Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American)
conductor. After violin and
viola
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, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
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*Violin family ...
studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in 1907. He came to prominence when, for
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pa ...
's
Ballets Russes company between 1911 and 1914, he conducted the world premieres of
Stravinsky's ''
The Rite of Spring
, image = Roerich Rite of Spring.jpg
, image_size = 350px
, caption = Concept design for act 1, part of Nicholas Roerich's designs for Diaghilev's 1913 production of '
, composer = Igor Stravinsky
, based_on ...
'' and other prominent works including ''
Petrushka
Petrushka ( rus, Петру́шка, p=pʲɪtˈruʂkə, a=Ru-петрушка.ogg) is a stock character of Russian folk puppetry. Italian puppeteers introduced it in the first third of the 19th century. While most core characters came from Italy ...
'', ''
The Nightingale'',
Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
's ''
Daphnis et Chloé
''Daphnis et Chloé'' is a 1912 ''symphonie chorégraphique'', or choreographic symphony, for orchestra and wordless chorus by Maurice Ravel. It is in three main sections, or ''parties'', and a dozen scenes, most of them dances, and lasts just u ...
'', and
Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
's ''
Jeux''. Thereafter he directed orchestras around the world for more than half a century.
From 1917 to 1919 Monteux was the principal conductor of the French repertoire at the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...
in New York. He conducted the
Boston Symphony Orchestra (1919–24),
Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra (1924–34),
Orchestre Symphonique de Paris (1929–38) and
San Francisco Symphony (1936–52). In 1961, aged eighty-six, he accepted the chief conductorship of the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...
, a post which he held until his death three years later. Although he was known for his performances of the French repertoire, his chief love was the music of German composers, above all
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
. He disliked recording, finding it incompatible with spontaneity, but he nevertheless made a substantial number of records.
Monteux was well known as a teacher. In 1932 he began a conducting class in Paris, which he developed into a summer school that was later moved to his summer home in
Les Baux in the south of France. After moving permanently to the US in 1942 and taking American citizenship, he founded
a school for conductors and orchestral musicians in
Hancock, Maine
Hancock is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,466 at the 2020 census. Located on the mainland at the head of Frenchman Bay, Hancock has commanding views of Mount Desert Island.
History
It was first settled in ...
. Among his students in France and America who went on to international fame were
Lorin Maazel,
Igor Markevitch
Igor Borisovich Markevitch (russian: Игорь Борисович Маркевич, ''Igor Borisovich Markevich'', uk, Ігор Борисович Маркевич, ''Ihor Borysovych Markevych''; 27 July 1912 – 7 March 1983) was a Russian- ...
,
Neville Marriner
Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of the ...
,
Seiji Ozawa,
André Previn and
David Zinman
David Zinman (born July 9, 1936, in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conductor and violinist.
Education
After violin studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Zinman studied theory and composition at the University of Minnesota, earning his M.A. in 1963. H ...
. The school in Hancock has continued since Monteux's death.
Life and career
Early years
Pierre Monteux was born in Paris, the third son and the fifth of six children of Gustave Élie Monteux, a shoe salesman, and his wife, Clémence Rebecca ''née'' Brisac.
[Canarina, p. 20] The Monteux family was descended from
Sephardic Jews who settled in the south of France. The Monteux ancestors included at least one
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
, but Gustave Monteux and his family were not religious.
[Monteux (1965), pp 18–19] Among Monteux's brothers were
Henri, who became an actor, and Paul, who became a conductor of light music under the name Paul Monteux-Brisac. Gustave Monteux was not musical, but his wife was a graduate of the Conservatoire de Musique de Marseille and gave piano lessons.
[ Pierre took violin lessons from the age of six.][
When he was nine years old Monteux was admitted to the ]Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
. He studied the violin with Jules Garcin and Henri Berthelier
Henri Berthelier (real name Jean-Baptiste, 27 December 1856 – 1918) was a French classical violinist and pedagogue.
Biography
Born in Limoges, Berthelier graduated from the Conservatoire de Paris, where he was a pupil of Jean-Pierre Maurin ...
, composition with Charles Lenepveu, and harmony and theory with Albert Lavignac
Alexandre Jean Albert Lavignac (21 January 1846 – 28 May 1916) was a French music scholar, known for his essays on theory, and a minor composer.
Biography
Lavignac was born in Paris and studied with Antoine François Marmontel, François Benoi ...
.[Canarina, p. 21] His fellow violin students included George Enescu
George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian five lei.
Biogr ...
, Carl Flesch
Carl Flesch (born Károly Flesch, 9 October 1873 – 14 November 1944) was a Hungarian violinist and teacher. Flesch’s compendium ''Scale System'' is a staple of violin pedagogy.
Life and career
Flesch was born in Moson (now part of Mosonmagy ...
, Fritz Kreisler
Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, and regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, he was known ...
and Jacques Thibaud
Jacques Thibaud (; 27 September 18801 September 1953) was a French violinist.
Biography
Thibaud was born in Bordeaux and studied the violin with his father before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of thirteen. In 1896 he jointly won th ...
.[ Among the piano students at the Conservatoire was Alfred Cortot, with whom he developed a lifelong friendship. At the age of twelve, Monteux organised and conducted a small orchestra of Conservatoire students to accompany Cortot in performances of concertos in and around Paris.][ He attended the world premiere of ]César Franck
César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium.
