Death of a Berlin Phil concertmaster
mainWe are saddended by the death of Hellmut Stern, a concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for 34 years and leader of the final rebellion against Herbert von Karajan.
Hellmut, who was a dear friend, was 91.
Born in Berlin in 1928, he fled at the age of ten with his parents to Manchuria, where he kept the family alive by playing violin in bars and selling trinkets in street markets. In 1949 he moved to Jerusalem, working as a bar pianist in the King David Hotel, where he was discovered by Isaac Stern (no relation), who introduced him to the Israel Philharmonic as a violinist. After a spell in the US, he returned to Berlin in 1961 and was admitted by Karajan to the front row of the Berlin Phil.
The pair stayed friendly until Stern accused Karajan’s people of taking kickbacks on an Asia tour and led a successful uprising against the conductor. At the height of the insurrection, he asked me to fly over from London to share some inside information that had come my way with a secret meeting of rebels. Such fun. Afterwards, Hellmut and I went to dinner at his favourite Italian with Zubin Mehta.
Hellmut wrote a memoir, Saitensprünge, and lectured extensively on his life’s experiences.
Correct spelling:
“S e i tensprung”
The book is actually titled “Saitenprünge”, which is of course a pun.
It’s a pun, Lena. “Saite” means “string”.
It’s a pun. Seitensprung means affair. Saite means string. Would there be an equivalent – not a translation – in English? In French, I would suggest Encordé but it’s rather weak as a jeu de mot.
Perhaps an English version of that might utilize “strings attached.”
In the US “no strings attached” implies a quickie, a one-night stand.
Alternatively you might have been “strung along” …
Initially, it meant no complications, as a bolt on f tailor’s fabric would have white threads woven in to mark flaws. No strings? Life is easy.
Only if you’re cheating on your spouse. If you’ve chosen to write a book with a wordplay in the title, it’s Saitensprünge.
Stern wasn’t “admitted by Karajan” into the BPh. The orchestra elects its own members, cf. the Sabine Meyer affair in the 1980s.
Helmut rejoices with Kathleen Battle performance….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex3wOLN912Y
First thing I thought of!
Norbert, is his book of memoirs translated to English? Thanks
no
More’s the pity!
There’s an opportunity for a literary translator; the memoir must be fascinating. Condolences to the Stern family and to his friends.
Peter Gelb is tangled up in the Karajan kickback scheme.
I am very saddened by the death of Hellmut Stern. I met Hellmut during his years in the USA. We played together on a Columbia Concerts tour of the Saint Louis Sinfonietta in the early ’50s, where we became good friends. I am a 92-year-old retired violinist from the Boston Symphony. RIP, Hellmut.
If you played with the BSO in 1966-1968, thank you much for some life-changing performances, led by a man who became the most unfairly underrated conductor of the 20th Century.
I joined the BSO in 1971, with William Steinberg as Music Director, and retired in 1997, during the tenure of Seiji Ozawa. I assume you’re referring to Erich Leinsdorf, with whom I played only when he guest conducted the Boston Symphony. If so, I heartily agree with your assessment.
Saitensprünge is a musical ( instrumental ) term meaning jump over the strings. The rest is just phantasy…..
No, it’s not a common musical term in German. What the people said above the pun behind the title of the book is correct.
Whenever I think of Helmut Stern, I think of the video performance of Carmina Burana, with Seiji Ozawa. I remember him marveling at Kathleen Battle’s “Dulcissime…”, near the end…. wiggling in his seat, delighted while watching her! I think he had a little crush on her…