Some have the knack, a musician's feeling for his task. They listen and hear what the orchestra will probably sound like when it is stirred up. The conductor has to be a 'fiddler' himself, able to play and with a good knowledge of all the knacks and rules of playing. A string instrument is probably the best starting point, but someone who plays a wind instrument can also become a good conductor. Panula is confident that his young stars still have their best years ahead of them.
People grow and deepen as they get older.
Youth is admired and even undeservedly, but that is only commercialism. The most recent example is Mikko Franck, who is only 18 and advancing in his career at breakneck speed. In fact, I feel partly to blame for having admitted such a young person to the academy. Although he was under age and I tried to stop him, Mikko signed a contract with an agent in London. I suppose his parents were somehow involved, Now he is getting the kinds of fees that a small orchestra couldn't afford.