He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...
's Symphony in February 1889.[Canarina, John. "Peerless Pierre". '']Classic Record Collector
''Classical Recordings Quarterly'' (formerly ''Classic Record Collector'') was a quarterly British magazine devoted to vintage recordings of classical music, across the range of instrumental recordings, chamber music, orchestral, vocal and oper ...
'', Autumn 2003, Number 34, pp. 9–15 From 1889 to 1892, while still a student, he played in the orchestra of the Folies Bergère
The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...
;[ he later said to ]George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
that his rhythmic sense was formed during the experience of playing popular dance music there.
At the age of fifteen, while continuing his violin studies, Monteux took up the viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
. He studied privately with Benjamin Godard, with whom he performed in the premiere of Saint-Saëns's Septet
A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members. It is commonly associated with musical groups but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered a single unit, such as a seven-line stanza of poetry. ...
, with the composer at the keyboard.[ Monteux joined the Geloso Quartet as violist; he played many concerts with them, including a performance of Fauré's Second Piano Quartet with the composer at the piano.][Canarina, p. 22] On another occasion he was the violist in a private performance of a Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
quartet given before the composer in Vienna. Monteux recalled Brahms's remark, "It takes the French to play my music properly. The Germans all play it much too heavily."[Canarina, p. 24] Monteux remained a member of the Geloso Quartet until 1911.[ With Johannes Wolff and Joseph Hollman he also played chamber music for Grieg.][ Years later, in his seventies, Monteux deputised with the ]Budapest Quartet
The Budapest String Quartet was a string quartet in existence from 1917 to 1967. It originally consisted of three Hungarians and a Dutchman; at the end, the quartet consisted of four Russians. A number of recordings were made for HMV/Victor t ...
without rehearsal or score;[Swain, Jonathan. "Reputations – Pierre Monteux", ''Gramophone'', January 1998, p. 35] asked by Erik Smith
Erik George Sebastian Smith (25 March 19314 May 2004) was a German-born British record producer, pianist and harpsichordist. He produced over 90 opera recordings. His greatest legacy is the 1991 complete recording of the entirety of Wolfgang Am ...
if he could write out the parts of the seventeen Beethoven quartets, he replied, "You know, I cannot forget them."[Smith (2005), pp. 36–38]
In 1893, when he was eighteen, Monteux married a fellow student, the pianist Victoria Barrière. With her he played the complete Beethoven violin sonatas in public. Neither family approved of the marriage; although the Monteux family were not religious, both they and the Roman Catholic Barrières were doubtful about an inter-religious marriage; furthermore, both families thought the couple too young to marry.[ There were a son and a daughter from the union.][
During his formative years Monteux belonged to a group which toured with the ]Casadesus Casadesus is the surname of a prominent French artistic family. Its members include:
* (1870–1954), composer and conductor
** Jules-Raphaël Casadesus, journalist, writer
*** (1925–1999), writer, poet
* Robert-Guillaume Casadesus (1878–1940 ...
family of musicians and the pianist Alfredo Casella
Alfredo Casella (25 July 18835 March 1947) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor.
Life and career
Casella was born in Turin, the son of Maria (née Bordino) and Carlo Casella. His family included many musicians: his grandfather, a fr ...
. The combination played supposed "ancient pieces", allegedly discovered in libraries by one or other of the Casadesus family; Marius Casadesus
Marius Casadesus (24 October 1892 – 13 October 1981) was a French violinist and composer. He was the brother of Henri Casadesus, uncle of the famed pianist Robert Casadesus, and grand-uncle to Jean Casadesus.
Marius Casadesus achieved perhaps h ...
later revealed that he or his brother Henri had written the music. While still a student, in 1893 Monteux was successful in the competition for the chair of first viola of the Concerts Colonne
The Colonne Orchestra is a French symphony orchestra, founded in 1873 by the violinist and conductor Édouard Colonne.
History
While leader of the Opéra de Paris orchestra, Édouard Colonne was engaged by the publisher Georges Hartmann to lead ...
, of which he became assistant conductor and choirmaster the following year.[ This gave him a link via the orchestra's founder, ]Édouard Colonne
Édouard Juda Colonne (23 July 1838 – 28 March 1910) was a French conductor and violinist, who was a champion of the music of Berlioz and other eminent 19th-century composers.
Life and career
Colonne was born in Bordeaux, the son and gran ...
, to Berlioz. Colonne had known Berlioz, and through the older conductor Monteux was able to mark his scores with notes based on the composer's intentions. He was also employed on a freelance basis at the Opéra-Comique, where he continued to play from time to time for several years; he led the viola section at the 1902 premiere of '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' under the baton of André Messager
André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéra comique, opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage wo ...
.["Obituary – M. Pierre Monteux", ''The Times'', 2 July 1964, p. 14] In 1896 he graduated from the Conservatoire, sharing first prize for violin with Thibaud.[Cooper, Martin, José A Bowen and Charles Barbe]
"Monteux, Pierre"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford Music Online, accessed 16 March 2012
First conducting posts
Monteux's first high-profile conducting experience came in 1895, when he was barely 20 years old. He was a member of the orchestra engaged for a performance of Saint-Saëns's oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...
