Roger Hecht ([log in to unmask]) wrote:

>>>...  After Toscanini left with his iron rule, they ate Barbirolli for
>>>lunch in one of the low points of the great conductor's career.

To which Deryk Barker responded:

>>Well, this appears to be the received wisdom, however he was in NY for
>>7 years (1936-43) duyring which time I believe his contract was renewed.
>>He only left because of the call to reconstruct the Halle.

The story as far as I can determine it is complicated and a bit sad.
To begin with, I always believed it was the orchestra players that drove
Barbirolli out.  Why I believed that who knows: either I heard the story
a long time ago, or through years, tagged this reason on to what I did
hear.  It *was* a long time ago.  In any case, in this I was wrong.

I've looked into this more.  In fact, the players liked Barbirolli, both
because they respected him and because he wasn't Artur Rodzinski, whom they
thought would get the job and who eventually did after Barbirolli left.
The latter had to do with their fear that Rodzinski would get rid of some
of them when he took over--something Barbirolli turned out not to be
inclined to do.  Their fears were well-founded: when Rodzinski did take
over, he brought the sack for several principals.

The young (37) Barbirolli started well, even amid doubts about his age,
but Toscanini's legend made things really tough for him.  (As did the
fact that another giant, Wilhelm Furtwangler, was offered the job after
Toscanini left.  The choice was resisted and negated by popular opinion,
etc., because of the German's relationship with the Nazis.) Nor did it
help that Toscanini came back to NYC to direct the NBC Symphony in direct
competition with the Philharmonic, thereby bringing his legend back to life
and in conflict with Barbirolli.  The problem vis a vis with Toscanini
seems to have been mainly with the critics, particularly Olin Downes and
Virgil Thompson, who excoriated Barbirolli continuously and mercilessly.
(I think Thompson replaced someone who was better disposed toward Sir
John.) They were really nasty, both about him and about his repertoire.
(The nerve of them: both lambasted Elgar, and Downes didn't care for
Sibelius.) Even Thomas Beecham got into the act, levelling a few hits
upon Barbirolli, when he brought (I think) the New York City Symphony
to Carnegie Hall.

It's true that Barbirolli lasted seven years in NY.  I always thought
it was four, but at least there is a bit of excuse for this one: during
his last three years, the orchestra board decided that the orchestra was
drifting and performances were falling off.  Not only was Barbirolli not
Toscanini, he wasn't the other big names around either, which is to say he
wasn't the big name the Philharmonic wanted.  So, for the last three years,
Barbirolli was forced to share the podium with more and more guests--which
is how he started in a sort of audition process.  By the third of these
final seasons, he was relegated to 18 total concerts near the end of the
season.  It was clear to everyone long before this last season that
Barbirolli was being eased out.  And yes, this was a sad time for him.
Many orchestra players (who continued to like him) felt very badly for him.
They could see the changes in him and one thought him a broken man and
broken hearted.  They could see it in his physical bearing and the lack
of drive in his conducting.

I don't know if his contract was renewed for an eighth season.  I'm not
sure it was offered even (and he'd probably have to share the podium as
he had been doing), but the point might be moot, since it was then that
Barbirolli was offered the Halle.  Previously, he was concerned about
England and its fate during the war and had received dispensation from
Churchill (you didn't just book passage during the war years) to return
home and see his country again and to conduct.  Dodging submarines (in
both directions--on the way back to the US, a few ships in his convoy
were sunk), he was welcomed with open arms.

And Robert Clements added:

>Reputedly, there was also a requirement for _Glorious John_ to take
>US-American citizenship before his NYP contract would be further renewed.
>He didn't want to hand in his UK passport; so jumped at the chance to
>rebuild the Halle.
>
>(Whether this citizenship clause was an orchestral demand or an immigration
>requirement is another question...)

After Barbirolli returned from England, the musicians union, which was
getting stronger in New York, required Barbirolli to become a union member
before he could continue as conductor.  To become a member he had to become
a US citizen.  This did it for him.  To keep his livelihood he had to give
up his citizenship when his country was at war? This he could not tolerate.
There was talk of his being drafted into the US military as a resident
alien: strangely, this was all right to him: "I shall be seeing England
again." Or so he said.  In any case, he had made his decision.  He would
not become an American citizen, whatever else he did.  Then came the offer
from the Halle, and the rest was history.

I hope I've got it right this time.

Roger Hecht