical music's most recognisable but misunderstood figures, attracting so many questions:

'Surely orchestras can play perfectly well without you? '

'Do you really make any difference to the performance?'

'Are the musicians even watching you?'

The Silent Musician is not a manual for conductors, nor a history of conducting. It is for all who wonder what conductors actually do, and why they matter.