''La lyre et la harpe'', to be conducted by the composer. At the last minute Saint-Saëns judged the player engaged for the important and difficult organ part to be inadequate and, as a celebrated virtuoso organist, decided to play it himself. He asked the orchestra if any of them could take over as conductor; there was a chorus of "Oui – Monteux!". With great trepidation, Monteux conducted the orchestra and soloists including the composer, sight-reading the score, and was judged a success.
Monteux's musical career was interrupted in 1896, when he was called up for military service. As a graduate of the Conservatoire, one of France's ''grandes écoles'', he was required to serve only ten months rather than the three years generally required. He later described himself as "the most pitifully inadequate soldier that the 132nd Infantry had ever seen". He had inherited from his mother not only her musical talent but her short and portly build and was physically unsuited to soldiering.
Returning to Paris after discharge, Monteux resumed his career as a violist. Hans Richter invited him to lead the violas in the Bayreuth Festival orchestra, but Monteux could not afford to leave his regular work in Paris. In December 1900 Monteux played the solo viola part in Berlioz's ''Harold in Italy
''Harold en Italie,'' ''symphonie avec un alto principal'' (English: ''Harold in Italy,'' ''symphony with viola obbligato''), as the manuscript calls and describes it, is a four-movement orchestral work by Hector Berlioz, his Opus 16, H. 68, wr ...
'', rarely heard in Paris at the time, with the Colonne Orchestra conducted by Felix Mottl. In 1902 he secured a junior conducting post at the Dieppe
Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...
casino, a seasonal appointment for the summer months which brought him into contact with leading musicians from the Paris orchestras and well-known soloists on vacation. By 1907 he was the principal conductor at Dieppe, in charge of operas and orchestral concerts. As an orchestral conductor he modelled his technique on that of Arthur Nikisch
Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of B ...
, under whose baton he had played, and who was his ideal conductor.
Ballets Russes
For some time, Monteux's marriage had been under strain, exacerbated by his wife's frequent absences on concert tours. The couple were divorced in 1909; Monteux married one of her former pupils, Germaine Benedictus, the following year.[Canarina, p. 26]
Monteux continued to play in the Concerts Colonne through the first decade of the century. In 1910 Colonne died and was succeeded as principal conductor by Gabriel Pierné
Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné (16 August 1863 – 17 July 1937) was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist.
Biography
Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz. His family moved to Paris, after Metz and part of Lorraine were annexed to Ger ...
.[Canarina, pp. 30–31] As well as leading the violas, Monteux was assistant conductor, taking charge of early rehearsals and acting as chorus master for choral works.[ In 1910 the orchestra was engaged to play for a Paris season given by ]Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pa ...
's ballet company, the Ballets Russes. Monteux played under Pierné in the world premiere of Stravinsky's ''The Firebird
''The Firebird'' (french: L'Oiseau de feu, link=no; russian: Жар-птица, Zhar-ptitsa, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev' ...
''. In 1911 Diaghilev engaged Nikolai Tcherepnin
Nikolai Nikolayevich Tcherepnin ( Russian: Николай Николаевич Черепнин; – 26 June 1945) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He was born in Saint Petersburg and studied under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at ...
to conduct the premiere of Stravinsky's ''Petrushka
Petrushka ( rus, Петру́шка, p=pʲɪtˈruʂkə, a=Ru-петрушка.ogg) is a stock character of Russian folk puppetry. Italian puppeteers introduced it in the first third of the 19th century. While most core characters came from Italy ...
''. Monteux conducted the preliminary rehearsals before Tcherepnin arrived; Stravinsky was so impressed that he insisted that Monteux conduct the premiere.
''Petrushka'' was part of a triple bill, all conducted by Monteux. The other two pieces were '' Le Spectre de la Rose'' and ''Scheherazade'', a balletic adaptation of Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...
's symphonic suite of the same name. The three works were choreographed by Fokine.[Canarina, p. 32] In later years Monteux disapproved of the appropriation of symphonic music for ballets, but he made an exception for ''Scheherazade'', and, as his biographer John Canarina observes, at that stage in his career his views on the matter carried little weight.[ ''Petrushka'' was a success with the public and with all but the most diehard conservative critics.
Following the Paris season Diaghilev appointed Monteux principal conductor for a tour of Europe in late 1911 and early 1912. It began with a five-week season at the ]Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...
in London. The press notices concentrated on the dancers, who included Anna Pavlova
Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20t ...
as well as the regular stars of the Ballets Russes, but Monteux received some words of praise. ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' commented on the excellent unanimity he secured from the players, apart from "occasional uncertainty in the changes of ''tempo''."
After its season in London the company performed in Vienna, Budapest, Prague and Berlin.[ The tour was successful, artistically and financially, but was not without untoward incident. A planned visit to St Petersburg had to be cancelled because the Narodny Dom theatre burned down, and in Vienna the ]Philharmonic
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola ...
was unequal to the difficulties of the score of ''Petrushka''. The illustrious orchestra revolted at the rehearsal for the first performance, refusing to play for Monteux; only an intervention by Diaghilev restored the rehearsal, by the end of which Monteux was applauded and Stravinsky given an ovation. In the middle of the tour Monteux was briefly summoned back to Paris by the Concerts Colonne, which had the contractual right to recall him, to deputise for Pierné; his own deputy, Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht
Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht (17 September 188014 February 1965) was a French composer, conductor and writer.
Life and career
Inghelbrecht was born in Paris, the son of a violist. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and made his debut as a ...
