Milton Katims 1909-2006

It was sad but not unexpected to receive a phone call today about our dear friend Milton Katims having passed away. My wife had talked to him just recently on the phone and between bites of food he commented that old age had finally caught up with him. We went to visit him five days ago but he was in deep sleep and neither of us had the heart to awaken him. We just spent a good amount of time watching him, guessing that this might be the last time we would see him. Having been born as a preemie, weighing only three pounds at birth, he again resembled a helpless baby. Life is indeed a circle.

What an amazing man and an artist Milton was. I had heard recordings of his playing since my childhood and automatically placed him in the class of William Primrose. During our years in Seattle we became friends and always admired his knowledge of music, intellect and marvelous sense of humor. In spite of being well into his 90s, his mind was still razor sharp and he could tell an endless amount of fascinating stories. Exactly a year ago the Northwest Chamber Orchestra had honored him during Bacchanalia, their yearly fundraising auction. We sat at the same table and watched him absolutely glow from the attention he was getting. Recently we viewed a video taken at a home concert on Mother’s Day in 1992 where he and my then-pregnant wife were playing duos for violin and viola. Even in his eighties his fingers were moving at an amazing speed and accuracy and his immaculate musicianship was present constantly. The surroundings both made him relax and inspired, as his living room was filled with friends and admirers.

We have an old book titled ‘Living Musicians’ printed in 1940, and Milton is featured in it as a young but already very accomplished violist and conductor. He worked closely with Toscanini and he relished opportunities to reminisce about these experiences. Seattle was fortunate to have had him as their orchestra’s music director for many years. Naturally, in such a situation one makes both friends and foes, and not everyone showed him the respect and admiration he well deserved after returning here in later years. I remember a time when I had to help Milton to have backstage access when some eager managerial person wouldn’t allow him through, as his name wasn’t on the ‘guest list’. Even in post 9-11 atmosphere I doubt the old maestro posed much of a security risk.

On a personal note, I shall never forget all the genuine support Milton gave me during my difficult period in this town. He will always live in my heart as a tremendous source of inspiration and courage, and as an example of the kind of person a great artist and musician should be.

Milton, you will be missed but never forgotten.

Does size matter?

No, this is not a study about sexual satisfaction, but rather some thoughts about human nature and physical size.

It is obvious that being much taller than average makes one stand out in a crowd, literally. Most men are not bothered by it, certainly not if they play basketball, but many women find themselves feeling akward. No high heels there! In musicians, tall people often gravitate towards certain instruments, such as the cello and double bass, where their size actually makes it easier to play the instrument in question. I remember a cellist who could pick up his instrument and play it like the violin! Pianists probably benefit from large hands, long limbs and easier reach in general. For the violin, however, tallness often makes a person seem like he is playing a toy instrument and as a general rule, short people have fared better. For young soloist-wannabees, it is easier to pass as a wunderkind, who is a lot younger than in reality, for years longer if one's height supports this assumption.

People either prefer to get attention or not to. Being of short stature is difficult for many as they feel they won't be noticed well enough. We often talk about the Napoleon complex. I am, of course, not talking about true midgets, who will get extra attention whether they like it or not, but men and women who are considerably shorter than the average. While I have dearly loved some people belonging to this category, even some of them have developed a personality that could be described as abrasive or at least attention demanding. Some of the 'little people' have been the closest people to me. Then there are those who are outright nasty and odious people. A skunk is not a large animal, yet other creatures, no matter how big and ferocious, stay away from one. Of course, human skunks exist in all sizes and shapes, but a a disproportionate number of them are in the short-people group.

Other than Napoleon or Alexander the Great, a lot of 'little' people have done well because they have deserved it. The first time I met Barbara Streisand in a school PTA event in Malibu, I was amazed at how petite she was. Yet on screen she becomes larger than life; same is true when you hear her recordings. It is the people who are little and have little to give the society that are the problematic ones. Screaming and acting out get attention: every baby knows it instinctively. I know people who are truly scared to have a tiny woman throwing a tantrum in front of them. Something in their brain tells them it wouldn't be proper and fair to answer her back in the same manner, although they would have no problem with someone their own size. Short men can be even worse as society expects women to be smaller to start with. Women also can wear enormously high heels and platforms which some find helpful, even if they have to visit a podiatrist regularly later in life as a result, but men really don't have this option to the same extent. By instinct, I prefer to stay away from a small person with a big ego if I can avoid it. There is no real logic to this, of course, but reality has taught me otherwise. Some of the most poisonous substances come in small packages, human capsules of cyanide.

If only people could learn to accept themselves as they were created. My first serious girlfriend was barely 5 feet tall and I still am very fond of her and stay in touch, more than four decades later. But even she had a serious complex about her height, manifestations of which probably drove us apart in our early youth. Is there a lesson in all of this? If a person, no matter what size, seems kind and friendly and continues to do so, she/he probably is. Otherwise, watch out.

