Fritz Reiner Stories

Gerry

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Oct 11, 2013, 9:17:17 PM10/11/13

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http://drgeraldstein.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/fritz-reiner-a-marriage-of-talent-and-terror/

Orchman

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Oct 12, 2013, 6:26:12 PM10/12/13

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On Friday, October 11, 2013 9:17:17 PM UTC-4, Gerry wrote:
> http://drgeraldstein.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/fritz-reiner-a-marriage-of-talent-and-terror/

There are tons of Reiner stories...He indeed was a great conductor, and a rather miserable person...He did like to put the heat on everybody, and many of his principal players have related stories on that subject...it does seem, tho, that once a player "passed the test" Reiner would leave them alone[well, sort of].
It must be said tho, that many of these musicians also say that Reiner allowed his musicians considerable freedom of expression. He favored expressive playing, and his musicians enjoyed alot of artistic freedom...in contrast to some of the real control freaks.

Ed Presson

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Oct 12, 2013, 7:05:55 PM10/12/13

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"Orchman" wrote in message
news:ee49deeb-68d6-4c83...@googlegroups.com...

On Friday, October 11, 2013 9:17:17 PM UTC-4, Gerry wrote:
> http://drgeraldstein.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/fritz-reiner-a-marriage-of-talent-and-terror/

My first wife heard this story from a former CSO player. At a rehearsal,
Reiner was having trouble getting what he wanted from a Bach piece. He
asked "Bud" Herseth to play a particularly high and difficult trumpet
passage from the piece, which Herseth did, perfectly. Reiner glared and
asked him to play it again, and again (each time done perfectly) until
Herseth was forced to say, "Maestro, I cannot. I've lost my lip." Reiner
then went back to work, having vented his frustration on the trumpeter.

I think some of this sadism shows up in his music. His "Salome" has a
vicious, perverse quality that suits the subject. I had owned Solti's
Salome and Elektra before I acquired Reiner's recording of excerpts. Solti
was exciting, but Reiner raised the hair on my neck.

One of the two biographies quotes him boasting of the great dynamic range of
his orchestra, saying "it will blow the old grey-haired ladies back in their
seats." ....or something like that.

Ed Presson

Bozo

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Oct 12, 2013, 7:11:25 PM10/12/13

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>On Friday, October 11, 2013 8:17:17 PM UTC-5, Gerry wrote:
> http://drgeraldstein.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/fritz-reiner-a-marriage-of-talent-and-terror/

Not knowing their relationship or history, it does nonetheless give one pause when Gunther Schuller compares Reiner to a Nazi ( ? ).

Orchman

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Oct 12, 2013, 11:13:47 PM10/12/13

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On Saturday, October 12, 2013 7:05:55 PM UTC-4, Ed Presson wrote:> My first wife heard this story from a former CSO player. At a rehearsal,

>
> Reiner was having trouble getting what he wanted from a Bach piece. He
>
> asked "Bud" Herseth to play a particularly high and difficult trumpet
>
> passage from the piece, which Herseth did, perfectly.>

The usual verion of that story is the orchestra rehearsing "Also Sprach Zarathustra" - Reiner kept asking Herseth to play the exposed octave, high C lick...over and over....Reiner finally asked him if he ever missed - Herseth replied that rehearsal went until noontime, he didn't miss before that.

<<His "Salome" has a vicious, perverse quality that suits the subject.>>

Yes.ndeed it does - the blood-lust of the crazed Salome just gushes forth, it is really is really hair-raising...same with the Elektra excerpts - the music just drips with the "blood vengeance" - really savage...Reiner must have really pissed the orchestra off that day, the playing is absolutely carnivorous...

<<I had owned Solti's Salome and Elektra before I acquired Reiner's recording of excerpts. Solti was exciting, but Reiner raised the hair on my neck.>>

I agree, Solti's are very good, and well-recorded, but Reiner's are in another world of dark, savage perversion.

<<One of the two biographies quotes him boasting of the great dynamic range of
> his orchestra, saying "it will blow the old grey-haired ladies back in their>
> seats." ....or something like that.>>

Yes that was a Reiner trademark - a huge dynamic range - which he used to great effect. That is always a big challenge for an orchestra - to play with a great dynamic range...very demanding...
>
>
>
> Ed Presson

gggg gggg

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May 10, 2022, 3:43:32 AM5/10/22

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On Friday, October 11, 2013 at 3:17:17 PM UTC-10, Gerry wrote:
> http://drgeraldstein.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/fritz-reiner-a-marriage-of-talent-and-terror/

(Recent Y. upload):

Fritz Reiner and the Apotheosis of the Autocratic Conductor (10 Best Recordings Preview)