, took temporary musical charge of the Ballets Russes.[Canarina, p. 33][Canarina, p. 34]
In May 1912 Diaghilev's company returned to Paris. Monteux was the conductor for the two outstanding works of the season, Vaslav Nijinsky
Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...
's ballet version of Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
's ''Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
''Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune'' ( L. 86), known in English as ''Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun'', is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was composed in 1894 and first performed ...
'', made with the composer's approval, and Fokine's ''Daphnis et Chloé
''Daphnis et Chloé'' is a 1912 ''symphonie chorégraphique'', or choreographic symphony, for orchestra and wordless chorus by Maurice Ravel. It is in three main sections, or ''parties'', and a dozen scenes, most of them dances, and lasts just u ...
'' to a score commissioned from Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
. Monteux later recalled "Debussy was behind me when we played ''L'après midi d'un faune'' because he did not want anything in his score to be changed on account of the dancing. And when we came to a forte, he said 'Monteux, that is a forte, play forte'. He did not want anything shimmering. And he wanted everything exactly in time".
In February and March 1913 the Ballets Russes presented another London season. As in 1911, the local orchestra engaged was the Beecham Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra's founder, Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...
, shared the conducting with Monteux. At the end of February Beecham had to take over ''Petrushka'' when Monteux suddenly hastened to Paris for four days to be with his wife on the birth of their daughter, Denise.
''The Rite of Spring''
During the 1913 Ballets Russes season in Paris, Monteux conducted two more premieres. The first was '' Jeux'', with music by Debussy and choreography by Nijinsky. The choreography was not liked; Monteux thought it "asinine",[ while Debussy felt that "Nijinsky's cruel and barbarous choreography ... trampled over my poor rhythms like so many weeds". The second new work was Stravinsky's '']The Rite of Spring
, image = Roerich Rite of Spring.jpg
, image_size = 350px
, caption = Concept design for act 1, part of Nicholas Roerich's designs for Diaghilev's 1913 production of '
, composer = Igor Stravinsky
, based_on ...
'' given under the French title, ''Le sacre du printemps''. Monteux had been appalled when Stravinsky first played the score at the piano:
Despite his initial reaction, Monteux worked with Stravinsky, giving practical advice to help the composer to achieve the orchestral balance and effects he sought. Together they worked on the score from March to May 1913, and to get the orchestra of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées to cope with the unfamiliar and difficult music Monteux held seventeen rehearsals, an unusually large number.[Monteux (1965), p. 91] Monteux's real attitude to the score is unclear. In his old age he told a biographer, "I did not like ''Le Sacre'' then. I have conducted it fifty times since. I do not like it now."[Reid (1961), p. 145] However, he told his wife in 1963 that the ''Rite'' was "now fifty years old, and I do not think it has aged at all. I had pleasure in conducting the fiftieth anniversary of ''Le Sacre'' this spring".
The dress rehearsal, with Debussy, Ravel, other musicians and critics among those present, passed without incident. However, the following evening the premiere provoked something approaching a riot, with loud verbal abuse of the work, counter-shouts from supporters, and fisticuffs breaking out.[Canarina, p. 43] Monteux pressed on, continuing to conduct the orchestra regardless of the turmoil behind him.[ Stravinsky wrote "The image of Monteux's back is more vivid in my mind today than the picture of the stage. He stood there apparently impervious and as nerveless as a crocodile. It is still incredible to me that he actually brought the orchestra through to the end." The extensive press coverage of the incident made Monteux "at age thirty-eight, truly a famous conductor". The company presented the ''Rite'' during its London season a few weeks later. ''The Times'' reported that although there was "something like a hostile reception" at the first London performance, the final performance in the season "was received with scarcely a sign of opposition". Before the 1913 London performances, Monteux challenged Diaghilev's authority by declaring that he, not the impresario, was the composer's representative in matters related to ''The Rite of Spring''.
Monteux believed that most of the anger aroused by the work was due not to the music but to Nijinsky's choreography, described by Stravinsky as "knock-kneed and long-haired Lolitas jumping up and down". With the composer's agreement Monteux presented a concert performance in Paris in April 1914. Saint-Saëns, who was present, declared Stravinsky mad and left in a rage, but he was almost alone in his dislike. At the end Stravinsky was carried shoulder-high from the theatre after what he described as "the most beautiful performance that I have had of the ''Sacre du printemps''".][Canarina, p. 47] That performance was part of a series of "Concerts Monteux", presented between February and April 1914, in which Monteux conducted the orchestra of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in a wide range of symphonic and concertante
Sinfonia concertante (; also called ''symphonie concertante'') is an orchestral work, normally in several movements, in which one or more solo instruments contrast with the full orchestra.Collins: ''Encyclopedia of Music'', William Collins Sons & C ...
works, including the concert premiere of the orchestral version of Ravel's ''Valses nobles et sentimentales''. His last notable engagement before the outbreak of war was as conductor of the premiere of Stravinsky's opera '' The Nightingale'' at the Palais Garnier.[
]
The Met and Boston
After the outbreak of the First World War Monteux was again conscripted into the army, serving as a private in the 35th Territorial Regiment, with which he saw action in the trenches at Verdun
Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
, Soissons and the Argonne. He later described much of this period as one of "filth and boredom", although he formed a scratch band to divert his fellow soldiers.[Canarina, p. 48] After just over two years on active service he was released from military duties after Diaghilev prevailed on the French government to second Monteux to conduct the Ballets Russes on a North American tour. The tour took in fifty-four cities in the US and Canada. In New York in 1916 Monteux refused to conduct Nijinsky's new ballet ''Till Eulenspiegel'' as the music was by a German – Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
– so a conductor had to be engaged for those performances. At the end of the tour Monteux was offered a three-year contract to conduct the French repertoire at the Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...
in New York, and received the permission of the French government to remain in the US.
