Person
Every book David Robertson recommended on podcasts
David Robertson appears on Conversations with Tyler to discuss conducting, musical interpretation, and the legacy of figures like Pierre Boulez. As evident from his appearance, Robertson is an educator who maintains rigorous academic standards for his students at Juilliard. To prepare and challenge them, he assigns a specific reading list designed to expand their analytical and interpretive capacities. Robertson requires his conducting students to read Charles Rosen's The Classical Style as a foundational text. He also assigns George Steiner's After Babel to teach students about the complex processes of translation and taking meaning from one linguistic situation into another. Additionally, Robertson has his students read George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's Metaphors We Live By, explaining that it helps musicians examine the everyday language and metaphors they use without conscious realization. Finally, Robertson incorporates Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow into his curriculum, recommending the exploration of cognitive processes and decision-making to the future conductors he mentors at the institution.
Books recommended by David Robertson
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Thinking, Fast and Slow
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman is a seminal book exploring the dual systems of the human mind that drive how we think and make decisions.
Recommended“I make them read uh someone that you've had on the uh podcast before, Daniel Conan, drinking fast and slow.”
Where to get it
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After Babel
After Babel by George Steiner is a profound philosophical study examining the nature of human communication, meaning, and translation across languages and cultures.
Recommended“I assume that they have a favorite orchestration book, but for the class I make them read um all of I'm afraid um George Steiner's After Babel, which is about translation and the whole the whole process of taking something from one situation, in this case one language, into another language, what you can carry across and what gets uh”
Where to get it
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Metaphors We Live By
Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson is a foundational cognitive linguistics text that argues human conceptual systems are fundamentally metaphorical in nature, shaping how we think, speak, and act.
Recommended“And then they make them read um uh the words we use of Jackson and Malof um because you know the metaphors we live by because that's one where we tend to speak and we haven't ever necessarily looked at the language we're using and what it what it communicates.”
Where to get it
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The Classical Style
The Classical Style by Charles Rosen is a landmark critical history examining the musical idioms of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven and defining the aesthetic architecture of the classical era.
Recommended“So I'm a real hardass at Giuliard. And I make my students I assume that they've all read Charles Rosen's The Classical Style.”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Robertson on Conducting, Pierre Boulez, and Musical Interpretation | Conversations with Tyler | 2025-07-09 | 5 |