Sandy, 86, played first violin in the Met til the day he died

We reported last night the death of Sandor Balint, a pivotal player in the Metropolitan Opera orchestra who led his colleagues’ contract negotiations for 23 years, up to the year 2000, and continued playing in the section to the end of his life. Sandy left, we hear, a manual of these negotiations, a ‘little black book’ of all the dirty tricks that get pulled when a massive institution tries to bring its employees to heel.

Musicians of the Met will invoke Sandy’s memory day by day in the countdown to a new agreement – or lockout – that must be reached by the end of this month.

There will be a wake for Sandy on Tuesday, 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm, at the Westchester Funeral Home, Inc., 190 Main Street, Eastchester, NY.  914-337-4585.  There will be a short service for him at 10 am at the Funeral Home on Wednesday with burial at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.