Gratitude

Waking up early on New Year's Day was an interesting and sobering event. The night before my 18-year-old pride and joy said that this had been the best holiday time in her life. From a person of such age that is quite a compliment. Adding to that the incredibly nice and sweet holiday cards and thoughtful presents from students made me realize that I had excelled in the two things most meaningful in my life, raising children and teaching. It was nice to feel so happy, especially with my soulmate sleeping next to me. I may have had some hard times, most of them caused by abusive people, but what do they amount to compared with all that genuine love surrounding me. I realized that a long nightmare was over. One of the great mistakes of my life was what I had done as profession for so long. That job is far better suited for a person without a heart or intellect; often completely meaningless work, which I'll elaborate on more at a later date. The Guardian wrote some excellent articles on this matter recently.

Looking at my partner for over a quarter of century I realized how fortunate I have been. There is no need to chisel away all the plastered make-up to see what she really is like; neither do I have to put up with a woman who chooses to look or act like a Stepford Wife. How many of us are able to finish each other's sentences every time, or throroughly enjoy disagreeing and agreeing with each other the same? Not only is my wife one of the finest violinists and musicians anywhere, more importantly she is one of the greatest human beings I've ever met and known, honest and compassionate. I pity men who are stuck with nasty and toxic women; or perhaps they deserve them.

People don't seem to understand how it is possible that one is so fortunate with children as I have been. What is the magic of bringing them up? The secret: let them be in charge of their own upbringing; tell them if and where they have erred and encourage them to find their own path in life. None of my daughters has ever been punished: if they have done something wrong, they have known it and made sure on their own that it didn't happen again. Young people have an excellent sense of what's right and what's wrong. The motivation to do something right shouldn't happen out of fear of being punished but from reasons of conscience and moral values. At an age when most young adults want to get as far as possible from their parents and barely keep it touch, unless money is needed, it may seem odd to many that a strikingly beautiful and independent young lady chooses to drive home often weekly and call her dad daily, just to check. The children were never pressured to choose a career: they have done great choosing on their own. So many parents force their offsprings to follow in their footsteps, perhaps hoping that the children will do better than they themselves, be that in music, business or whatever field. Granted, my kids have attended a lot of concerts but it has been out of their own choice, not having been forced to show up like trained animals. Perhaps they'll end up genuinely loving music as well as other forms of art.

As far as those couples go who have chosen not to have children, having dogs or cats is not the same as little human beings, no matter how this matter is argued. A retriever may look at you as if you are a god or goddess, but a child will test your love and often put up a fight. Granted, parenthood is not for everyone, but too often people just want to care about themselves and not others. Selfishness and a family don't mix. Thinking of others before yourself is something many of us are incapable or reluctant of doing.

A little more than a month ago there was an interesting special on television with Barbara Walters regarding different religions and their beliefs in afterlife. Most of the people interviewed were incapable of thinking outside of their box. Outright frightening was a would-be suicide bomber who didn't care for martyrdom or the promised virgins: he just wanted to kill Jews. Kind of sad was the Catholic clergyman who said that when his body is finally risen, he hopes he'll have a head full of hair again. Had Ms. Walters been a Muslim, there would be handsome and pleasant young men waiting for her in their paradise, just as men have their young virgins. Hands down the most interesting and sensible person interviewed was the Dalai Lama. He was incredibly charming, to the point that Ms. Walters asked if His Holiness wouldn't mind if she kissed him on the cheek. He chuckled and after the kiss he showed how the Maoris do the same thing in New Zealand by rubbing noses. I'm presently reading his book "The Compassionate Life." There is true humanity in the world after all, although much of the time one wonders if that is the case.

La-la-land

Los Angeles, although not my favorite place to live in, has for almost forty years had a special place in my life. It was there in 1967 that I started my American experience and moved back there with my family from Scandinavia a decade later. I still have a daughter living there with her family, working as a geriatrist at UCLA. My first grandchild will be having her first birthday celebration next month.

A home for many famous and excellent musicians, L.A. never was known for having an important musical life as far as orchestras and opera were concerned. Most of the talent were busy working for in the studio scene. Decades ago, movie scores were demanding and difficult; much of the great American composing happened there. Of course, much of that is history today, as soundtracks have become more like sound effects and have lost their importance as an art form. The Philharmonic in that city was never considered a 'serious' first class orchestra. Many of their musicians were all too happy to augment their income in the studios. I can remember a principal string player doing a double session at Warner Bros. on a day when he was featured as the soloist of his orchestra the same night. One of the violinists carrying a 'concertmaster' title called in sick for a rehearsal, just to show up in the same building, and at the same time, to play the Academy Awards. That is how seriously people took the orchestra.

