Remember Erich Leinsdorf? Someone does
OrchestrasThe Vienna-born conductor has his moment of fame when, as newly appointed music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, it fell to him to inform the audience on November 22, 1963, of the assassination of President John F Kennedy, a Boston hero. Leinsdorf followed his announcement by conducting the funeral march from Beethoven’s Eroica symphony. He did not put a foot wrong.
But his tenure in Boston lasted just seven years and was marred by bad-tempered disputes with musicians and managers. Leinsdorf was a highly-paid guest conductor for the rest of his life, leaving no further mark on history.
Today, 30 years after his death, Vienna has affixed a plaque to the house where he was born, Kochgasse 34 in the Josefstadt district.
No mark on history? Check Rubinstein – Leinsdorf Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2.
Also the Beethoven 4th piano concerto with Rubenstein.
Or his recording of Verdi’s Macbeth, with Leonard Warren and Leonie Rysanek. Still the best ever!
Do you mean No 1 or No 2? He accompanied Rubinstein in Boston (No 1) and Richter in Chicago (No 2) – both for RCA.
Not forgetting Lazar Beeman in a very fast but interesting reading of 1st…
Also his book The Composer’s Advocate.
It is a rather iconoclastic book.
Indeed. That recording is indelibly trenched in my memory.!
The Brahms 2 Leinsdorf Chicago recording has Richter as soloist, not Rubinstein. Rubinstein did record Brahms 1 with Leinsdorf and Boston.
But his tenure in Boston lasted just seven years and was marred by bad-tempered disputes with musicians and managers. Leinsdorf was a highly-paid guest conductor for the rest of his life, leaving no further mark on history.
Totally unfair hit piece.
Yes! And perhaps the finest recording of ‘Die Walkure’; try to find a pirate recordning of the Brahms/Schoenberg piano quartet with the Berlin Philharmonic: sensational!
I absolutely will look for that.
He was the first conductor I worked with in the first concert I sang in here in London. Daphnis et Chloe and the Verdi Te Deum. The rehearsal was fascinating especially when he suddenly said “Richard Strauss – he say to me….”
What a treasure to have that memory!
I could never understand why Decca recorded a complete Walkure in Walthamstow Town Hall in 1961 with Leinsdorf conducting the LSO even though it had started its iconic studio Ring cycle with Solti some years earlier. Having listened to both Walkure recordings several times, I still find Leinsdorf’s more satisfying. The casting is excellent with Nilsson as Brunnhilde in both, Vickers as Siegmund, the lovely Gre Brouwenstein as Sieglinde, the under recorded David Ward as Hunding, the splendid George London more ideal than the aging Hotter as Wotan (Solti’s Walkure was left as the last to be recorded) and a stellar group of Valkyries, all topped off with the LSO and Leinsdorf in cracking form, this is surely a first choice for many.
It was originally released on RCA Victor during Decca’s association with that label in the early 1960s and only subsequently appeared on Decca in 2002.
Merely for accuracy, the libretto in the Decca version I have states 1991.
Nick2 Walküre was not recorded for Decca, it was recorded for RCA in 1961, but Decca reissued it later.
That’s why Solti recorded it as the last part of the Ring in 1966.
Not recorded for Decca – but recorded by Decca with a Decca producer and Decca engineers. If RCA had wanted a Walkure with Leinsdorf, why not record it in the US?
I’ll never forget Leinsdorf or the performance he gave with Brendel and the Chicago Symphony of Beethoven’s 4th piano concerto. A pivotal moment in my young life and a peak musical event ever since.
Leinsdorf was one of the few conductors in history that wrote about conducting, besides the usual condescending autobiography. his books “on music”, “Cadenza: A Musical Career” and “composer’s advocate” are very interesting and worth reading.
See also “Conducting Business” by Leonard Slatkin. In a similar vein.
Funny story about Leinsdorf. He was driving himself- very fast- from Boston to Tanglewood. A state policeman pulled him over to give him a ticket. Leinsdorf protested: “But I am Erich Leinsdorf, conductor of the Boston Symphony and must lead a rehearsal in an hour!” Cop’s reply: “You could be Arthur Fiedler for all I care. License and registration, please.”
Who made this one up? The cop? Or EL? Good story nonetheless
Leinsdorf had a driver and the driver told the story to the BSO staff.
So now the driver was Arthur Fiedler? Or Erich was driving his driver? I know for a fact EL drove his own car around T-wood because I’ve seen him doing it.
Many conductors were or still are not nice people
To work with.