At the Met (as the Metropolitan Opera is generally called), Monteux conducted familiar French works such as ''Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...
'', ''Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'' and ''Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah are Biblical
figures.
Samson and Delilah may also refer to:
In music
* ''Samson and Delilah'' (opera), an opera by Camille Saint-Saëns
* ''Samson & Delilah'' (album), released in 2013 by V V Brown
* "Samson and Delilah" (t ...
'', with singers including Enrico Caruso
Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...
, Geraldine Farrar
Alice Geraldine Farrar (February 28, 1882 – March 11, 1967) was an American lyric soprano who could also sing dramatic roles. She was noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following a ...
, Louise Homer
Louise Beatty Homer (April 30, 1871May 6, 1947) was an American operatic contralto who had an active international career in concert halls and opera houses from 1895 until her retirement in 1932.
After a brief stint as a vaudeville entertainer ...
and Giovanni Martinelli
Giovanni Martinelli (22 October 1885 – 2 February 1969) was an Italian operatic tenor. He was associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well. Martinelli was one of t ...
. Of his first appearance, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said, "Mr. Monteux conducted with skill and authority. He made it evident that he had ample knowledge of the score and control of the orchestra – an unmistakably rhythmic beat, a sense of dramatic values."
Monteux conducted the American premieres of Rimsky-Korsakov's ''The Golden Cockerel
''The Golden Cockerel'' ( rus, Золотой петушок, Zolotoy petushok ) is an opera in three acts, with short prologue and even shorter epilogue, composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, his last opera he completed before his death in 1908. ...
'', and Henri Rabaud
Henri Benjamin Rabaud (10 November 187311 September 1949) was a French conductor, composer and pedagogue, who held important posts in the French musical establishment and upheld mainly conservative trends in French music in the first half of th ...
's ''Mârouf, savetier du Caire
''Mârouf, savetier du Caire'' (''Marouf, Cobbler of Cairo'') is an '' opéra comique'' by the French composer Henri Rabaud. The libretto, by Lucien Nepoty, is based on a tale from the '' Arabian Nights''. ''Mârouf'' was first performed at the ...
''. The American premiere of ''Petrushka'', in a new production by, and starring, Adolph Bolm
Adolph Rudolphovich Bolm (russian: Адольф Рудольфович Больм; September 25, 1884 – April 16, 1951) was a Russian-born American ballet dancer and choreographer, of German descent.
Biography
Bolm graduated from the Rus ...
, was in an unusual opera-ballet double bill with ''La traviata
''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...
''. Monteux's performances were well received, but, though he later returned to the Met as a guest, opera did not loom large in his career. He said, "I love conducting opera. The only trouble is that I hate the atmosphere of the opera house, where only too often music is the least of many considerations, from staging to the temperaments of the principal singers."[ Nor was he drawn to further engagements as a ballet conductor: "it offers special problems of fitting in with the dances and the dancers, most of whom, I'm sorry to say, seem to have musical appreciation confined to an ability to count beats."][ Nonetheless he occasionally conducted ballet performances, and even in his concert performances of the ballet scores he had conducted for Diaghilev he said he always had the dancers in his mind's eye.
In 1919 Monteux was appointed chief conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra was going through difficult times; its conductor, ]Karl Muck
Karl Muck (October 22, 1859 – March 3, 1940) was a German-born conductor of Classical music. He based his activities principally in Europe and mostly in opera. His American career comprised two stints at the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). M ...
, had been forced by anti-German agitation to step down in 1917. Sir Henry Wood turned down the post, and despite press speculation neither Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
nor Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...
was appointed. At least twenty-four players of German heritage had been forced out with Muck, and orchestral morale was low.[Canarina, pp. 66–69] Shortly before Monteux took up the conductorship the autocratic founder and proprietor of the orchestra, Henry Lee Higginson
Henry Lee Higginson (November 18, 1834 – November 14, 1919) was an American businessman best known as the founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a patron of Harvard University.
Biography
Higginson was born in New York City on November 18 ...
, died. He had steadfastly resisted unionisation, and after his death a substantial minority of the players resumed the struggle for union recognition. More than thirty players, including two important principals, resigned over the matter.[ Monteux set about rebuilding the orchestra, auditioning players from all kinds of musical background, some of whom had not played symphonic music before. By the end of his first season he had restored the orchestra to something approaching its normal complement. He trained the orchestra to a high standard; according to the critic ]Neville Cardus
Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (2 April 188828 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became ''The Manchester Gua ...