Things have changed a lot in recent years, however. There is an excellent long article in last Sunday's New York Times, titled 'Continental Shift'. In it, Allan Kozinn writes that the L.A. Philharmonic "tops the list of America's premier orchestras and serves as a lesson in how to update an august cultural institution without cheapening its work." There are two reasons that I can think of: the orchestra got rid of some of its less capable musicians, either through retirement or other means, and hired a new Music Director, a fellow Finn Esa-Pekka Salonen. Having a great new hall doesn't hurt either, but the orchestra was rapidly improving before they moved to their new home.

This conductor is an interesting case. Back in Finland years ago, he wasn't #1 on the list of local favorites. Then came a sensational London breakthrough as a last-minute substitute and the rest is history. Of course, now my country treats him as their hero and most of the 'great promises' from time before there have faded to the background. Of course this is typical to the human nature: no one is a prophet in his own land, at least to start with. Interestingly, to quote the article, "One reason Mr. Salonen stands out among this country's music directors is that he never wanted to be one. His first love was, and is, composition; he studied conducting during his student years at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, mainly so he could lead performances with Ears Open, an avant-garde collective." This is almost never the situation in this country: often serious musician-conductors shy away from such positions, and they are taken by people by people that like to be in control, whether they are good conductors or not.

Of course there are a lot of people who don't agree with the claim that our musical capital has moved to Los Angeles, but one has to admire all the development in Smogville. As the city's population structure is moving away from being white-dominated, one would expect classical music becoming an endangered spieces, much like in San Diego, just a two-hour drive south. But the opposite seems to have happened, and not only is the orchestra doing well, so is the local opera company.

Next time I fly down to see my family, I just might go to a concert, something I don't normally like to do.

Lessons in Water

Having come from a society which takes great pride in education, the American system continues to puzzle me. This country has free public schools, yet so many parents opt to send their children to costly private ones, although there is no proof that the education the students are getting is any better in the latter. My home country simply doesn't have the private option, or it is so limited that the total of those schools numbers just a few. The same is true with universities. Not only is the tuition (or rather registration fee) ridiculously low, students get a monthly stipend from the system to cover their living expenses.

Likewise, music education differs vastly. The country is full of government-supported music schools where teachers get paid a good salary, with all the usual perks such as long paid summer vacations and year-long maternity leaves. Yet students (who are chosen by auditions) pay only a small tuition, but have to play regularly for juries, to make sure they are working hard and making progress. Instrumental instuction has no place in universities; conservatories are there for that. Private teaching hardly exists as there is no need for it. The country's population is only slightly more than a half of New Jersey's, yet it produces an incredible number of world class musicians: conductors, instrumentalists, singers and composers, making the Garden State look like Afganistan in comparison. - Yale received a lot of publicity recently because of a gigantic anonymous donation to their Music School and news agencies were busy telling the country that there would be no more tuition for their music students. A new Curtis had been created, it was said. However, this was too good to be true: at least one student parent of mine was told the free tuition only applied to graduate students. Yes, it is free after the first $150,000.

I have never been able to figure out where a normal family with more than one child can come up with all the expenses of a college education, whether in 'ordinary' academics, sciences, medicine or the arts. Somehow I have managed to have done my share, only the youngest of my four daughters has college in front of her. None of them needed any guidance as to what to do: my 18-year-old found out on her own about this state's Running Start program and did her two first years of college for free while others were still wasting there time in regular high school. Her remaining tuition was paid in advance with the state's GET program, in fact she'll be using only have of the money during the two years at WWU in Bellingham. She instantly figured out that all schools are ripping students (or rather parents) off with enormously high room and board expenses and decided well in advance to rent a place with a girlfriend for much less money and far better privacy and space. The two older siblings both graduated a year early each and both have excelled in their fields: one has won numerous prestigious awards as a journalist and the other one has been hired as a staff doctor in geriatrics at UCLA.

Just the other day I was reading a Scientific American from a couple of years ago. In it was an article comparing bottled water with ordinary tap water. It is possible to spend 7,500 times more for a bottled product than what an equal amount of tap water costs. Yet in blind tests nobody preferred the expensive product. In a California restaurant with a hidden camera, bottles were filled from a hose in the back yard. They were labeled with foreign labels such as 'Faucet Water' in French and 'Water for an Ass' in Spanish; diners happily paid $7 per bottle and praised the product. In truth bottled water can be far worse than what you get from tap: a higher percentage has harmful bacteria and other residue in bottles. A municipal water system is carefully monitored; bottle the stuff and those restrictions disappear. It is all in the consumer's mind: if something costs more, it obviously has to be better than a cheaper or free product.