Leinsdorf was an outstanding opera and symphony conductor. To say that he left “no further mark in history” incorrect, condescending and mildly disrespectful.
During his Boston years, Leinsdorf led the orchestra in some prestigious recordings for RCA Victor.
These included the Mahler 1st Symphony, Mendelssohn’s complete incidental music for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and Richard Strauss scenes sung by Leontyne Price.
RCA lost a lot of money on Leinsdorf’s 5-LP set of LOHENGRIN, but the orchestra sounds wonderful in that.
They may have recouped their money had they been able to include Leontyne Price as planned…
Prokofiev, Hindemith, Richard Strauss, Kodaly, Irving Fine, Carter, Ginastera, excellent Puccini, Wagner, Verdi…
A great and wonderful legacy.
Leinsdorf’s recording of Korngold’s marvellous “Die Tote Stadt” is still the go to recording of this entrancing opera. “Die Tote Stadt” is a heady brew of central European verismo, and Leinsdorf’s recording showcases the superb and lustrous (though sadly under-recorded) vocal talent of the greatly missed American soprano Carol Neblett. She is partnered by the renowned heldentenor Rene Kollo.
Yes, that’s a wonderful recording of a wonderful score!
+1,000
In fact, it was Leinsdorf’s pioneering 1967 Vienna Volksoper revival of this work with John Alexander ( even better than Kollo on the tapes) and Marilyn Zschau that began to put the opera back in the world’s repertory.
45 years on I still recall how thrillingly Leinsdorf conducted my first WALKUERE at the Met with an excellent cast: Hunter, Bailey, Rysanek, King and Mignon Dunn.
A wonderful and profound musician. Most of today’s young starts could not hold a candle to the likes of a Leinsdorf. Substance for flash. A wonderful Mahler 5 with the Cleveland Orchestra while visiting DC many years ago is sadly my only live experience with him.
“has his moment of fame” – I get the impression that you underestimate Leinsdorf’s footprint as a conductor. As already mentioned by Been Here Before Leinsdorf did a couple of fine recordings after he left Boston. I don’t know exactly where your bar is to say that a footprint has been left in history. However, there is no doubt that Leinsdorf is an important conductor of the 20th century. Many will have vivid memories of his incomparable recordings of music by Richard Wagner or Richard Strauss.
Further marks on history:
Cornelius, Der Barbier von Bagdad
Leinsdorf/Schwarzkopf/Hoffman-Gr/Unger/Gedda/Prey/Czerwenka
1956, Columbia
Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor
Leinsdorf/Peters-R/Peerce/Maero/Tozzi
1957, RCA
Korngold, Die tote Stadt
Leinsdorf/Neblett/Wagemann/Kollo/Luxon
1975, studio: Funkhaus des Bayerischen Rundfunks, RCA
Křenek, Karl V
Leinsdorf/Armstrong/Janowitz/Bence/Zednik/Kasemann/Moser-T/Reich
1984, live in Vienna
Mozart, Così fan tutte
Leinsdorf/Price-L/Troyanos/Raskin/Shirley/Milnes/Flagello
1967, RCA
Mozart, Don Giovanni
Leinsdorf/Nilsson/Price-L/Ratti/Valletti/Corena/Siepi
1959, studio: Sofiensaal, RCA
Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro
Leinsdorf/della Casa/Peters-R/Elias/London/Tozzi
1958, studio: Sofiensaal, RCA
Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro
Leinsdorf/Amara/Peters-R/Miller-Mi/Borg/Siepi
1961, live in New York, Sony
Mozart, Die Zauberflöte
Leinsdorf/Raskin/Sills/Shirley/Reardon/Flagello
1966, live at Tanglewood, House of Opera
Poulenc, Dialogues des Carmélites
Leinsdorf/Kirsten/Stahlman/Price-L/Thebom/Turner/Crain
1957, live in San Francisco
Puccini, La Bohème
Leinsdorf/Moffo/Costa/Tucker/Merrill
1961, RCA
Puccini, Madama Butterfly
Leinsdorf/Moffo/Elias/Valletti/Cesari
