Thank you, your comments add some aspects not mentioned in the telecast. Specially the part about Mahler's excentricities. The show did mention that many of the players of the VPO at the time either had been hired by Mahler or were related to VPO members who had been hired by Mahler. Is that correct considering the time that Mahler left Vienna? Any way the implication was that they should have gone for Mahler's music because of that connection.
> They were never much in fond of Mahlers music as they > suffered when Mahler was the excentric director of the > Vienna Opera. So Mahler did not get much resonance there > later during the twenties & thirties. Off course, Mahler > could not be played between 1938 & 1945. But quite young > Leonard Bernstein was one of the few conductors who even > conducted orchestras in the "Hauptstadt der Bewegung" > (capital of the movement) Munich 1947, no matter of his > jewish decend & a lot of ex-nazis still around & not > denazificated (put on military trial & classified according > to their involvement with the nazi movement). Later he moved > on to Vienna & conducted the VPO. He was not their > conductor, as they do not have a special principal conductor > nor a music director as an independent institution hiring > their soloists & guest conductors. Even there, Bernstein > found a lot of resistance still against Mahler, but hew > convinced the VPO with his way to interpret Mahlers music. > What kind of wonderful concerts & recordings did they make > together. It was a great symbiosis between genius Leonard > Bernstein & the wonderful orchestra. > > One short episode: > Some members had another gig & sneeked away from a > rehearsal, letting a colleague do the duty instead. So > Bernstein asked the orchestra president why they did so. The > then president answered: "Well Maestro, all members want to > participate on this production with you !!" - Bernstein: "I > knew, you were all ganefs (or ganevs - should consult a > yiddishj dictionary) !". He knew, all loved him. You can see > that on the videos. > > I was so fortunate, to participate on one of their tours to > the USA. That time back in November 1979 in D.C. at the JFK > Center. We did some parts of Tristan, but concertante. He > conducted one of the stage horn rehearsals. But when he > finished, he said:"Well, Wagner mst have been a so great > f...er, because he wrote so great f...ing music !" And > during the Figaro intermission, where I played 1st, he came > back stage to talk with Dr.Karl Boehm, who conducted. > Bernstein wore a tuxedo but with a red-white-red zebra > T-shirt. I was just standing nearby. L.B.:" Herr Doctor, > this was the most beautiful Figaro in my whole life !" and > Karl Boehm responded: "Did you notice, that I could do it > without jumping !" (L.B. used to jump once a while when > conducting), and lifted his left leg. > > ============================================================ > =================================================== > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 2:50 PM > To: The Horn List > Subject: [Hornlist] Bernstein in Vienna > Importance: High > > Looking for some knowledgeable comments on Lenard Bernstein > and the VPO. > Public TV in Dallas ran a program on Bernstein including his > time as conductor of the VPO. According to the program when > Bernstein tried to introduce Mahler to the VPO he met with a > lot of resistance from its members and spent a lot of time > convincing them it was music worthy of the VPO. > > Is that an accurate portrayal of the post WWII VPO? > > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/hans%40pizka. > de > > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/bgross%40airmail.net > _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
