George Szell's Reign by Marcia Hansen Kraus

Author:Marcia Hansen Kraus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Illinois Press

CHAPTER 18

The Musicians’ Insurrection

DESPITE SZELL’S TYRANNY, there had never been an insurrection within the ranks of the Cleveland Orchestra. They understood that Szell knew the music better than any of them, that he was a dedicated leader, that he was rarely wrong and that he demanded a degree of perfection benefiting them all. If he corrected a musician, it was for the musician's own good. But once in a while he got wound up berating a player, and it produced no good whatsoever. Everyone remembered the notorious drum fiasco in Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra when Szell came close to firing the entire percussion section because he made them all so nervous that they played badly. Several years later he created an even more dramatic incident.

The orchestra's four bassoonists were all fine players, but one of them noticeably stood out. Second bassoonist Vaclav Laksar was in a perpetual stew owing to his hair-trigger temper and propensity for accidents. As a result, he was frequently embroiled in lawsuits and constantly wary. His colleagues, knowing this, gave him a wide berth, and Szell probably knew of his mishaps. This situation was the origin of a major upset between the musicians, Szell, and the orchestra's management.

One morning during a tense rehearsal, Szell worked himself into a truculent mood that was making everybody miserable. When he heard something out of tune in the bassoons, he stopped the music and pried into the cause. There were three men sitting calmly in the bassoon section and a fourth one with an apprehensive expression on his face. Laksar. Yes. That must be where the trouble lay.

Szell started with a sarcastic remark and then tore into Laksar with progressively abusive language. The other orchestra members shifted nervously in their seats. Who was going to be next? At last Laksar was rescued by the personnel manager, who announced intermission. Szell stalked off stage, and the moment he was out of sight, concerned players tried to soothe their miserable colleague. But they knew, and Laksar knew, he was probably going to be fired.1

Downstairs in the locker room all hands gathered to sympathize with Laksar. The whole thing was deplorable. It could have been any one of them. Something had to be done. They decided they would return upstairs but, instead of taking their places on stage, they would sit out front in the audience seats. And they would not return to the stage until Szell apologized for his horrible abuse of Laksar and his abusive language in general. The personnel manager was delegated to relay their ultimatum to Szell.

Many minutes passed while Szell considered his options. This had never before happened—his whole orchestra arrayed against him. They seemed not to realize he had only their good at heart and were taking no account of his fatherly concern.

More minutes passed. The eating of crow takes time. At last, common sense prevailed. Szell left his office, walked to the front of the stage, stood not on the podium but beside it, and addressed his mutinous crew.

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