Cadenza: A Musical Career

by Erich Leinsdorf

The renowned conductor relates anecdotes about such famous figures as Arturo Toscanini, Vladimir Horowitz, Brigit Nilsson, and Rudolf Bing and recalls his challenges and accomplishments as an international musical celebrity

321 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1976

About the author

Austrian émigré conductor of the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Reviews

[Lobstergirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Jewish Austrian émigré who left before the Anschluss, Leinsdorf's two main positions were conductor of the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Symphony. He was a hardcore musician who didn't suffer fools. This is very much a professional memoir; his family is mentioned only briefly. His career and traveling schedule were so intense that his marriage broke up as soon as his five children were grown. (He remarried the same year.) There are many anecdotes about the business side of the business: orchestra and opera rehearsals that had stringent time limits so no overtime would have to be paid; recording contracts, union squabbles, etc. An equal number of stories focus on the problems with musical divas, such as opera principals who never show up for rehearsals, sopranos who can't hit the high notes and need to have their arias transcribed a whole note down, orchestra members so entrenched in their ways it's difficult for them to learn new, modern repertoire. As a memoir it's not terribly dishy. This is about as gossipy as it gets:

[Shura Cherkassky’s] pianism was flawless, his musicianship of the worst. He had absolutely no concept of any work he played, having mastered the finger portion to such an extent that he could and did change everything else from one performance to the next. What was loud today might be soft tomorrow, and what went presto on Tuesday might be taken slowly on Wednesday. If he had played Beethoven or Mozart I would have gone crazy, but fortunately he played only rhapsodic composers such as Liszt and Rachmaninoff, who should not be treated this way either, yet can stand such “interpretations” with less ultimate damage.

If you only have time for one book by Leinsdorf, make it The Composer's Advocate: A Radical Orthodoxy for Musicans, which has much more to say about musicianship and conducting.