Julian Cohen, 82, largest contributor to the Boston Symphony dies
wazzzy
Julian Cohen's legacy is present each time Keith Lockhart raises his
baton, shushing the audience in that moment before the Boston Pops
plays the first notes of a performance.
Mr. Cohen endowed Lockhart's conductor position, along with the chair
held by the first violin in the Boston Pops, and the managing
directorship of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Through the years, Mr.
Cohen donated more than $13 million to the orchestra and millions more
to other arts endeavors in Boston and in Palm Beach, Fla., where he
had become a resident in recent years.
"He remains the single largest contributor to the Boston Symphony,"
said Mark Volpe, the orchestra's managing director.
Mr. Cohen, a philanthropist and real estate developer whose projects
included the Chestnut Hill Mall in Newton, died of a heart attack
Thursday in Massachusetts General Hospital. He was 82 and had kept a
residence in Boston.
"He was a unique combination of great intellect, great humanity, and
great humility," said his son-in-law, Paul Stanzler of Wellesley. "He
was really exceptionally able in his business, enormously
philanthropic, and the most decent, kind man you could imagine."
Volpe called Mr. Cohen "a paternal force in both the institutional
context, as well as a personal context."
"He was very sweet, self-effacing, considerate," Volpe said. "It
wasn't about him; it was always about what was the best for the
institution."
Still, Volpe said, Mr. Cohen understood that institutions are made up
of people, and it was people with whom he was most concerned. Each
time the two shared a meal, Mr. Cohen's initial questions were about
musicians or others associated with the orchestra. Then he would draw
upon decades of success in business and suggest a name or two, others
who shared his love of the arts and who might be persuaded to become a
patron of the orchestra.
"He had this kind of very deep growl of a voice," Volpe said. "It was
sweet, but you heard a lot of stones in his throat. I would try to
lean forward to hear everything he said. He spoke very softly. It was
always with great respect and sympathy, but he gave great advice."
Mr. Cohen made his fortune developing projects such as the Chestnut
Hill Mall, the Maine Mall in South Portland, and the Mandarin Oriental
Hotel and Residences, which is being built in the Back Bay. Last
March, Boston Magazine placed him on its list of the area's wealthiest
people.
Born in Boston, he graduated from Brookline High School in 1942 and
from Dartmouth College with the class of 1946. He also had attended
Harvard Business School and was awarded an honorary doctorate from
Hebrew College in Newton. Mr. Cohen served in the US Navy and was
stationed in Newfoundland, where he was chief fueling officer for
convoys in the North Atlantic, his family said.
A developer all his career, he had a knack for sensing what could be
accomplished, even when others saw a dead end. When Mr. Cohen wanted
to build the Chestnut Hill Mall, family members said, others warned
that the site would prove unsuitable for construction.
"Everybody said, 'You'll never make it,' but he saw the mall for what
it was going to be," said his wife, Carol. "He was a visionary. He
knew what needed to be done, and he did it."
"He saw opportunities that other people didn't see," his son-in-law
said. "I think that was one of his great strengths. He saw
opportunities in business, and he saw opportunities in philanthropy.
The guy could see around corners, let's put it that way. Very few
people have that ability."
Although he enjoyed great success in business, "he was humble," said
his daughter Marjorie Cohen Stanzler of Wellesley. "He took great
enjoyment in helping people, whether it was helping someone start a
new business, or buy a new home, or get tickets to a performance at
the Wang Center."
And he took great pleasure in philanthropy, donating money for the
Cohen Wing of Symphony Hall, the Cohen Galleria in the Museum of Fine
Arts, and the Cohen Pavilion of the Raymond F. Kravis Center in West
Palm Beach, Fla. The Boston Pops performed at the Kravis Center Sunday
and dedicated its two performances to Mr. Cohen.
"This is one of the most satisfying things we've ever done," Mr. Cohen
told the Globe in 1990 when the BSO dedicated the Cohen Wing, which he
funded with his wife, Eunice, who died several years ago.
"Julian Cohen was the warmest, most caring, most personally generous
human being imaginable," Lockhart said in a statement. "He was also
incredibly real and down-to-earth, to a degree that belied his status.
He set an unparalleled example for stewardship of the causes and
institutions that were dear to him, but what I will miss most about
him was the love and friendship he extended to me throughout my time
in Boston."
"He never ended a conversation with me on the phone without saying, 'I
love you,' at the end," his daughter said. "They just don't make them
like my Dad anymore."
In addition to his wife, Carol, and daughter Marjorie, Mr. Cohen
leaves a daughter, Ellen Cohen of Chestnut Hill; a stepson, Michael
Feldberg of New York City; a stepdaughter, Ellen Feldberg Gordon of
Newport Beach, Calif.; a sister, Constance Cohen Gilson of Brookline;
the children of his wife, Carol, Joan Feinberg Berns of Wayland, Amy
Feinberg Galen of Nobleboro, Maine, and Mark Feinberg of Newton; six
granddaughters; and five grandsons.
A service has been held.