1957, studio: Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma, RCA
Puccini, Madama Butterfly
Leinsdorf/Price-L/Elias/Tucker/Maero
1962, RCA
Puccini, Il tabarro
Leinsdorf/Price-L/Domingo/Milnes
1971, studio: Walthamstow Assembly Hall, RCA
Puccini, Tosca
Leinsdorf/Milanov/Björling/Warren,
1957, RCA
Puccini, Turandot
Leinsdorf/Tebaldi/Nilsson/Björling
1960, RCA
Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia
Leinsdorf/Peters-R/Valletti/Merrill/Corena
1958, RCA
Strauss-Jhn II, Der Zigeunerbaron
Leinsdorf/della Casa/Hurley/Resnik/Gedda/Slezak/Reitan
1959, live in New York, in English, Fiori
Strauss, Arabella
Leinsdorf/Te Kanawa/Battle/Rendall/Weikl
1983, live in New York, Sirius
Strauss, Ariadne auf Naxos
Leinsdorf/Rysanek/Peters-R/Jurinac/Peerce
1959, studio: Sofiensaal, Decca
Strauss, Ariadne auf Naxos
Leinsdorf/Watson-C/Sills/—/Nagy
1969, video, Boston, 1912 score, abridged, VAI
Strauss, Feuersnot
Leinsdorf/Janowitz/Shirley-Quirk
1978, live in Berlin, Ponto
Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier
Leinsdorf/Jurinac/Geszty/Ludwig/Berry
1969, live in Buenos Aires, Living Stage
Strauss, Salome
Leinsdorf/Caballé/Resnik/Lewis-R/Milnes
1968, RCA
Verdi, Aida
Leinsdorf/Price-L/Bumbry/Domingo/Milnes/Raimondi
1970, studio: Walthamstow Assembly Hall, RCA
Verdi, Un ballo in maschera
Leinsdorf/Price-L/Grist/Verrett/Bergonzi/Merrill
1966, RCA
Verdi, Macbeth
Leinsdorf/Rysanek/Bergonzi/Warren/Hines
1959, RCA
Wagner, Lohengrin
Leinsdorf/Varnay/Thorborg/Melchior/Svéd/Harrell/Cordon
1943, live in New York, Naxos
Wagner, Lohengrin
Leinsdorf/Amara/Gorr/Kónya/Dooley/Marsh/Hines
1965, studio: Symphony Hall, Boston, RCA
Wagner, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Leinsdorf/Jessner/Laufkötter/Kullman/Olitzki/Schorr/List
1939, live in New York
Wagner, Parsifal
Bodanzky and Leinsdorf/Flagstad/Melchior/Schorr/List/Gabor
1938, live in New York, Myto
Wagner, Parsifal
Leinsdorf/Crespin/Windgassen/Adam/Crass/Narké
1969, live in Buenos Aires, Living Stage
Wagner, Die Walküre
Leinsdorf/Lehmann-L/Lawrence/Thorborg/Melchior/Schorr/List
1940, live in Boston, Myto
Wagner, Die Walküre
Leinsdorf/Varnay/Traubel/Thorborg/Melchior/Schorr/Kipnis
1941, live in New York, abridged, Naxos
Wagner, Die Walküre
Leinsdorf/Brouwenstijn/Nilsson/Gorr/Vickers/London/Ward
1961, RCA
Wagner, Die Walküre
Leinsdorf/Kuchta/Nilsson/Dalis/Vickers/Edelmann/Wiemann
1961, live in New York
Wagner, Siegfried
Leinsdorf/Nilsson/Kuën/Hopf/London
1962, live in New York, Walhall
Wagner, Siegfried
Leinsdorf/Nilsson/Stolze/Thomas-Js/Stewart
1972, live in New York
Wagner, Götterdämmerung
Leinsdorf/Nilsson/Dalis/Hopf/Mittelmann/Frick
1962, live in New York, Walhall
Wagner, Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg
Leinsdorf/Flagstad/Thorborg/Melchior/Janssen/List
1941, live in New York, Met Historic Recordings
Wagner, Tristan und Isolde
Leinsdorf/Flagstad/Thorborg/Melchior/Huehn/List
1940, live in New York, Guild Historical
Walton, Troilus and Cressida
Leinsdorf/Kirsten/Bible/McChesney/Lewis-R/Weede/Tozzi
1955, live in San Francisco
Yes, but apart from operas by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini,, Wagner, Strauss,Poulenc, Krenek, Korngold, Donizetti, Walton, Rossini and Cornelius, and piano concertos by Brahms and Beethoven I see no recordings of note.
How about his excellent Mahler 5 and 6, Profofiev 3, 5, 6…a smoking Beethoven 9 coupled with a devastating Survivors from Warsaw…one of the best Brahms requiems ever. To name but a few.
Thank you for this. I’d not been aware of his recording of Karl V, which I must now seek out.
One of the most knowledgeable conductors who ever lived!