This brings me to the price of private music lessons. There are teachers who are charging an arm and a leg for their time, obviously claiming to be worth the money. Granted, there are better teachers and not-so-good ones. But is someone charging $120 per hour really twice as good as another with a $60 fee? Is your child making progress at twice the speed and becoming that much better a musician, or are you just being ripped off? What about someone in New York whose rates may exceed $300? Obviously, if the parent has money to burn, the price of a music lesson doesn't matter, but there are a lot of talented youngsters whose families are on a strict budget. Personally I feel that the more advanced the student is, the responsibility and demands on the teacher are higher and the fee should be adjusted accordingly, especially if the teacher has to be able to show how a passage or a phrase should sound. After all, an example is worth a thousand words. And obviously, the length of a lesson should vary based on the skill level: in what seems like an eternity to a beginner, the advanced young artist is just getting warmed up.

The Northern European system is perhaps like tap water: clean, tasty (especially if you use your Britta to filter out the chlorine) and inexpensive. We are obviously more attracted to Evian, but ought to once in a while read the label backwards.

Empty promises

It seems to me that there is no honor in truth and keeping promises these days. Lying is not only accepted; it has become our national pastime. When was the last time a politician was behind his words, promises and accusations? From invented WMDs to manufactured Al-Qaida-Iraq links everything had been forgiven and forgotten. It is not long ago when rebuilding New Orleans was supposedly made a priority in our country: is there anything concrete happening down there or have the people and the city just been erased from our memories?

In the same league are rich people who have made pledges to non-profits, whether for humanitarian aid or to keep an arts organization running, and then conveniently choose to ignore them, for reasons only clear to themselves. If someone's finances have taken a turn for the worse, such actions would be understandable, but not in a case where the would-be-donor is swimming in wealth. Are such pledges worth no more than marriage vows that few couples seem to take seriously any longer?

There have been times and places where a verbal agreement has been worth as much as a written contract. An example would be the diamond merchants in Manhattan. Unfortunately, our society is moving away from that tradition with an increasing speed. Even in families and close relationships promises are expected taken with a few grains of salt. Wouldn't it be nice if we all stuck to we had agreed on? Whom can we trust any more?

In a previous post I mentioned the Audubon Quartet. Quite a few people have since pointed out that in their opinion the faulty party isn't necessarily the one victorious in the courts. This may well be the case, but whatever the reasons behind this costly and ghastly breakup, it should have been taken care of in a civilized manner. Even a divorce can be almost painless and done without the expense of lawyers (oh, would they hate that!); so why couldn't the same be true with an unhappy chamber music group? This ought to be possible similarly with any breakup, personal or job related. It is sad that more often than not you have a party (or two) who just want to destroy each others lives, and fatten the bank accounts of their attorneys. There is so much evil amongst us, and an equal amount of parasitic people who love to benefit from the hate and destruction.

Happy holidays.

Leggo My Ego

Reading about the Audubon Quartet's legal battle is both unbelievable and frightening. Common sense would dictate that if four people don't enjoy playing together and don't get along, the group splits, or at least the person who seems to be the culprit, whether true or not, will leave on his own. But because of an inflated ego, the fact that a lawsuit dragged on until remaining musicians had to declare bankruptcy, lose their home and worse yet, their instruments, is beyond belief. Everyone is ending up a loser, other than the lawyers who have laughed all the way to the bank. The 'winner' of the legal battle will not have too many supporters and I doubt fellow musicians are lining up to play chamber music with him in the near future.

Classical music is such a limited field, that making it difficult or impossible for someone to work and earn a livelihood, because of hurt feelings or whatever, is a severe blow in most cases. In many other professions one just looks for other employment in town and life goes on. Yet there are enough narcissistic and psychopathic musicians who are more than willing to do anything to destroy a colleague's life. I have enough examples that have touched my life, and stories told by others are plentiful. For example, a couple tried to prevent a fellow musician from getting work, using their connections in the media to humiliate the individual. In this case the attempt backfired and the culprits had to pack up and leave town in a hurry. The harassed musician is still employed, and the case ended as it should have.

Of course this kind of behavior is not only happening in the arts. Just remember the McCarthy era: my extended family had members who lost their important and lucrative positions, just because they were labeled 'communists', often for refusing to turn in names of their friends and colleagues. Blacklisting is a terrible thing and should be outlawed, and those guilty of it punished by law. In this country one is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but in truth it doesn't take much to taint someone's reputation. The nation feared communism in the fifties and it was almost impossible to try to convince others that a suspected person wasn't member of the party or supporter of their ideals, especially if he or she believed in the society's role in helping the less fortunate.

