Klarinet Archive - Posting 001222.txt from 2004/03

From: Richard Bush <rbushidioglot@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Richard Strauss concertino for clarinet, bassoon, string orchestra and harp
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 12:44:30 -0500

Dan,

I know I've read that article of yours before from the IDRS magazine,=20
but it is worth reading over and over and over.

You also told the story most eloquently.

Thank you for posting it.

Richard Bush
rbushidioglot@-----.net

On Mar 21, 2004, at 9:19 AM, Dan Leeson wrote:

> The man for whom Struass wrote this work was Hugo Burghauser and I=20
> knew him. He was one of the bravest and most remarkable men I ever=20
> med. So much so, that I wrote a story that was published in two=20
> different places including the journal of the bassoon society. It's=20=

> worth finding and reading it because it speaks of a brave man. But=20
> because it may be difficult to find, I offer it to you here. A brief=20=

> reference to the concertino is given as part of the story.
>
> Dan Leeson
>
> A RIGHTEOUS PERSON
>
> (This story appeared in Moment Magazine, August, 1998 under the title,=20=

> "Remembering Burghauser," and reprinted in The Double Reed, a=20
> professional journal for bassoonists and oboeists in 1999, under the=20=

> title "A Righteous Person")
>
> On the tenth of December 1996, I went to La Honda, California, a=20=

> small, isolated town on the spine of the last mountain range before=20
> the Pacific Ocean, and planted a redwood tree in memory of Hugo=20
> Burghauser, taking care to select a Sequoia that would someday produce=20=

> the largest, most noble, longest living member of the species, and=20
> choosing a site not likely ever to see a lumberman's chainsaw. Since=20=

> I don't know Burghauser's exact date of birth, I chose the anniversary=20=

> of his 1982 date of death for the ceremony, one at which I was the=20
> only attendee. My effort was not as a result of some formal action but=20=

> was self-motivated because of my conclusion that Burghauser was a=20
> righteous person, deserving of the honor. His behavior in 1938,=20
> though modest in scope, required great personal sacrifice and strength=20=

> of character. Let me tell you about him.
>
> On a Saturday morning in 1966, when I was still living in New =
Jersey,=20
> I received a phone call from the personnel manager at the Metropolitan=20=

> Opera House asking if I were free to play that afternoon's performance=20=

> of Richard Strauss' one act opera, Elektra. When an orchestra member=20=

> gets sick at the last moment, as had the orchestra's bass clarinetist,=20=

> someone must be engaged to fill in and, since I played at the Met from=20=

> time to time, my name was on the substitute list, which is how I came=20=

> to be called that day.
>
> Accepting the engagement, I called Herb Blayman -- my friend and =
then=20
> first desk clarinet at the Met -- in the nearby town of Tenafly to ask=20=

> if I catch a ride with him to the matinee performance. He agreed but=20=

> with the caveat that he was playing both matinee and evening=20
> performances that day and would not be able to leave until after 11=20
> p.m. That meant I was either to wait until he finished or take the=20
> bus home.
>
> "What's the second show?" I asked.
>
> "Cos=EC fan Tutte," he said.
>
> I needed to know nothing else. A day when one can play Elektra =
in=20
> the afternoon and then see Cos=EC fan Tutte in the evening, is a gift=20=

> from God.
>
> It was while warming up backstage that Blayman introduced me to =
Hugo=20
> Burghauser. He was a neatly dressed man who appeared to be in his=20
> mid-seventies. "There will be a seat on your left for Hugo to occupy=20=

> and watch the opera. He used to play bassoon with the orchestra but=20=

> is now retired," said Blayman.
>
> "I'm very glad to meet you," Burghauser said to me, his German =
accent=20
> noticeable at once. "I hope you don't mind me sitting next to you,=20
> but since your seat looks directly at the conductor's right hand side,=20=

> it is a good place for a view of the stage. You recognize, of course,=20=

> that, in the pit, the closer one gets to the lip of the stage, the=20
> less one sees of it. I will be sure not to inconvenience or disturb=20=

> you."
>
> "Mr. Burghauser, your presence will not bother me in the least," =
I=20
> replied. "You realize that I am kept very busy during the opera so I=20=

> won't be able to see much of it with you."
>
> "I know," he said. "One really works hard in Elektra. I once =
told=20
> Strauss that the work exhausted the musicians physically, emotionally,=20=