Erich was a frequent guest conductor during my time as CEO of the St. Louis Symphony. He made a positive impact with the Orchestra. He could be difficult and charming all in the same day or hour !
I considered him a friend and have a number of correspondence that he sent to me that have great meaning.
His knowledge of both the symphonic and opera repertoire was
tremendous and he had the stories to go with it .
I read this as “he had the stones to go with it,” which is also true….
As a youngster, I picked up many Leinsdorf recordings and later cds: as a conductor he respected the composer’s score more than any other conductor, even more than his own mentor, Toscanini. His book The Composer’s Advocate should be must reading in music schools. He also was one of the few conductors of international stature who performed the off-beat. Not only the Korngold opera, but things like Franz Schmidt’s Second Symphony. I’m very grateful that his Prokofieff records were put in a budget box, but keep hoping a complete Leinsdorf/Boston box will show up. Last thing: he made some fine recordings for Capitol Records out in Hollywood including a marvelous Scheherazade without any of the Stokowski/Ormandy tamperings.
I heard him many times. He was certainly a marvellous opera conductor and perhaps not among the very best symphonic conductors but I say that because I felt he overcontrolled performances and wouldn’t “let rip” when necessary. Nonetheless, he always made very interesting programs (and memorably stated that “not every concert must be a spiritual experience”). He often programmed pretty much unknown pieces amongst more familiar repertoire. He guested in NY, Philly and Chicago a lot. I believe he mellowed in later years as he certainly was remembered in Boston with less than affection and was a stark contrast to Munch who was beloved, perhaps not least because he DID “let rip” and wasn’t the most rigorous rehearser. Still, I’d be much more excited than I am today if Leinsdorf were conducting at Carnegie Hall than some of the lesser “Maestri” we hear currently………………
This cool NYP program from 1990, the only time they’ve played the Poulenc.
Liszt / Orpheus, Symphonic Poem No. 4
Stravinsky / Orpheus
Intermission
Poulenc / Sinfonietta for Orchestra
Offenbach / Overture to Orphée aux Enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld) (Binder, Carl)
His moment of fame? He was a very renowned conductor. I heard him conduct Fidelio at the Met in the seventies. Slipped Disc can be like the National Enquirer of classical music. Ridiculous.
I think, N.L., that perhaps you have your British blinders on for this attempt at summarizing Leinsdorf’s career. This is quite apart from my wondering just what sort of “history” a musician is supposed to be making, apart from giving and perhaps recording good performances?
He took on major repertoire (with major singers) at the Metropolitan Opera at age 25 — still I think the youngest to do so although I am not a scholar of Met facts. That was his first claim to fame. Next came bringing German repertoire to the important San Francisco Opera. His time with the Cleveland Orchestra was cut short by war service but resulted in some memorable 78 rpm recordings, and given the status of the orchestra it is surprising how much he recorded with the Rochester Philharmonic. In the mid-1950s he became the first to record ALL the Mozart symphonies, which would be a claim to fame in anyone’s book. There were also opera recordings that remain treasured by collectors.
It really needs to be mentioned that his time in Boston resulted in such important premieres and recordings as Carter’s Piano Concerto, and that Leinsdorf was prepared to do the battles with RCA Victor and the Boston Symphony management that that sort of project would involve. He also stood firm when the RCA Victor powers that be wanted to cancel a promised recording with concertmaster Joseph Silverstein of the Stravinsky and Bartok Concertos. Many of his Boston recordings are fine ones, even if at the time a process that RCA Victor called DynaGroove made them sound a bit dull and lifeless on good sound systems, which certainly did not help the early reception of his interesting Prokofiev recordings. “Been Here Before” has already mentioned one of the many treasured recordings with Rubenstein. Not recorded but Leinsdorf gave the first American performance of Britten’s War Requiem.
And it isn’t as if his recording discography (a very large one) came to a halt after he left Boston. Leinsdorf made his mark. That he is less remembered today, except for serious record collectors, is pretty much the fate of all but a handful of musicians this long after their deaths.
One can feel his connection to BSO is not as deep as Munch. He brings something interesting to the repertoire, being a Prokofiev specialist. The sounding of orchestra is different, but that’s good and the CD editions show very good recordings, I recommend the high relperformance RCA series with Mahler 1-3, Beethoven 9 th with a great Schonberg as fill up, and a great Bartok, Kodaly, not really Hungar but very musical. Don’t forget his few capitol recordings in early 50s very well rééditéd by EMI. His record with young John Browning for exemple.RCA ows him and us a box. 7 years was too short for sure. The relationship was difficult between 2 loved conductor as Munch and Steinberg … but from the antagonism can come something interesting.