This is gift giving season and I wish everyone would get what they deserve. In many European countries St. Nicholas came early December with his horse and took bad children with him away to Spain. Father Christmas would show up later and bring the good ones presents. Children were careful to behave well and stay out of mischief. We should have the same system for grown-ups. I personally would have no problems with St. Osama taking the nasty people with him to the caves on the Afganistan-Pakistan border.

Wisdom of the week: 'Happy are those who have not perfect pitch, for the kingdom of music is theirs.' How true.

Mediocrity rules

Although history in its hindsight often glorifies individuals who were true geniuses in their field, be it sciences or arts, in their lifetime these people often receive little or no recognition. At least it can take a lot of time, like in case of Einstein; or people are credited for something else than what they will remembered for later on, like J.S. Bach or Mahler. People like to turn mediocre people with limited talents into their heroes and often ridicule those who can see things outside of the box, the truly gifted ones. In medicine, the first ones to suggest that an ulcer wasn't caused by stress but by an infection were laughed at. Another medical student came up with the theory that combination AIDS drugs would work better than any single agent; that idea didn't fly well at first either. Schubert was an unknown composer who couldn't get his works performed, Buxtehude and Telemann far more popular than Bach as composers.

A former doctor and friend of mine, now retired, was related to Edvard Munch, the great Norwegian painter of the 'Scream' fame. The artist was a true black sheep in the religious, fundamentalist family. After he passed away, none of the relatives wanted to have anything to do with his paintings. Had they only guessed what fame this ridiculed man would achieve after his death and how much his works of art would be worth later on! Another greatly misunderstood artist was Vincent van Gogh, who was equally unsuccessful during his lifetime in commercial sense.

It was van Gogh who wrote lots of now famous letters to his brother, also about mediocrity. His comment is included in this speech by the former Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson, given in Siena, Italy in 2002:

Mediocrity is the greatest enemy of good and life. Vincent Van Gogh's letters to his brother, Theo, are among the most moving cries of understanding and humanity that we have. In one letter, he writes, "How does one become mediocre? By compromising, by making concessions, today in this matter, tomorrow in another, according to the dictates of the world, by never contradicting the world and by always following public opinion." I don't think anyone has ever summed it up more perfectly.

Mediocrity is safe, very easy – and therefore to be avoided at all costs! The purpose of life, it seems to me, is to leave no one and nothing indifferent. It means taking risks, going down paths that are not approved. It means the possibility of loneliness and isolation. It means, in sum, all that which is opposed to mediocrity.

I couldn't agree with Her Excellency, or the artist, more. Even when choosing our leaders we shy away from the most capable ones and put people in power whom we think are most like us regular folks. Foreign policy is decided by people who cannot even read a map. In Kansas schools are teaching intelligent design, creationism in a different clothing, a slap in the face of science. Yet according to polls most of us are comfortable with this. At the same time we criticize the Taliban and other fundamentalist Muslim movements, but refuse to see the same pattern in our own country. It is difficult to remember that Islam saved our civilization and was more advanced in the sciences than anything before them. What happened there since could be taking place here right now.

Just like in politics, people in the arts, and entertainment, depend heavily on PR. We rush to see and hear 'artists' who have really no place in the spotlight. We take the word of 'experts' for face value, although often these people are among the least competent. People seem to think all it takes is believing in themselves and instantly greatness is there. Take for example a string player in B-rate orchestra, who got his job because the organization was in desperate need and truly qualified applicants were few or none. Immediately he thinks of himself now being part of the musical elite, although just yesterday he was an unemployed nobody. There was a time when a musical entertainer needed to know how to sing: today lip syncing is sufficient, with good marketing. Mediocrity rules again.

Crime and Punishment

Often it seems like bad people can get away with anything. Being ruthless and having a heart of stone are signs of a successful person, a leader. They are also trademarks of criminals. But if you look at life from a different perspective, as if it was a history book, you'll see that in most cases there is a judgment day for these utterly selfish and cold-blooded people.

He may be up there in years and have one foot in the grave, but Chile's general Pinochet is finally coming face to face with his past. Hitler ended up committing suicide with his mistress. Chairman Mao may have ruled to the end but the real evil force in his shadow, his wife, was made to pay for her cruelty. Although at one time he was a great friend of many members of our government, Saddam Hussein is going through his trial, as a result of becoming an enemy to the United States. If you believe like most of Americans seem to these days, that we were brainwashed and misled to go and occupy Iraq, there is some satisfaction in knowing that people are finally seeing the truth, at least a partial one. After this all is history, those warmongers responsible for this bloodshed will have to always watch their backs. I don't think they would feel at ease traveling abroad as there are plenty of people willing to do anything to pay them back. Everything comes at a price.

