Word: maestro
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Last week, when the Boston Symphony's maestro led his students through the first U.S. concert performance of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, the orchestra sounded still better, and the critics were still nodding vigorous approval. Koussevitzky had done it again...
...years), all technically accomplished players but lacking professional experience. They are coached by a faculty of first-desk Boston Symphony players, but when they play they are on their own. Three hours a day, six days a week, with a few evening hours thrown in, they rehearse under the maestro himself, a genial martinet in an open-neck shirt, slacks and sport shoes, who expects miracles and often gets them...
...panel (see cut) gave a Marxist-eye-view of the history of Chile. It was dominated by a gigantic figure of the Araucanian Indian chief Galvarino, roaring and waving the stumps of his handless arms (mutilated by the Spaniards) over a group of prone Spanish soldiers, like a mad maestro leading an infernal symphony. Over his shoulders glared the faces of Revolutionists Francisco Bilbao (with beard) and Araucanian Chief Caupolican (with one blind eye). Behind them, clutching a Chilean flag, swayed the small figure of Chile's liberator, Bernardo O'Higgins. The two panels were connected...
...Seventh Symphony and the orchestra to play it, but it was not sure it had the conductor. Both Toscanini and Stokowski are under contract to NBC next winter, but next winter is a long way off. Maestro Toscanini might conduct the musical scoop this summer, if he liked the score. (But four years ago he had been offered the first performance of Shostakovich's Fifth, and declined.) So the photostat pages of the score were rushed to Toscanini, and NBC held its breath. He looked, said: "Very interesting and most effective." He looked again, said: "Magnificent...
Leopold Stokowski, who had hopefully dashed East from Hollywood, went crestfallen back to the West Coast; Rodzinski had not even had a lookin. Hurriedly NBC augmented its Symphony Orchestra to the extra-large size the performance required. Night after night, nearsighted Maestro Toscanini, who conducts from memory, never from notes, sat up with his nose buried in the score...