When Beethoven conducted the premiere of his 9th Symphony, he had not appeared on stage in 12 years. At the end, the audience broke out in jubilant applause, but Beethoven was several measures off and still conducting. The contralto had to turn Beethoven around to accept the audience's ovations.
Symphony Fantastique, by the French composer Hector Berlioz, is about an opium tripping artist's self-destructive passion for a beautiful woman. In the middle of the often hysterical music, an ideé fixe representing his lover is repeatedly played on the oboe, always the only calm in the storm.
The usher encountered by Rodrigo is played by oboist and actress Blair Tindall, who wrote the book "Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs and Classical Music," on which the series is based.
Early orchestras did not have conductors, rather the concertmaster or the harpsichordist led the ensemble. As orchestras became larger, composers began to conduct in order to more efficiently use the valuable rehearsal time. By the 19th century, conductors had grown into a distinct class of classical musicians.
Many orchestras offer different sorts of music education and outreach within their local communities. The New York Philharmonic's teaching artists serve over 5,000 students in 17 schools across the city. The Los Angeles Philharmonic has embraced the Venezuelan education system that produced Gustavo Dudamel, call El Sistema.