All this is true for the common man as well, not just world leaders and such. There are plenty of us who think they are untouchables, for whatever reason. Some are able to operate above the law, or at least above common decency, for a long time, but finally the handwriting on the wall becomes too visible to hide. We live in a democracy, even if it seems questionable at times, and in such a system everyone has a right to his or her opinions and beliefs. Decades may go by, but if one is patient he/she will see justice done. Unfortunately, exceptions will always remain and innocent ones get punished instead of the guilty ones, but in this age of information and the internet, truth is harder to hide. People don't automatically think that just because they read it in the paper, it must be true and correct, no questions asked.

Just recently I had the pleasure of playing three concerts as soloist of an orchestra which doesn't pretend to be one of the best in the world, but which took me by surprise by how good they sounded. What made the difference was the attitude of the musicians. They clearly loved what they were doing and there was genuine joy in the music making. There were no phony smiles in the group, meant to impress the audience. These faces expressed true pleasure - what an enviable situation.

Today's 'oddly enough' section in Reuter's news has an item titled 'Longer needles needed for fatter buttocks.' It has become a strange world indeed. Interestingly, where I spent almost a week, the population was far trimmer and in better shape than one would have expected. Active people equals active bodies and active minds.

Shortages

Last week in Sweden there was a serious shortage of cash. Half of all ATMs were totally empty because the companies responsible for transporting money and other valuables refused to make deliveries. The drivers and their union insisted on better police protection, as a record number of armored vehicles had been attacked, with weapons and explosives, probably by organized crime. A good Svensson would not commit such an indecent act, but the country has a lot of immigrants from countries where criminal deeds are a normal part of life.

A different kind of shortage was evident when I was living in that country in the mid-1970s. One couldn’t buy beef in any form, for reasons that are not clear to me even now. Restaurants were able to purchase some from Poland and steak dinners were very expensive indeed. A mere mortal didn’t have this option and ‘the other white meat’ was all that was available. We used to joke that Sweden had invented kosher pork. There were small billboards on utility poles with pictures of bread, of which every good citizen was encouraged to eat seven slices a day. This was a strange phenomenon in one of the richest countries of the world, true at least at that time.

Although I was used to a Western-style socialist welfare system, the Swedish way was at times hard to understand. Never mind the more than 60% income tax rate I was paying; if one felt sick, a government healthcare office needed to be notified, as the salary for the sick days came directly from there. Because it wasn’t fair to expect everyone to have a phone, a postcard mailed on that day was sufficient. Although the pay for the first two sick days was reduced to 80%, after which it went to full pay, it was too much of a temptation to pass. A card mailed on Friday would not reach the government office until Monday, and so many people took an extra long weekend on a regular basis that even then-mighty Volvo could operate only on four days a week. The system provided incredible tax-free benefits for the less fortunate, or to people who opted not to seek work. Below us lived a woman who had children with different men. Based on her mail accidentally delivered to our apartment, her net income was greater than mine, so there was no need for her to work. No, I didn’t open any envelopes; in such an open society all such payment forms were mailed as postcards.

The city of Malmö had a very respectable orchestra which also served the opera and ballet, housed in the same complex. I got to do an endless number of Show Boats in Swedish, plus the mandatory Swan Lakes and even a modern Swedish opera, where my opening solo in harmonics imitated an SOS signal emitting from a lost spacecraft. We had some excellent guest conductors and soloists. Arthur Grumiaux played one of the best performances of the Brahms concerto I’ve ever heard. The legendary Emil Gilels came over with a Soviet conductor, whom he obviously didn’t have much respect for. It was humorous to see the pianist standing up and conducting the tutti sections behind the guest maestro’s back, quite differently to say the least.

It was in that city that I heard the New York Philharmonic perform during their European tour in the spring of -77. Thomas Schippers conducted Bartók absolutely brilliantly and it was shock to read about his death just a short time afterwards. What a talent he was and there was good chemistry between him and the musicians. What sticks in my mind, though, was a female first violinist, sitting on the outside, who decided to turn the concert into her own show. She would insist on using the entire bow when others quietly played at the tip, and often make a point of bowing long passages differently from everyone else. Tremolos she didn’t care for, and needless to say, her outfit was more suited for an escort service than a symphony orchestra. Perhaps she had a healthy attitude: so many string players like to compare orchestra work to prostitution, as they feel used and get very little in return, other than money. It just might be that she saw her job in a more realistic light. In fact, I have observed many similar individuals in numerous orchestras, usually youngish women. Obviously someone in these institutions likes and tolerates it, as otherwise such exhibitionism would come to an abrupt end. Perhaps audiences feel more entertained this way: whatever sells tickets is good. Even if people don’t know a good musical performance from a bad one, at least they can appreciate visual delights and temptations.