, Monteux's musicianship "made the Boston Symphony Orchestra the most refined and musical in the world."[Cardus, Neville, "Pierre Monteux: Appreciation", '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' 2 July 1964, p. 6
Monteux regularly introduced new compositions in Boston, often works by American, English and French composers. He was proud of the number of novelties presented in his years at Boston, and expressed pleasure that his successors continued the practice. He was dismayed when it was announced that his contract would not be renewed after 1924. The official explanation was that the orchestra's policy had always been to appoint conductors for no more than five years.[ It is unclear whether that was genuinely the reason. One suggested possibility is that the conductor chosen to replace him, Serge Koussevitzky, was thought more charismatic, with greater box-office appeal.] Another is that the primmer members of Boston society disapproved of Monteux's morals: he and his second wife had gradually drifted apart and by 1924 he was living with Doris Hodgkins, an American divorcée, and her two children.[Canarina, pp. 76–81] They were unable to marry until 1928, when Germaine Monteux finally agreed to a divorce.
Amsterdam and Paris
In 1924, Monteux began a ten-year association with the Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the "R ...
of Amsterdam, serving as "first conductor" ("''eerste dirigent''") alongside Willem Mengelberg
Joseph Wilhelm Mengelberg (28 March 1871 – 21 March 1951) was a Dutch conductor, famous for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler and Strauss with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest s ...
, its long-serving chief conductor. The two musicians liked and respected one another, despite the difference in their approach to music-making: Monteux was scrupulous in his adherence to a composer's score and straightforward in his performances, while Mengelberg was well known for his virtuoso, sometimes wilful, interpretations and his cavalier attitude to the score ("Ve vill make some changements", as an English player quoted him). Their preferred repertoire overlapped in some of the classics, but Mengelberg had his own favourites from Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
's '' St. Matthew Passion'' to Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
symphonies, and was happy to leave Debussy and Stravinsky to Monteux. Where their choices coincided, as in Beethoven, Brahms and Richard Strauss, Mengelberg was generous in giving Monteux at least his fair share of them.
While in Amsterdam Monteux conducted a number of operas, including ''Pelléas et Mélisande'' (its Dutch premiere), ''Carmen'', ''Les Contes d'Hoffmann
''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died ...
'', a Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...
and Ravel double bill of ''Acis et Galatée
''Acis et Galatée'' (''Acis and Galatea'') is an opera by Jean-Baptiste Lully. Unlike most of his operas, which are designated '' tragédies en musique'', Lully called this work a '' pastorale-héroïque'', because it was on a pastoral theme an ...
'' and ''L'Heure espagnole
''L'heure espagnole'' is a French one-act opera from 1911, described as a ''comédie musicale'', with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc-Nohain, based on Franc-Nohain's 1904 play ('comédie-bouffe') of the same nameStoullig E. '' ...
'', Gluck
Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...
's '' Iphigénie en Tauride'' (also brought to the Paris Opéra) and Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
's ''Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...
''. Toscanini had been invited to conduct the last of these, but he told the promoters that Monteux was his dearest colleague and the best conductor for ''Falstaff''.
During the first eight years of his association with the Concertgebouw, Monteux conducted between fifty and sixty concerts each season. In his final two years with the orchestra other conductors, notably the rising young Dutchman Eduard van Beinum
Eduard Alexander van Beinum (; 3 September 1900 – 13 April 1959, Amsterdam) was a Dutch conductor.
Biography
Van Beinum was born in Arnhem, Netherlands, where he received his first violin and piano lessons at an early age. He joined the A ...
, were allocated concerts that would previously have been given to Monteux, who amicably withdrew from his position in Amsterdam in 1934. He returned many times as a guest conductor.
In addition to his work with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, from 1929 Monteux conducted the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris (OSP), founded the previous year. The orchestral scene in Paris in the 1920s had been adversely affected by the "deputy" system, whereby any contracted orchestral player was at liberty, if a better engagement became available, to send a deputy to a rehearsal or even to a concert. In most other major cities in Europe and America this practice either had never existed or had been eradicated.[Canarina, p. 105] Alongside the opera orchestras, four other Paris orchestras were competing for players.[Mousnier, p. 77] In 1928 the arts patron the Princesse de Polignac
Winnaretta Singer, Princesse Edmond de Polignac (8 January 186526 November 1943) was an American-born heiress to the Singer sewing machine fortune. She used this to fund a wide range of causes, notably a musical salon where her protégés includ ...
combined with the fashion designer Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...
to propose a new orchestra, well enough paid to keep its players from taking conflicting engagements.[ With financial backing assured, they appointed a triumvirate of musicians – Cortot, ]Ernest Ansermet
Ernest Alexandre Ansermet (; 11 November 1883 – 20 February 1969)"Ansermet, Ernest" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 435. was a Swiss conductor.
Biography
Ansermet ...
and Louis Fourestier Louis (Félix André) Fourestier (31 May 1892 – 30 September 1976) was a French conductor, composer and pedagogue, and was one of the founders of the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris.
Early years, compositions and prizes
Fourestier was born in Mo ...
– to assemble the OSP.[Nichols (2002), p. 53] The following year Cortot invited Monteux to become the orchestra's artistic director and principal conductor.[Canarina, p. 106] Ansermet, its initial musical director, was not pleased at being supplanted by a conductor of whom he was reportedly "ragingly jealous", but the composer Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...
commented on how much better the orchestra played for Monteux "since Ansermet has been sent back to his Swiss pastures".[
Monteux considered the OSP one of the finest with which he worked. He conducted it until 1938, premiering many pieces, including ]Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
's Third Symphony in 1929.[ The orchestra's generous funding in the first years allowed for ample rehearsals and adventurous programming, presenting contemporary music and the lesser-known works of earlier composers as well as the classic repertoire.][ In his first season Monteux conducted an all-Stravinsky concert, consisting of the suite from ''The Firebird'' and complete performances of ''Petrushka'' and ''The Rite of Spring''. The orchestra made European tours in 1930 and 1931, receiving enthusiastic receptions in the Netherlands and Germany. In Berlin the audience could not contain its applause until the end of the '' Symphonie fantastique'', and in Monteux's words "went wild" after the slow movement, the "Scène aux champs". He approved of spontaneous applause, unlike ]Artur Schnabel
Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th centur ...
