For a number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the conductor or leader of the orchestra，and very often the principal qualification for holding such a position was not skill or taste so much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces.

　　(特殊結(jié)構(gòu)not…SO much as…——與其說…不如說…)

　　【譯句】在好些年內(nèi)，為各部影片選擇配樂的權(quán)力完全掌握在樂隊指揮或隊長手中，而通常擔(dān)任這種職位的資格與其說是技巧或鑒賞品位，不如說是個人擁有音樂作品的豐富收藏。

　　分句1：.For a number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the conductor or leader of the orchestra;

　　分句2：and very often the principal qualification far holding such a position was not skill or taste so much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces;

　　分句1 和分句2是兩個并列關(guān)系的分句，分句2的難點在于not…… so much as的結(jié)構(gòu)。