Orchestra Flu

Those of us who have been frightened by the spread of the avian flu (H5N1) have done so for a reason. Fresh studies are out proving that the deadly Spanish flu of 1918 was indeed another type of bird flu, jumping directly to humans and spread via person-to-person contact. That flu killed more people than WW I and there have been estimates that should the present threat mutate to an easier-to-transmit form, the number of deaths could reach 150 million this time. Nature may well be fighting back an ever-increasing human population, as so often in history.

A different type of a 'flu' is attacking the music world. Like the world population, orchestra budgets have increased past the point where they are sustainable. Very recently the New Jersey Symphony announced cuts to both the length of their season and salaries as well. Yet the pay rate in this group is just a fraction of what most important American orchestras spend on their musicians, and obviously their players have to augment their income by free-lancing or teaching on the side. Pittsburgh started their season with a strange concert where balloons were loudly popping throughout the performance. Perhaps it was an omen, bubbles bursting, as per their contract, enormous pay raises will have to happen at a time when the orchestra can ill afford it. One thing they have done right, though: instead of a dictatorial music director they have a troika in charge. These three conductors can each concentrate on repertoire they are best at. Let's face it, none of us can master all varieties of music equally well. Boston's Lhevine said in a recent interview that there are many important composers whose works he won't conduct. He simply isn't comfortable with everyone; we all should be that honest.

What to do about an orchestra's financial ills? First of all, be realistic with regard to musicians' salaries. Perhaps the pay should be tied to the amount of work one actually performs. But an even more important issue is to reduce the amount of money paid to soloists and conductors. If every orchestra agreed that those fees are too high, the price tag would quickly come down as the only option these artists would have left is not to perform at all. Or they could try to do something in the style of the Three Tenors: perform in stadiums and arenas with an inexpensive pick-up orchestra for a star-struck audience. As it stands now, it is an insult to the ordinary musician that someone makes as much money during one run of concerts as they do in a year. Of course, a lot of money would also be saved if music directors and general managers wouldn't be paid such astronomical sums. Without an orchestra, the most expensive conductor or manager won't be able to create music. The same isn't true in reverse.

All these problems would, of course, be instantly solved if Halliburton got involved in the classical music business.

New Year

Rosh Hashanah

Happy New Year to my Jewish friends and readers. It is the time of the year when synagogues become exclusive clubs and charge an arm and a leg for a ticket to let a person take part in a service. What happens to all those people who don't have an extra few hundred dollars to spend? Are the less fortunate ones purposely kept out of sight? It is not so long ago when Jewish people were very poor, especially back in the Pale. I don't think charging admission to attend a service would have been an acceptable idea under those conditions.

In front of G-d we are all supposed to be equal, rich and poor alike. How is it then that the society holds the well-to-do in higher regard, no matter how their money has been made? I can name people who couldn't have cared less about their religion in their younger years. The same men who wouldn't have been interested in Jewish girls and bragged about their Gentile conquests then, are now honored members of a congregation, having finally settled down with a Jewish wife, perhaps in a second or third marriage.

My journalist daughter pointed out to me that her name shows up on the official Kahanist list of the top "Self-Hating and/or Israel Threatening Jews." She is there with Noam Chomsky and Daniel Barenboim, in good company. She doesn't write much about Israel but has brought up the suffering of Palestinian women in the past. I guess anyone who believes in peace and isn't a pro-Israel militant is a danger. But in reality, religious extremists are a threat to mankind, not depending on what their beliefs are. Christians, Muslims and Jews can be equally dangerous, even to their own brethen who happen to see life in a different light. Just think of what's happening in today's Iraq or what took place in Northern Ireland.

Have a wonderful year.

Finns and Conducting

There was an interesting news item during this week, regarding the Sibelius Conductors' Competition in Finland. In a country where more conductors are produced than anywhere, the jury of this international competition decided that none of the finalists were worth the first, second or third prizes. The jury was chaired by well-known Esa-Pekka Salonen, Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Read this article in the leading daily, Helsingin Sanomat; it is in English. Perhaps the Finns know more about conducting than others. I cannot picture such a decision taking place in a similar competition in this country.

In my twenties I was living in a city on Finland's West Coast. My first wife, an American, was the concertmaster of the orchestra, while I was in charge of teaching violin, viola and chamber music in the conservatory, also conducting their chamber orchestra. The elderly gentleman, who was the maestro for the Symphony, did his job very professionally. Unfortunately he had been there for too long, and the some of the players were unhappy with the situation. Since in that system there was no danger for the musicians to be fired (they were city employees), they could get away with a lot more than here. The conductor suffered a stroke, and everyone thought that was going to be the end of his story. But the man recovered and returned to work after a long sick leave. To show how miffed they were, the entire horn section went out during a break at an evening rehearsal in the cold winter, and let let the air out of this poor man's car's tires. This was too good a hint and the gentleman retired soon afterwards.

