On “Seinfeld,” the conductor known as “The Maestro” is really named Bob Cobb. He insists that everyone address him by his professional title, even Elaine, who dates him during the episode.
Bob Cobb appears in “The Maestro,” the third episode of Seinfeld’s seventh season, which first aired on October 5, 1995. Mark Metcalf plays the character, an amateur community-orchestra conductor who has recently returned from his home in Tuscany.
The episode builds its comedy around Cobb’s inflated sense of importance. He becomes irritated that people do not treat him like Leonard Bernstein, and he requires Elaine to call him “Maestro” even in private. Jerry also suspects Cobb is blocking him from renting a house in Tuscany.
The name Bob Cobb has an extra layer for comic-book fans: it was the original alias of Mon-El, a supporting character in Superman comics. Larry David later reused “Bob Cobb” in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, making the name familiar beyond Seinfeld.