Podium nitrate: Conductors at the 2017 Proms

Feast on our annual treat: BBC photographer Chris Christodoulou's action shots

by TheartsdeskMonday, 11 September 2017

Arms and the woman: Karina Canellakis conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra © BBC/Chris Christodoulou

What do conductors actually do? It's a question that concert-goers, as well as listeners and viewers of the BBC Proms, often ponder.

Conductors may not make a sound, but what they certainly do is put on a performance, the minutiae of which are captured by photographer Chris Christodoulou. For the eighth year running, we celebrate the end of the Proms season with an exclusive gallery of his snaps. They capture conductors in their agonies and their ecstasies, at their most intimate and expansive, hair flying, arms flailing, eyes imploring. Click on the thumbnails below to enjoy a feast of exhibitionism.

Edward Gardner

Daniel Barenboim

Bernard Haitink

Thomas Søndergård

Joshua Weilerstein

Andrew Davis

Ilan Volkov

Juanjo Mena

Xian Zhang

William Christie

Thomas Adès

Semyon Bychkov

Kirill Karabits

John Eliot Gardiner

Ryan Wigglesworth

Thomas Dausgaard

Kazushi Ono

Charles Dutoit

Sakari Oramo

Simon Rattle

John Butt

Mark Elder

Riccardo Chailly

Louis Langrée

Vasily Petrenko

Daniele Gatti

Valery Gergiev

Manfred Honeck

Karina Canellakis

Vladimir Jurowski

Daniel Harding

Michael Tilson Thomas

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