The job was then given to a young conductor, supposedly gifted, who was a member of a conservative party (as I wrote before at some point, in this city the pie was divided this way: the political left had the conservatory). Unfortunately, this man's ego was greater than his talent, and he was involved in the political scene more than in trying to develop his musical skills. My wife, who was a terrific violinist and artist, didn't get along with her new boss very well. At some point, the city's music council decided to fire my ex, because she had, during her own sick leave after an operation, come back to the U.S. to visit her critically ill father. Anything for an excuse; one is supposed to stay put during a sick leave! Soon we left and I took the job as a concertmaster in Malmö, Sweden. Back in Finland, this conductor continued driving his black limousine, but soon it became all too evident he wasn't up to the musical demands of the job and he was ousted by the same council. Today he is the director of a music school in a rather small town, I believe. Such is life. The orchestra's present, longtime concertmaster is a former student of mine, born and raised in that city.

Today, the youngest of my four daughters is officially becoming a teenager. What a great young lady she is! At the same time her 18-year-old sister has been moving her belongings to Bellingham, where she is about to start at the Western Washington University as a junior, majoring in political science and minoring in Latin American studies. Although we'll be seeing her often, as she has her own car and the campus is only about a 90 minute drive from here, I'll miss her terribly. We have a very close relationship and her absence will leave a void in my heart. Of course, to her this is an exciting time, the beginning of a new chapter in life.

Hermann Michael remembered 1

This is the obituary in the New York Times:

September 14, 2005

Hermann Michael, Maestro, Dies at 68

By ANNE MIDGETTE

Hermann Michael, a conductor who appeared around the world and was music director of the Phoenix Symphony for seven seasons, died on Sept. 1 at his home in Uffing, Germany. He was 68.

The cause was aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease diagnosed in 1999, the orchestra announced.

In addition to working in Phoenix, Mr. Michael had a special relationship with Seattle, where he appeared nearly every season as a guest with the opera company after making his American debut there in 1984. He led three complete "Ring" cycles in Seattle, and regularly performed with the symphony.

Mr. Michael conducted at the Metropolitan Opera a number of times, leading "Fidelio," "The Flying Dutchman," and "Die Fledermaus." Other guest appearances took him to the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and many other major ensembles in Europe and North America.

Born in Schwäbisch Gmünd, a Bavarian town, in 1937, Mr. Michael studied piano and cello at the Stuttgart conservatory, but had had no formal conducting training when he audited a master class of Herbert von Karajan's in Berlin in 1960. Afterward he announced to Karajan that he could do that, too. Karajan had him come back the next day and conduct the Sibelius Fifth Symphony. Even more surprisingly, he approved of what he heard.

After this experience and a three-week master class with another acclaimed conductor, Hans Swarowsky, Mr. Michael was invited to take part in the first Cantelli Conducting Competition in Italy, which he won. He later served as Karajan's assistant at the Vienna State Opera and undertook some significant guest engagements before becoming director of the Bremen Opera from 1970 to 1978.

His debut in Seattle came at the recommendation of the American baritone Dale Duesing, who sings frequently in Germany and Seattle. Later in his life, Mr. Michael taught conducting at the Munich Musikhochschule, a position he gave up in 2000 because of ill health.

Mr. Michael met his wife, Brigitta, a violinist, when he was 21. She survives him, along with their four children, Ariane, Angela, Ramon and Dunja, and 10 grandchildren.

Hermann Michael remembered 2

My friend Hermann Michael sent this recommendation to me in May. He wrote it by hand, in spite of his grave illness. You can sense his loving relationship with Seattle musicians in his writing. How we all miss him!

May 10, 05

To whom it may concern,

I would like to let you know how much I appreciate Ilkka Talvi, the former concertmaster of the SSO.

I know Ilkka from numerous occasions as a guest-conductor with the SSO since 1984. Since then I was guest-conducting more than 30 major orchestras in the U.S.A., including the famous big orchestras as the Chicago Symphony, Boston Philadelphia, San Francisco or the MET.

In my personal judgement Ilkka can bear the comparison with the concertmasters of those great orchestras.

Ilkka is a great artist and a wonderful violinist as well. I do remember my first appearance with the SSO in 1984: despite my poor English at that time I felt immediately a musical oneness with him. He understood every gesture and knew immediately how to “translate” it into violinistic terms. Over all these years he demonstrated his ability to lead a Violin-group, to demand the best quality from his collegues and to communicate with them always very friendly, not hurting anyone’s feelings.

He is at ease with every musical style, Symphony and Opera repertoire as well.

Many outstanding performances remain in my memory, with him as a soloist and as the concertmaster of my beloved SSO.

Hermann Michael