Chicago v. New York

Ten years ago, when famed Maestro Arturo Toscanini held a whip hand over it, the spirited, self-willed New York Philharmonic-Symphony was probably the greatest orchestra in the world. Its master horn and oboe soloists, its violin virtuosi had matched egos with dozens of great conductors, were so finely trained that only the hot lashes of the little Maestro could hold them in line. When in 1936 Maestro Toscanini stepped down from the Philharmonic's podium,* the Philharmonic's board of directors were hard put to find a new conductor sufficiently tough to take his place. After some bickering, they compromised on a relatively unknown and inexperienced Britisher: stocky, floppy-haired John Barbirolli.

Earnest and anxious to please, John Barbirolli did his best to fill Toscanini's shoes. The orchestra tried to help him by pulling its punches. But before the first season was over, it was obvious even to Carnegie Hall's ushers that the fight was fixed. Box office fell off; even Manhattan's kindest critics began to grumble. Last October the New York Herald Tribune's bumptious new Critic Virgil Thomson called the Philharmonic's playing "logy and coarse," "dull and brutal," said it had "the sombre and spiritless sonority of a German military band."

Meanwhile, in the Middle West, white-haired Frederick Stock had been conducting the Chicago Symphony orchestra in the same methodical way for 35 years. Conductor Stock had never tried to create sensations, never toured Europe or South America, never made movies or interested himself in international politics. He had stuck in his own Chicago back yard for so long that music-lovers in big Eastern cities nearly forgot about him, certainly never mentioned his orchestra in the same breath with Toscanini's. But Conductor Stock stuck to his knitting, and the Chicago Symphony stuck to Conductor Stock. Its strings and brasses matured like old wine, and the Chicago Symphony developed a subtle bouquet all its own.

Last fortnight the paths of the Chicago and the Philharmonic orchestras crossed. Frederick Stock took his men to Manhattan for a couple of concerts in Carnegie Hall, and John Barbirolli took his Philharmonikers to Chicago. Result was a two-way surprise. Expecting something special, curious Chicagoans turned out in droves to hear the famous Philharmonic. When they heard it their enthusiasm cooled like untouched soup. Shrugged the Journal of Commerce: "There can be no question about the superiority of our own orchestra's huge refulgent tone." Said the Tribune: "The Philharmonic simply does not coalesce into a satisfactory ensemble."

Meanwhile Manhattanites, who were prepared to dismiss Frederick Stock's orchestra with kindly condescension, got the jolt of their symphonic season. Admitted the Post's Critic Samuel Chotzinoff: "In the balance between its choirs the Chicagoans conform to the best standards set by the country's major orchestras." Crowed Critic Thomson: "Mr. Stock won his audience ... as he has won audiences for 35 years, by playing them music very beautifully, not by wowing them." At last week's end, the traveling Philharmonikers were still on the road. But back in Manhattan worried directors were sadly pondering its Chicago defeat, wondering how to get it back into its old form.

*Year later Maestro Toscanini signed a contract to conduct the fledgling NBC Orchestra over the radio.

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