and you should provide me with a good one to read! I've always thought it was weird a conductor was viewed as in 'charge' of people who are all using sheet music but I also know that a central coordinator that tells everyone to start and shit is probably important
how much influence does a conductor have? how do they interact with the other artists artistically and economically? i would love to peer into this a little bit
Every time you have a change in tempo (acc. or rit.), a pause, or a fermata, it's the conductor that does this. The conductor will also make slight adjustments based on how everything is sounding.
Often times, you will have a conductor who has practiced extensively with the ensemble, and has made several adjustments based on how things work out with the ensemble. Being able to instantly assess what is good or poor, across lots of musicians playing together, is an advanced skill, and conductors tend to be very experienced musicians.