Now that we have analyzed and compared Bernstein’s conducting technique, I would argue that he is not merely ‘dancing around’ but making effective gestures that serve their functional and expressive purpose well. Bernstein combined Reiner’s strictness and Koussevitzky’s awareness of esthetic beauty, and managed to translate that into a highly effecting conducting style. Furthermore, Bernstein was well versed in practically all styles of music that included orchestra, and he was aware of and acted on the different performance practices of different style periods in music. Moreover, he was, and still is, and iconic conductor, in the sense that he strongly influenced the general image of what conducting looks like for both the general audience and conducting students.
This all makes Bernstein an important conductor for conducting students as an example of a more expressive conducting technique, for the development of performance of orchestral music by his choice of repertoire and notion of performance practice, and for the general audience as an icon.
Lastly, I invite you to look again at the excerpt of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony: do you see now the technicalities in Bernstein’s energetic dance?
Vid. 5.1. Bernstein, Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 51Ramsay Snow, Tchaikovsky – Symphony 5 (Bernstein), [45:51]