Graham Roberts and Xaquin G.V., The New York Times:
Alan Gilbert, music director of the New York Philharmonic, demonstrates and discusses the role of a conductor.
There is no way to really put your finger on what makes conducting great, even what makes conducting work. Essentially what conducting is about is getting the players to play their best and to be able to use their energy and to access their point of view about the music. There is a connection between the gesture, the physical presence, the aura that a conductor can project, and what the musicians produce.
I don’t know anything about music, but this was pretty interesting. You should definitely check out the cool motion capture video.