Fritz Reiner: A Biography - Hardcover

Hart, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 081011125X ISBN 13: 9780810111257

Publisher: Northwestern University Press, 1994

Synopsis

This is the first biography of one of the century's most important conductors of opera and symphonic music. Fritz Reiner (1888-1963) led major orchestras in Europe and the Americas, including those of Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago; after distinguished opera conducting in Philadelphia and San Francisco, he spent five memorable seasons at the Metropolitan Opera. He was not only a consummate musician but also a major participant in the evolution of concert and opera in America, in the development of characteristically American music, and in the education of musicians: Leonard Bernstein, his most famous pupil, declared, "Reiner is responsible for my own very high standards." His most enduring legacy, his recordings made with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, are more highly regarded than they were in his lifetime - indeed, most of Reiner's recorded repertory was reissued on compact disc much more quickly than that of other conductors of his era. His accomplishments, however, were compromised by his irascibility, which alienated the music world and often obscured his intrinsic artistic achievement, diminishing its contemporary recognition. Thirty years after his death, Reiner's contribution continues to be reassessed.

About this title

About the Author:

Philip Hart has taught at The Juilliard School.

From Kirkus Reviews:

A worthy addition to the small shelf of famous-maestro biographies relying on thoughtful scholarship rather than hype. Hart (Conductors, 1979) was at one time assistant manager of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where he made the acquaintance of its notoriously difficult conductor, Fritz Reiner (18881963). The relationship ripened into a long-term friendship, though this book is no hagiography. Hart recognizes that the conductor's blazing musicianship and advocacy of such 20th-century masters as Bartok and Stravinsky have only recently begun to loom larger than his reputation as an odious martinet, feared and despised by generations of musicians. Against his problematic personality, the author sets Reiner's genuine musical achievements, now better known thanks to the rerelease on CD of his greatest recordings. Hart persuades the reader not only that Reiner was capable of humor and warmth, but that the same sternly disciplined perfectionism that made him personally so inflexible allowed him to give phenomenal performances and inspire his students, among them Leonard Bernstein. Born in Hungary, Reiner acquired staggering practical experience conducting in Europe. He emigrated to America in 1922 and remained at the center of the country's musical life until his death; he was music director of the historic Cincinnati Symphony, principal conductor at Pittsburgh and then Chicago, and spent five seasons at the Metropolitan Opera. Hart's careful, non- sensationalistic account of Reiner's working life thus becomes a portrait of the American classical music establishment during its most vital years. His musical judgments are generally sensible, and the book includes a valuable discography and a list of Reiner's extensive podium repertory. This substantial study makes the reader hungry for the same treatment of Reiner's contemporaries: How about Eugene Ormandy, Charles Munch, Paul Paray, or Thomas Schippers, Mr. Hart? (40 b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 081011125X
• ISBN 13: 9780810111257
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 330