I'm a professional musician and have played in chamber orchestras. Chamber orchestras are small groups where the members can see each other. Their repertoire is often from the 18th- or 19th-century: music with a single time signature per movement, fairly simple rhythms, and little or no accelerando (speeding up) or ritardando (slowing down) within movements. Groups like these can get along without a conductor, though someone, usually the principal violin, needs to cue the start of each movement. But a 90--piece orchestra playing music from later periods, especially with changing time signatures, complex rhythms, and rubato (changing beat), would probably break down quickly without a guide on the podium. It would be impossible for the members to see and difficult for them to hear each other, or anticipate each others' moves. Re the "Louisiana Negro Breakdown," though I'm unfamiliar with the term, I imagine that would also refer to a small to medium-size group performing with a steady beat, maybe reinforced with hand clapping.
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