Operacentric’s Cleveland Orchestra topic has prompted me into taking a trip down memory lane and so apologies in advance.
The first of my 5 visits to Salzburg during the Karajan years was for the summer festival in 1967; and I count myself fortunate in having attended the legendary 16th August Cleveland concert. I remember that my application in late 1966 for tickets for 5 events was successful except for that of the 16th August Cleveland concert which was already sold out. However I managed to obtain a ticket on the day by using the method which I’ve found to be 100% successful for important sold out concerts on several occasions over the years: rather than join the queue for returns at the box office, the trick is to stand outside, several yards from the entrance, with notes ready in hand, and gesture/speak to all those approaching; not really at all very pleasant in practice, but where needs must etc. etc.......
As
operacentric has mentioned, the Cleveland Orchestra gave three concerts in Salzburg in 1967 with the first two of these being conducted by George Szell:
13th August:Weber - Oberon
Strauss - Don Juan
Beethoven - Eroica Symphony
15th August:Brahms - Symphony No. 2
Mozart - Symphony No. 40
Ravel - Daphnis and Chloé, Suite No. 2
I didn’t attend these two and don’t know if the programmes were repeated later in Lucerne, although of course the 16th August programme with Karajan was. It’s interesting to note that the 16th August Karajan/Cleveland concert in the Large Festspielhaus coincided that evening with a performance in the adjacent Small Festspielhaus of the Marriage of Figaro, with the VPO conducted by Karl Böhm. The Salzburg Festival was certainly remarkable and the place to be in those days.
My own memories of this event, now 43 years ago are less than vivid although I don’t forget the electrifying effect generated by the obviously adrenalin charged Cleveland players in the Prokofiev Fifth.
There are some interesting observations by Richard Osborne in
A Life in Music and
Conversations with Karajan.
In
Conversations RO quotes Karajan:
“Szell and I were great friends. I remember, he was always insisting that I conduct the Prokofiev Fifth. I wondered what he wanted, so I did it; and in the interval of the rehearsal he came and said he was suffering from nervous shock because the moment I started he realized I was doing exactly the contrary of all the things he had taught the orchestra. It seemed like a complete breakdown; but after a few minutes he saw they were playing as if they had always played this way. And, as you know, there is a passage with the cellos at the start of the finale of this symphony that is quite crucial. In the interval of
my concert, he took the cellos away to ensure that passage was perfect when we came back to play it - now
there is real dedication and real generosity!”
However, RO provides some interesting additional information in
A Life in Music :
“A significant minority of the Cleveland players was disconcerted by Karajan’s conducting technique: the closed eyes, the absence of precise cues, problems exacerbated by the fact that Karajan’s reading of the Prokofiev was markedly different from Szell’s. In the Salzburg concert, a passage in the third movement came perilously close to breakdown.”
I can’t say that I remember or was aware of this incident and RO doesn’t expand further. RO continues and notes that back in America, Szell wrote Karajan a gracious letter of thanks.
Charlesb's information on the situation regarding the recording of the concert is interesting and very useful and I wasn’t aware of it. John Hunt notes in his discography that there is an
unpublished radio broadcast and so it is almost certain that copies do exist in private collections. I would be very interested in obtaining a copy sometime and will make some enquiries.
The personnel listing from the 1967 programme (see below) shows that there were some renowned musicians in Szell’s orchestra e.g. -
Lynn Harrell - cello
Robert Marcellus - clarinet
Myron Bloom - horn
Thanks again to
operacentric, Linda and
charlesb for the memories.
A Happy and Peaceful New Year to one and all -
David
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