> and intellectually."
>
> That stopped me cold.
>
> "Mr. Burghauser," I said, respectfully. "You knew Richard =
Strauss?"
>
> "Very well," he replied. "I was privileged to work with him =
many=20
> times in Vienna and elsewhere. He was a marvelous conductor." And=20
> then, pausing for a moment, Burghauser added, "though a terrible card=20=

> player." Much later I was to learn that Strauss' "Concertino for=20
> Clarinet and Bassoon with String Orchestra and Harp" was written for=20=

> and dedicated to "Hugo Burghauser, dem Getreuen [the faithful]." In=20=

> the world of music, to have someone of the magnitude of Richard=20
> Strauss write and dedicate a work to a performer makes the recipient=20=

> of that honor very special, indeed.
>
> At that point the orchestra began to file into the pit, tuned =
up, and=20
> got ready to open with the muscular "A-GA-MEM-NON!" theme that=20
> pervades the entire opera. On my left, with his chair turned 90=20
> degrees -- placing his back directly against the audience separation=20=

> wall which gave him a face-front view of the stage -- sat Burghauser. =20=

> The lights dimmed, the conductor made his entrance, we rose and bowed=20=

> to the audience, seated ourselves and, with a flick of the wrist, were=20=

> into the story of matricide amongst the ancient Greeks.
>
> For the next hour and thirty minutes -- the length of the opera =
-- =20
> it became obvious to me that Burghauser knew every detail of the work.=20=

> He flicked a finger when Klytemnestra missed an entrance by an=20
> eyeblink. And when, for the arrival of Orestes, a trumpet overshot a=20=

> cue by a millisecond, Burghauser's hands, folded and resting on his=20
> lap, imperceptibly rose up, as if to give the player a helpful cue. =20=

> It was just a tiny movement, but I saw it out of the corner of my eye.
>
> After the performance, I asked him if he might join me for =
supper,=20
> explaining that I was finished playing but was coming back for the=20
> evening's performance. And that is how I got a small piece of Hugo=20
> Burghauser's remarkable story. It took a long time to get all of it.=20=

> He was so modest and self-effacing that he chose not to speak of=20
> himself. The details came from others much later.
>
> It is not wild hyperbole to state that, until 1938, Hugo =
Burghauser=20
> was the most powerful musician in the world. During that time, he was=20=

> the President of the Vienna Philharmonic -- as well as the principle=20=

> bassoon -- which means that he was the most influential person in the=20=

> world's most influential symphony orchestra. Ergo, he was the most=20
> dominant musician in Vienna, in Austria, in Europe and, therefore, in=20=

> the world.
>
> There is no orchestra quite like the Vienna Philharmonic. =
Proud,=20
> haughty, brilliant, though, by today's standards, unforgivably sexist=20=

> and inflexible. But in early 1930, it stood at the pinnacle of=20
> symphony orchestras, a law unto itself. The VPO is completely=20
> self-governing. Unlike the vast majority of professional orchestras,=20=

> one does not find two faces; i.e., the musicians on one hand and=20
> management on the other. On the contrary. The orchestra manages=20
> itself, inviting who it wishes, ignoring those with whom it chooses=20
> not to be involved. As royalty is not told what to do, one does not=20=

> dictate to the VPO. They can be pressured, to be sure -- as was the=20=

> case of the scandal caused by their obstinate refusal not to hire=20
> women -- but they are a law to themselves, with vast record sales, a=20=

> large government subsidy, completely sold out subscription concerts,=20=

> and the world's most prestigious summer festival in Salzburg. Thus,=20=

> the VPO can and does thumb its nose at demands that, in any other=20
> orchestra, would be political suicide. It is a private club. (I do=20=

> not defend their attitude, only report it.)
>
> And in the 1930s, Hugo Burghauser was the President of this most=20=

> influential body.
>
> After the "anschluss" or occupation of Austria by Germany, =
Burghauser=20
> was requested to appear at the headquarters of the Austrian Nazi=20
> party. There he was directed to dismiss all Jewish players from the=20=

> orchestra and, further, to prevent the hiring of all artists and=20
> conductors who were Jewish or whose politics were not in accord with=20=

> Nazi philosophy.
>
> Burghauser, a Roman Catholic, refused to comply, stating that he=20=

