Jean Martinon's departure from the CSO
Audiophilia Online Magazine
Can anybody shed light on Jean Martinon's infamous departure from the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra? Already checked Deja News.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Anthony Kershaw
Associate Editor, Audiophilia Online Magazine
HenryFogel
>>Subject: Jean Martinon's departure from the CSO
>From: Audiophilia Online Magazine <flu...@interlog.com>
>Date: Sun, Feb 1, 1998 19:05 EST
>Message-id: <34D50DD4...@interlog.com>
It was long before my time, but a number of factors appear to have converged on
Maestro Martinon, leading the Board of Trustees to determine not to extend his
contract at the CSO. He never won over some of the musicians in the orchestra,
with his very different musical style from his German-trained predecessors; he
did not get along with a few key players (musically and/or personally), one of
whom he tried to fire and failed to win the arbitration; and, very importantly,
he lost the support of Chicago's very influential music critic Claudia
Cassidy. Cassidy, early on a supporter of Martinon's, turned on him quite
suddenly -- and it is clear from reading the history that the reasons were
non-musical. The CSO's general manager at the time was Seymour Raven -- a
former associate of Cassidy's and recommended by her (or at least supported by
her) for the job. Raven and Martinon argued, and Martinon finally told the
Board he couldn't work with Raven. Raven was fired -- and the very next
Martinon concert to be reviewed was a slam. From that time on, he hardly ever
got a good review from Cassidy again -- despite having gotten mostly positive
reviews before that (I have read the clippings before and after Raven's firing;
the change is most dramatic). Cassidy, because she had a very powerful and
persuasive writing style, was a critic with much clout (she had previously led
successful crusades against other CSO Music Directors Defauw and Kubelik, and
was beginning to turn on Reiner at the end of his tenure too, because,
according to Hart's Reiner biography, he stopped seeking advice from her and
letting her feel "on the inside").
At any rate, the other issues combined with a weekly powerful slam in the press
began to have their effect on institutional morale, and the CSO trustees
decided to end his tenure there.
I suspect that Chicagoans who were actually around at the time might have more
to add to this. What I have written is based on what people have told me, plus
what I have read in CSO archives. I believe it to be basically accurate, but
there are surely details that others could provide.
Henry Fogel
PAP
> decided to end his tenure there.
>
> I suspect that Chicagoans who were actually around at the time might have more
> to add to this. What I have written is based on what people have told me, plus
> what I have read in CSO archives. I believe it to be basically accurate, but
> there are surely details that others could provide.
>
> Henry Fogel
Henry:
Regardless, when will BMG release the wonderful Martinon CSO
recordings.... These performances, the Ravel-Roussel, the Nielsen
sym No. 4 and other recordings seem to indicate that "all's well in
Chicago" ....which seems to be a rare occurance there. Too bad C.
Cassidy ain't around any longer so as to deal with Monsieur Barenboim
and his mostly "non-emotional or sterile performances" these days.
PAP
Matthew B. Tepper
In article <34D55A...@capecod.net>, ppa...@capecod.net spake:
>
>Henry:
>Regardless, when will BMG release the wonderful Martinon CSO
>recordings.... These performances, the Ravel-Roussel, the Nielsen
>sym No. 4 and other recordings seem to indicate that "all's well in
>Chicago" ....which seems to be a rare occurance there. Too bad C.
>Cassidy ain't around any longer so as to deal with Monsieur Barenboim
>and his mostly "non-emotional or sterile performances" these days.
Interestingly, Claudia Cassidy died mere days before Rafael Kubelik.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://www.deltanet.com/~ducky/index.htm
My main music page --- http://www.deltanet.com/~ducky/berlioz.htm
And my science fiction club's home page --- http://www.lasfs.org/
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Martha Oppenheim
PAP wrote:
>
> > decided to end his tenure there.
> >
> > I suspect that Chicagoans who were actually around at the time might have more
> > to add to this. What I have written is based on what people have told me, plus
> > what I have read in CSO archives. I believe it to be basically accurate, but
> > there are surely details that others could provide.
> >
> > Henry Fogel
>
> Regardless, when will BMG release the wonderful Martinon CSO
> recordings.... These performances, the Ravel-Roussel, the Nielsen
> sym No. 4 and other recordings seem to indicate that "all's well in
> Chicago" ....which seems to be a rare occurance there. Too bad C.
> Cassidy ain't around any longer so as to deal with Monsieur Barenboim
> and his mostly "non-emotional or sterile performances" these days.
>
The Martinon performance of the Nielsen Symphony no. 4 is to my mind
one of the greatest things ever put on records and it has in fact been
issued on CD in the dumbed-down RCA Navigator series; the number is
74321 21296-2. The CD also holds the Previn LSO Nielsen 1st Symphony
and Saul & David Act II Prelude, and as filler, Jame Galway and Sioned
Williams in "The Fog is Lifting." I don't think the CD is generally
circulated in the USA but you should be able to order from any of the
outfits advertised in Gramophone. The booklet notes are brief and
uninformative and the booklet cover lacks the agonized skeletal figure
that graced the LP jacket. I had time to waste so I cooked up my own
booklet with an approximation of the original cover art, and am
transerring the LP notes into the booklet.
The excellent Gould-Chicago SO Nielsen "Four Temperaments" has been
issued in the same series, coupled with the Clarinet Concerto and
Martinon's version of the "Helios Overture."
These are tremendous recordings. Hope this has helped.
Russ O.
--
----------------------
Martha Oppenheim
mopp...@ix.netcom.com
----------------------
The Melsons
Equally fascinating is the story (told to me by Margaret Hills) of how
Claudia Cassidy was ousted from her job (20 years too late from what
I've heard), thanks in part to some lobbying by members of the Chicago
Symphony Chorus. Is that saga documented anywhere?
Mark Melson
Edward A. Cowan
The Melsons wrote:
>
> Equally fascinating is the story (told to me by Margaret Hills) of how
> Claudia Cassidy was ousted from her job (20 years too late from what
> I've heard), thanks in part to some lobbying by members of the Chicago
> Symphony Chorus. Is that saga documented anywhere?
>
I don't know about Cassidy's departure from her newspaper job. It happens,
however, that she had a regular review program on Chicago's WFMT-FM, the only
proviso for keeping that job being that she should not criticise the Chicago
SO. She eventually did just that and was removed from the air. I used to hear
her program in the 1980s, just after getting cable FM service. In Feb., 1994,
my local cable company stopped carrying WFMT, so I got a satellite dish and
continue to hear that great station regularly. FWIW, I don't miss Claudia
Cassidy a bit. (The station also no longer carries Studs Terkel. I *do* miss
him!) --E.A.C.
John S. Humanski
-- John S. Humanski | Phone:630-467-8319 Fax:630-250-8784 Senior Systems Engineer | Pager:888-632-7593 (alpha) OSI Professional Services - Chicago | 800-946-4645 PIN 1426520 (alpha) One Pierce Place - Suite 345W | 800-946-4646 PIN 1426520 (numeric) Itasca, IL 60143 | mailto:js...@osi.com
James P. Axtell
believe) is working on a project to catalogue his many interviews. The
web page needs an update if it still shows his program.
Jim