I usually enjoy this blog, but the recent attacks on several artists by the creator of this blog based on his solely personal dislikes makes me not to want to read (example : I am not a fan of Nezet-Seguin (as conductor, or how he dresses) but would not launch homophobe comments about him. Now attacking Leinsdorf? I wish we had a class conductor today of his… by the way his legacy will survive for sure much longer than the legacy of this blog and his creator. I may not value every recording of his the same way (as I don’t of others like Levine, Karajan, Callas, Domingo), but would not ignore his legacy post WWII until his death. Truly shameful…
Some of his comments during rehearsals were quite memorable. 1) before starting Strauss’ Don Juan – You can rely on my beat! 2) at the end of a rehearsal – Go home and overlook your private parts! 3) when unhappy with someone’s imprecision – You are playing as if you are giving an approximate telephone number!
Not much to add here, except to say that he was a very quick wit.
The wonderful late managing director (what is now called the “CEO”) of the Boston Symphony, Kenneth Haas, told me that one of Leinsdorf’s responses to “have a nice day” was…
“Thank you, I may have other plans!”
Leinsdorf’s BSO Beethoven 7th was the recording on which I imprinted in my childhood. To this day, I’ve not heard anyone handle the trumpet-to-horn handoff of a key descending phrase in the scherzo with anything approaching Leinsdorf’s care and sensitivity.
Leinsdorf watched over the BSO musicians like a mother hen. For his first trip to Carnegie Hall with them, he warned them about all of the “dangers” facing them, ie., be careful crossing the street, don’t talk to strangers, watch out for pickpockets, etc. And his final admonition: “Whatever you do, don’t eat any fried foods.”
From that day forward, anytime a BSO player ordered fried fish, fried clams, etc., it was known as a “Leinsdorf Dinner.”
Erich Leinsdorf, whether you liked his conducting or not, had a significant career. He was an assistant of Toscanini in Salzburg, he was principal conductor of the German repertoire at the Met when he was 27; music director of the Cleveland Orchestra (derailed by the draft) and returned to the Met in the 50s. He made many recordings (a very good Walküre with Nilsson among them) and had a distinguished career as a guest conductor. To say he left no further mark on history, is a bit of an understatement.
One must not forget the wonderful recordings he made in Los Angeles of Wagner and Prokofiev for Sheffield Labs – audio classics.
Erich Leinsdorf always represented the best in a first rate conductor. Every performance which I attended you had the assurance that a competent musician who understood the nuances which the composer intended was reflected from the moment the baton was raised.
Made many excellent recordings, probably superior in opera to other classical genres.
“Leaving no further mark on history”. I guess I’m not surprised of your very odd evaluation of Leinsdorf’s post Boston career, having written “The Maestro Myth”, IMHO the most inaccurate and peevishly opinionated book on the subject. I’m still amazed at your bizarre treatment of Sir Thomas Beecham…..but as they say, to each his own!
On behalf of my father, thank you all for your kind words and memories. One constant source of friction in my parents’ marriage was my mother’s mention of and his total disregard for the opinion of music critics. He cared only about the music.
Quite right too. I remember his concerts with affection and admiration. Stokowski told someone “I haven’t read a music criticism in 50 years.” Now Carlos Kleiber…….he read them and never returned to London unfotunately……….
To paraphrase the great pop/jazz singer and pianist, Nat ‘King’ Cole: “I don’t care what the critics say. They get the tickets for free.”
When I asked my father why he didn’t read music critics, he responded, “Either they know nothing or I know nothing and I prefer to believe that they know nothing.” David Leinsdorf
I will say this; his rendition of Mahler 1 with the Boston and the Blumine movement is my favorite
He never recorded the Blumine mvt.That´s only in the CD version of the BSO Ozawa recording.
I am wondering: are we still listening to his opera recordings becouse of him or becouse of the singers singing? I have almost all of them, but when I want to be musically excited in an opera, excited by the conductor and by the orchestra, I honestly must look somewhere else….
He’s a conductor who left tons of recordings for RCA, most of them very fine recordings. Salome with Caballé anyone? Tosca with Milanov – Bjoerling – Warren? The first recording of Die Tote Stadt? Thrilling Wagner from the Met’s Golden Era?
Mozart operas with Siepi?
Fantastic Prokofiev symphonies and concertos?
