Word: munches
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1940-1949
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Munch was invited to the United States first by the New York Philharmonic, but because of booking confusions, he made his American debut in Boston. (This is probably the principal reason why today he is conductor of the Boston Symphony and not the New York Philharmonic...
...both New York and Boston Munch had spectacular success, and, unlike many conductors, his success with the musicians was just as great as his success with his audiences. During his Philharmonic engagement the musicians spontaneously got together one afternoon and chipped in to present Munch with a gift symbolic of their respect and admiration. And after his last concert in New York, they honored him with a cocktail party, something which had been done only once before--when Toscanini finished his last season with the Philharmonic...
There are many reasons way Munch is such a popular leader. First of all he is one of those few conductors doing their best to destroy the image of the "super-man maestro." When he conducts, he is working with an orchestra, he does not stand on a pedestal and dictate to it. He never plays favorites among the players, as many of his colleagues are accused of doing. A tyrant conductor usually develops a clique of musicians who will support him, and help him keep control, but Munch never needs such a clique. One of the violinists...
...does not cultivate favorites does not mean that he refuses to be friendly with the orchestra. Philharmonic members often went up to his room to chat with him, on any subject from the most abstruse musicology to plain gossip about available jobs for conductors--gossip of which, incidentally, Munch strongly disapproved...
...excellent illustration of his attitude towards musicians is the way he led the United States tour of the Orchestra National de France last fall. For almost the entire trip, Munch rode in the busses with the men, enduring their hardships, and bolstering them. His spirit was probably the principal thing which prevented the tour from collapse. After the completion of the trip, he travelled a considerable distance so he could testify for his musicians in New York, when they brought legal action against the American manager of the tour...