Maestro
Master, conductor.
What it means
Maestro means “master” in Italian and is an honorific title for outstanding musicians, in particular for conductors, composers, and teachers. The word is not a performance instruction but a form of address and a title.
In opera and concert life, maestro is the usual form of address for the conductor, regardless of their nationality. Alongside this, the word designates particular functions in compound titles: the maestro di cappella corresponds to the Kapellmeister, the maestro sostituto to the répétiteur, the maestro al cembalo to the director leading from the harpsichord.
Maestro as a form of address is to be distinguished from maestoso, which, despite a related root, is a performance marking and means “majestic.”
Musical use
The designation stems from the tradition of the Italian court chapels and opera houses, in which the director of the music was at the same time its most important teacher and often its composer. With the spread of Italian opera the title passed into international musical life. Today it is used above all in the theatre and orchestral field; in teaching it is also customary in Italy for music teachers.
The address points to a conception according to which musical skill is passed on in a line from teacher to pupil — a conception that has shaped musical life over centuries.
In Italian, maestro is at the same time the academic title for graduates of a conservatory. In opera, maestro al cembalo designates the musician who directed the performance from the harpsichord, maestro sostituto the répétiteur. The address Maestro for conductors is internationally widespread today and expresses respect for skill and experience, but is also used ironically. In art music the title is not an office but an honorific.
Performance practice
In the ensemble, understanding with the direction matters more than any form of address. In rehearsal, watch the conductor's signals even when you know your part securely — tempo, entries, and dynamics are settled together there. And write down instructions immediately in your part, so that they do not need to be given again in the next rehearsal.