He also left three delightfully amusing books, among them a bible called The Composer’s Advocate, where he among many interesting things describes the modern Music World as a sort of Wall Street, agents as stockholders and artists as stock. The book was first issued in 1973.
Highly reccomended.
1981
Henry Fogel shares an amusing Leinsdorf anecdote
https://youtu.be/26Y_Q4O2-XM?si=33NJ50_7tvIv4S68
Please, folks, try to remember – it is Arthur Rubinstein! Not Rubenstein….
Mea culpa, Peter.
One other Leinsdorf recording of interest that nobody thus far has mentioned: his Capitol LP of Prokofiev’s Lt. Kije Suite includes the vocal versions of the Romance and Troika, with Dan Iordăchescu, bass-baritone. Why other conductors did and do not follow suit I do not know as it is very effective.
He made the Rochester Philharmonic sound like a first-line American orchestra!
I grew up attending Cleveland Orchestra concerts conducted by George Szell but I was well aware that he was preceded by Eric Leinsdorf and after Szell’s death I attended many concerts where Leinsdorf returned as a guest conductor and I am very sorry that slipped disc has failed to mention his importance to Cleveland.
Oh and Thank You to all who have commented in such a positive and moving way about his recordings, performances and his legacy in general.
Wow, what a simplistic and biased view of a very complex and excellent musician.
Although my father had a difficult personality he was considered by many to be a great conductor. I won’t delineate all the fine performances he gave but let us say many comments here support my opinion.
The Walkure recording with the London symphony from 1963 is considered by some to be the finest recording of that opera …. Ever! And George London was magnificent!
I was witness to his hours of study, memorization, and piano playing in preparation for his concerts. And his championing of modern music to a stuffy, 1960s Boston audience was courageous. At that time the musicians of the BSO like concertmaster Joseph Silverstein and first cellist Jules Eskin considered him a great interpreter of the masters!
It was very moving to experience the honor that many in Vienna bestowed on him. As a refugee from annexed Austria he was performing frequently at the Met. I believe that says a lot about his qualifications as a great musician.
Best to all of who love and treasure music.
Jennifer Leinsdorf Belok
In 1987, I made the trip from Albuquerque to New York City to audition for Eastman, and while there, I had the chance to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra for the 2nd time (the 1st was a severely jetlagged hearing of a concert at Royal Festival Hall the night after I arrived in London for the 1st time at 6:30 am on about 3 hours sleep, so it barely counts; in fact Philly themselves had been held up in the airport in Milan for many hours, and had to head straight to the hall, so it might not be one that they want to remember, either). I heard them with Leinsdorf at Carnegie Hall, in a program that included the Schumann 1st Symphony and Til Eulenspiegel. The concert was very, very good, and it still holds up to this day on a tape I made of the radio broadcast a few weeks later. Leinsdorf gave very minimal cues and time, and implied that he would set things in motion, then just let Philly do their thing, often remaining quite still on the podium. The concert was a real lesson in a guest conductor’s respect for an ensemble that he felt needed very little intervention in that repertory. You can say that he might not have made much of an impact, if one measures impact by imposing one’s will on an orchestra playing all the pr and administrative games that come with holding a major music directorship, but I think he was much more content in the last 25 years of his life with getting the chance to conduct the major orchestras of the world without the hardships of the extramusical business.
He also wrote some very direct books about music and the music business that contained some very interesting ideas. He might not rise to the rank of the most influential, but he certainly left some marks, for anyone that actually went to concerts during that time. I always wonder how things would have been if Chicago had hired Leinsdorf instead of Martinon (while Boston hired Steinberg?).
My grandfather Erich died when I was five years old. I’ve spent some time reading about him online and have discovered critiques offering technical and stylistic criticisms of his work. This piece offers nothing of the sort. It fails to put forth any convincing evidence of anything. What an odd way to spend one’s time, publishing an article to say nothing more than a person didn’t become as famous as others in his profession (on the anniversary of his death, no less). It’s like saying a professional basketball player who never became a household name is not worthy of being remembered. Just like avid basketball fans who know and admire the strengths of all the lesser known players, the commenters here paint a much more nuanced picture of Grandpa Erich and his accomplishments than the author. I wish I had seen him perform in person and am grateful to those who know and love his work (Aunt Jenny included).
The late Steve Rubin told me that Leinsdorf tried hard to get him to co-write his memoirs. Steve declined, finding Leinsdorf too difficult and having other priorities besides. Steve died in September. If anything turns up in his papers, I’ll let you know.