> would not participate in such an immoral act. Storming out, he went=20=

> back to work. Called in for a second meeting where he was threatened,=20=

> Burghauser again refused to obey. Ordered to appear a third time, he=20=

> refused to go. Two days later he was summarily fired from the=20
> Presidency of the VPO and his more amenable replacement immediately=20
> terminated the employment of every Jew in the ensemble. A later and=20=

> very public disagreement with a Nazi party member in the cello section=20=

> resulted in Burghauser's resignation from the orchestra.
>
> Burghauser did not have to do any of this. Had he concurred =
with the=20
> request made of him, he would have continued in his important and=20
> well-paying job, perhaps facing criticism at the end of the war, but=20=

> who knows? However Burghauser's ethics were such that he gave it all=20=

> up rather than be a prisoner to the Nazi view of who should not be=20
> permitted to play in Austria's most important symphony orchestra.
>
> Now, being without a job, he approached his friend, Arturo =
Toscanini=20
> who recommended him to Sir Ernest MacMillan, then conductor of the=20
> excellent Toronto Symphony, an orchestra that was searching for a=20
> principle bassoon. Burghauser, on the basis of Toscanini's=20
> endorsement, was offered the position.
>
> Strangely, Burghauser had no idea where Toronto was and thought =
that=20
> he had been engaged to play in Taranto, Italy. Since his mother was=20=

> Italian -- his grandfather had played flute under Verdi -- he was=20
> fluent in the language and looked forward to living there. But soon,=20=

> the misunderstanding was clarified and he was on his way to Canada=20
> with his bassoon and exactly ten marks, the maximum allowable on=20
> leaving Austria.
>
> Arriving in Paris on his way to Cherbourg where his boat journey =
was=20
> to begin, it was his intention to finance his trip from a French bank=20=

> account he maintained. However, a bank moratorium, caused by=20
> expectations of an imminent war with Germany, prevented any=20
> withdrawal. Overnight Burghauser had gone from being the most=20
> powerful musician in Europe to being indigent in a foreign country. =20=

> He was also advised by the French police that, without a steamship=20
> ticket, his tourist status would be revoked in one week and this would=20=

> immediately be followed by expulsion from France. Alone and without=20=

> resources, Burghauser chose the only avenue available to him: he=20
> joined the French Foreign Legion. By the most incredible coincidence,=20=

> on the day of his induction -- the last day before he would have been=20=

> expelled from France and the day before his scheduled but unpaid-for=20=

> boat trip to New York -- he ran into Mrs. Carla Toscanini on a Paris=20=

> street. Like Burghauser, the Toscaninis were abandoning Europe and=20
> scheduled to take the same boat from Cherbourg, for which he was=20
> ticketed but without money to pay for the trip. Mrs. Toscanini lent=20=

> him the amount needed for the boat fare and he was on his way to New=20=

> York and Toronto, sharing the ocean voyage with his old friend, a=20
> conductor who also had thumbed his nose at fascism.
>
> Ensconced in the first bassoon chair, Burghauser spent three =
seasons=20
> in Toronto before departing for New York where he played first with=20
> the NBC Symphony and later assumed the second bassoon/contrabassoon=20
> chair at the Metropolitan Opera House. A vignette about an event=20
> during his time with the Toronto Symphony reveals the magnitude of=20
> his prestige and reputation. The TSO had hired a world-famous guest=20=

> conductor who appeared for rehearsal at the appointed time. He took=20=

> one look at the orchestra, saw Burghauser, and left the stage, ashen=20=

> faced.
>
> "Do you realize who it is you have playing first bassoon?!" he =
said=20
> to the orchestra manager. "That is the most powerful musician in all=20=

> Europe. What is he doing here?!!"
>
> "He is playing the bassoon," came the response.
>
> Hugo Burghauser was a righteous person. Unlike Oskar Schindler =
and=20
> Raoul Wallenberg, Burghauser did not directly save lives, but his=20
> actions and behavior in the face of a hostile, ferocious, and=20
> oppressive government were consistent with the highest ethical=20
> principles of humankind. The behavior of a few people like him saved=20=

> whatever honor Austria retained following the events of 1938-1945.
>
> The last time I played Elektra, it was with the San Francisco =
opera=20
> and, as I played it, I thought of this gentle, kind, brave, and=20
> righteous man. It was later that I decided to plant a tree in his=20
> memory.
> --=20
> Dan Leeson
> leeson0@-----.net
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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