, Sir Henry Wood and Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...
, who did all they could to stamp out the practice of clapping between movements.
After 1931 the OSP suffered the effects of the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
; much of its funding ceased, and the orchestra reformed itself into a co-operative, pooling such meagre profits as it made. To give the players some extra work Monteux started a series of conducting classes in 1932. From 1936 he held the classes at his summer home in Les Baux in Provence, the forerunner of the school he later set up in the US.
San Francisco and the Monteux School
Monteux first conducted the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San F ...
(SFSO) in 1931, and in 1935 at the age of 60 he was offered the chief conductorship. He was doubtful about accepting, both on personal and on professional grounds. He did not want to leave the OSP, his wife did not want to live on the west coast of America, and the orchestra was so low in funds that it had been forced to cancel an entire season in 1934. Like most orchestras the SFSO had been badly hit financially by the Depression, and it suffered the further difficulty that many of its former players had left for better-paid jobs in Hollywood studios. That problem was exacerbated by the insistence of the Musicians' Union that only local players could be recruited. Monteux nevertheless accepted the appointment. The SFSO concert season was never longer than five months a year, which enabled him to continue working with the OSP, and allowed him to conduct the inaugural concert of the NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC Symphony performed weekly radio concert broadcasts with Tosca ...
on 13 November 1937.[Canarina, p. 132] In ''The New York Times'' Olin Downes wrote that the new orchestra was "of very high rank" and that the broadcast concert had displayed Monteux "at the height of his powers."
''The Times'' said of Monteux's time in San Francisco that it had "incalculable effect on American musical culture", and gave him "the opportunity to expand his already substantial repertory, and by gradual, natural processes to deepen his understanding of his art."[ Monteux consistently programmed new or recent music. He generally avoided, as he did throughout his career, ]atonal
Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on a ...
or serial works, but his choice of modern works nevertheless drew occasional complaints from conservative-minded members of the San Francisco audience. Among guest conductors with the SFSO during Monteux's years were John Barbirolli
Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 194 ...
, Beecham, Otto Klemperer
Otto Nossan Klemperer (14 May 18856 July 1973) was a 20th-century conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the US, Hungary and finally Britain. His early career was in opera houses, but he was later better known as a concer ...
, Stokowski and Stravinsky. Soloists included the pianists George Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist. and Schnabel, the violinists Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a virtuoso since childhood. Fritz ...
, Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name:
* Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor
** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England
** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...
and the young Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist.
Born in Poland, Stern came to the US when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union and China, and ...
, and singers such as Kirsten Flagstad
Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad (12 July 1895 – 7 December 1962) was a Norwegian opera singer, who was the outstanding Wagnerian soprano of her era. Her triumphant debut in New York on 2 February 1935 is one of the legends of opera. Giulio Gatti-Casa ...
and Alexander Kipnis
Alexander Kipnis ( – May 14, 1978) was a Ukrainian-born operatic bass. Having initially established his artistic reputation in Europe, Kipnis became an American citizen in 1931, following his marriage to an American. He appeared often at the Ch ...
.
Almost all his seventeen San Francisco seasons concluded with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is a choral symphony, the final complete symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, composed between 1822 and 1824. It was first performed in Vienna on 7 May 1824. The symphony is regarded by many critics and musi ...
. Monteux's SFSO studio recordings were mainly made in the cavernous acoustics of War Memorial Opera House
The War Memorial Opera House is an opera house in San Francisco, California, located on the western side of Van Ness Avenue across from the west side/rear facade of the San Francisco City Hall.
It is part of the San Francisco War Memorial and ...
(without an audience) with the music transmitted over telephone wires to a Los Angeles studio and recorded on film there. Confined to the US for the years of the Second World War, in 1942 Monteux took American citizenship.[
Monteux wished to continue his work in helping young conductors: "Conducting is not enough. I must create something. I am not a composer, so I will create fine young musicians."][ "Monteux Years"]
Pierre Monteux School, accessed 23 March 2012 In addition to his classes in Paris and Les Baux in the 1930s he had given private lessons to Igor Markevitch
Igor Borisovich Markevitch (russian: Игорь Борисович Маркевич, ''Igor Borisovich Markevich'', uk, Ігор Борисович Маркевич, ''Ihor Borysovych Markevych''; 27 July 1912 – 7 March 1983) was a Russian- ...
; later private students included André Previn, Seiji Ozawa, José Serebrier
José Serebrier (born 3 December 1938) is a Uruguayan conductor and composer. He is one of the most recorded conductors of his generation.
