Word: conductor
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...somewhat surprised to read the statement of Mr. William Steinberg (formerly Buffalo Bill) about quartets in residence in universities [Oct. 7]. It's sometimes difficult for a conductor to accept the idea that outstanding orchestra musicians feel they could be more constructive teaching and performing in the midst of a renowned school instead of being musically dictated to by the gentleman standing on the podium. A vacation it is not, but a relief...
...strode on stage - all 5 ft. 4 in. and 116 lbs. of him - and played Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with elegance and grace, a tone pure and silken, and a technique that was a marvel of dizzy ing leaps and lightning runs. During the long ovation that followed, Conductor Leonard Bernstein embraced Nadien, and the violinist motioned for the orchestra to stand up and take a bow. Instead, they stayed seated and ap plauded and tapped their bows against their music stands...
Essentially, as Boston Symphony Conductor Erich Leinsdorf points out, the problem "is a loss of identity." Because they can offer an opportunity for more individual expression, he says, "the universities are our biggest competition...
After all, no string player invests roughly 20 years and $25,000 for training to sit in the hundred-headed obscurity of a symphony orchestra. In his heart, if not in the ear of his audience, he is a full-fledged virtuoso who, says Los Angeles Symphony Conductor Zubin Mehta, "joins a symphony only as a last resort, and then is frustrated." On the campus, however, he can assume the stature of a soloist, play largely what he wants (musicians' tastes rarely agree with those of a symphony audience) the way he wants to (instead of having interpretations dictated...
...Beyond that, the lures of the campus include more security, fatter pensions, sabbatical leaves, tenure, and salaries that match and often surpass those offered by the orchestras. For many, the chief attraction of a university post is simply a chance to catch one's breath. Admits Pittsburgh Symphony Conductor William Steinberg: "Playing in a university string quartet is a vacation compared to the grueling work required of symphony musicians...