Everybody blames the culture without taking responsibility.
Great cataclysmic things can go by and neither the orchestra nor the conductor are under the delusion that whether they make this or that gesture is going to be the deciding factor in how it comes out.
I have a big problem with conductors who gesture a lot.
And, over the last thirty years we have seen men's participation in both housework and childcare has increased and women's have stayed at about the same.
My hunch is that probably men are doing more both outside the home and inside the home.
When they are performing in front of the public, they ought to have a sensation that's relatively easy, if the technical and the interpretive work was done before.
Women tend to have recognition and peer group support - recognition from friends and family that this has to be a big issue in their lives. They're more comfortable expressing the need for support and receiving it.
Art has never been a popularity contest.