Early life
Serebrier was born in Montevideo to Russian and Polish parents of Jewish extraction. He fi ...
and Robert Shaw. Previn called him "the kindest, wisest man I can remember, and there was nothing about conducting he didn't know."[ After a performance conducted by Previn, Monteux said to him, "Did you think the orchestra was playing well? ... So did I. Next time don't interfere with them." Previn said that he never forgot this advice.][Previn, p. 11] Monteux's best-known undertaking as a teacher was the Pierre Monteux School
The Monteux School and Music Festival for conductors and orchestra musicians, founded by conductor Pierre Monteux, is a 6-week summer orchestra program located in Hancock, Maine, United States.
History
Pierre Monteux's (1875-1964) first forays i ...
for conductors and orchestral musicians, held each summer at his home in Hancock, Maine
Hancock is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,466 at the 2020 census. Located on the mainland at the head of Frenchman Bay, Hancock has commanding views of Mount Desert Island.
History
It was first settled in ...
from 1943 onwards. Internationally known alumni of the school include Leon Fleisher
Leon Fleisher (July 23, 1928 – August 2, 2020) was an American classical pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He was one of the most renowned pianists and pedagogues in the world. Music correspondent Elijah Ho called him "one of the most re ...
, Erich Kunzel
Erich Kunzel, Jr. (March 21, 1935 – September 1, 2009) was an American orchestra conductor. Called the "Prince of Pops" by the ''Chicago Tribune'', he performed with a number of leading pops and symphony orchestras, especially the Cincinnati ...
, Lorin Maazel, Neville Marriner
Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of the ...
, Hugh Wolff
Hugh MacPherson Wolff (born October 21, 1953, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) is an American conductor.
Biography
Born in France while his father was serving in the U.S. Foreign Service, Wolff spent his primary-school years in London. He received his ...
and David Zinman
David Zinman (born July 9, 1936, in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conductor and violinist.
Education
After violin studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Zinman studied theory and composition at the University of Minnesota, earning his M.A. in 1963. H ...
. Other Monteux students included John Canarina, whose 2003 biography was the first full-length study of the conductor in English, Charles Bruck, one of Monteux's first pupils in Paris, who became music director of the school in Hancock after Monteux's death,[ and Emanuel Leplin.
Monteux appeared as guest conductor with many orchestras; he commented in 1955, "I regret they don't have symphony orchestras all over the world so I could see Burma and Samarkand". His successor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky, invited many guest conductors during his twenty-five years in charge; Monteux was never among them, probably, in Canarina's view, because of Koussevitzky's jealousy. In 1949 Koussevitzky was succeeded by Charles Munch, whose early career had been boosted by an invitation from Monteux to conduct the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris in 1933. Munch invited Monteux to Boston as a guest conductor in the 1951 season. The engagement was greeted with enthusiasm by the critics and the public, and Munch invited Monteux to join him the following year in heading the orchestra's first European tour. The high point of the tour was a performance under Monteux of ''The Rite of Spring'' at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, in the presence of the composer. Monteux returned annually to Boston every year until his death.][
For some time Monteux had felt that he should leave the SFSO. He had two main reasons: he believed that a conductor should not remain in one post for too long, and he wished to be free to accept more invitations to appear with other orchestras. He resigned from the SFSO at the end of the 1952 season. He briefly reappeared on the podium at the War Memorial Opera House within a year, as co-conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra's coast-to-coast American tour, at Munch's invitation. Almost all the members of the SFSO were in the audience, and joined in the ovation given to their former chief.
After an absence of thirty-four years, Monteux was invited to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1953. The opera chosen was ''Faust'', which he had conducted at his debut at the house in 1917.][Kolodin, p. 536] The production had what Canarina calls "a stellar cast" headed by Jussi Björling
Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequentl ...
, Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles López García (1 November 192315 January 2005) was a Catalan Spanish operatic lyric soprano and recitalist whose career began after the Second World War and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid- ...
, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Nicola Rossi-LemeniHis father's last name was Rossi, but his mother wanted her family name added, "Rossi Lemeni" (without a hyphen). However, many publications and recordings hyphenate the name. (November 6, 1920 – March 12, 1991), was a ...
and Robert Merrill
Robert Merrill (June 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American operatic baritone and actor, who was also active in the musical theatre circuit. He received the National Medal of Arts in 1993.
Early life
Merrill was born Moishe Miller, ...
, but the critics, including Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassic ...
and Irving Kolodin
Irving Kolodin (February 21, 1908April 29, 1988) was an American music critic and music historian.
Biography
Irving Kolodin was born in New York City, New York. He wrote for the ''New York Sun'' from 1932 to 1950 and for the '' Saturday Review'' ...
, reserved their highest praise for Monteux's conducting. Between 1953 and 1956 Monteux returned to the Met for ''Pelléas et Mélisande'', ''Carmen'', '' Manon'', '' Orfeo ed Euridice'', ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' and ''Samson et Dalila''. The Met at that time typecast conductors according to their nationality, and, as a Frenchman, Monteux was not offered any Italian operas. When his request to be engaged for ''La traviata'' in the 1956–57 season was refused he severed his ties with the house.
London
Since his first visit to London with the Ballets Russes in 1911, Monteux had had a "love affair with London and with British musicians".[ He had conducted for the fledgling ]BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1924, where he conducted the first public performance of the BBC Wireless Orchestra,
in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1932 he was one of four conductors who took charge of the
in Manchester in the absence of its principal conductor; the other three substitutes were
, Beecham and the young Barbirolli. The Hallé players were immensely impressed with Monteux, and said that his orchestral technique and knowledge easily beat those of most other conductors.