Word: conductor
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Hovering over the open-air podium with his arms outstretched, the white-bearded, white-jacketed conductor looked like a snowy egret about to flap off into the fading sunset. Instead, he flew into Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, his baton carving the air, his left hand kneading a softly glowing tone from the strings. In Copland's Quiet City, he moved with the sure, deft strokes of a tailor stitching a hem, weaving the complex patterns into a taut whole. The interpretations, typically, were masterpieces of lucidity and logic, and at concert's end the audience at Stanford...
...Decent Darkness. From Ansermet's spirited and successful attack, it was hard to believe that he is 82. Half a century ago, he braved fistfights and a barrage of vegetables to first promote the works of such tradition-shattering composers as Debussy and Stravinsky. As conductor, first of the Diaghilev Ballet Russe and later of the Suisse Romande, which he founded in 1918, he daringly premiered more new works than most conductors attempt in a life time. Ansermet built the Suisse Romande into one of Europe's most finely honed ensembles, guest-conducted almost all of the world...
...probably doesn't know the meaning of the word. Son of a Berlin piano teacher who immigrated to the U.S. when Andre was nine, he has made a success of all the many keys he touched. Previn studied classical music under Italian Composer-Conductor Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, did considerable moonlighting in Hollywood, "cheating every minute." With a friend, Composer Lukas Foss, he recorded all the four-hand piano music of Mozart. He wrote a symphony and a quantity of piano works and chamber music. He did the arrangements for several bestselling jazz albums. And he fared well as guest...
...invited to conduct the Houston Symphony four years ago. The city, with plenty of fierce pride in its fine orchestra and practically no prejudice against Hollywood, gave him high critical acclaim, has invited him back to conduct every year since then. Now he is the only guest conductor scheduled to lead the Houston Symphony, and nobody will be the least bit surprised if he eventually replaces 66-year-old Conductor Sir John Barbirolli. Previn does not expect that any of this will turn his head, which might be on a swivel by now. Conducting is the only phase of music...
Meanwhile, Bresler and Duddy are on stand-by call if the act needs revamping. It is an expertise that they first developed while working together on the old Arthur Godfrey TV show-Bresler as conductor, Duddy as director of the chorus. In the years since, they have collaborated on recordings, several Jackie Gleason specials, a gross of TV commercials (Ford, Esso, Chesterfield) and are currently working on a musical. But they have never lost their love for nightclubs, especially since they command up to $20,000 for an act. The important thing, as Duddy says, is "being inspired...