I think they both conducted the Dance of the Knights way too aggressively. After all, it's a dance, not pure war. There was no need to give every impulse like the impact of a cannonball. Look at the way Gergiev does it: ruclips.net/video/Z_hOR50u7ek/видео.html I'm not saying I'd expect Gergiev level conducting from them and they actually did quite well compared to their first performances, but still, I love the way that his movements change to more dance-y, free ones rather than harsh beats after the first couple of bars. It takes some of the incredibly heavy weight away and that really would've improved the candidates' performance in my uneducated opinion.
I think they both conducted the Dance of the Knights way too aggressively. After all, it's a dance, not pure war. There was no need to give every impulse like the impact of a cannonball.
Look at the way Gergiev does it:
ruclips.net/video/Z_hOR50u7ek/видео.html
I'm not saying I'd expect Gergiev level conducting from them and they actually did quite well compared to their first performances, but still, I love the way that his movements change to more dance-y, free ones rather than harsh beats after the first couple of bars. It takes some of the incredibly heavy weight away and that really would've improved the candidates' performance in my uneducated opinion.