Maestros and their motor cars (6): Arnold Schoenberg’s two-tone jalopy
Daily Comfort ZoneThis was the family car in California.
Schoenberg was a serial driver.
Comments
MOST READ TODAY:
-
Daily Comfort Zone
It’s a first for Itzhak Perlman
We’ve been given to understand that tonight’s Lebrecht…
-
Daily Comfort Zone
Triple Bach: Does it get any better?
Pablo Casals conducts a gloriously old-fashioned 1971 performance…
-
Album Of The Week
The anniversary that failed
From the last Lebrecht Album of the Week…
-
Orchestras
Concertmaster who became CEO
Jiřà Pánek, who died on December 19 aged…
Don’t forget Heifetz and his battery powered car.
I was just going to say that! A Peugeot, I think.
I’m not sure why some of these old vehicles are called jalopies, when the definition of the term refers to their dilapidated condition. Neither Rachmaninoff’s Loreley nor Schoenberg’s LaSalle were at all dilapidated at the time of their depiction; indeed, both were luxury vehicles of their time.
Sir Edward Elgar had quite a thing for cars. Several can be seen in the vintage film footage of him ‘off duty’. Perhaps some SD car buffs can identify the motors?
It’s L.A. Ya gotta drive everywhere. He should have nice wheels. You want he should take the bus?
Alex Ross wrote in some detail about Schoenberg’s 1934 Ford, including a letter Arnold wrote to his Ford dealer about the cooling system and other anomolies:
http://www.therestisnoise.com/2006/05/schoenberg_buys.html
He actually never drove the car. Only his wife drove.
If Schoenberg’s car was a LaSalle, it would definitely have been considered a luxury car at the time. At that time, General Motors sold six makes of cars, ranging from the least expensive to the most expensive: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, LaSalle, and Cadillac. La Salle had many of its mechanical components in common with Cadillac (and some with Buick), but never would have been referred to in the United States as a “jalopy” unless it was in terribly bad condition and was barely running.
I can’t wait for Sergei Rachmaninov and Fritz Reiner.
Abbado was complicated: in his last years he was a proud owner of a Prius, and flew private.
Perhaps largely forgotten today, George Weldon had a passion for fast. sports cars
I believe that is a 1937 LaSalle Series 50. The license plate also looks like a 1937 California plate.