Maestro v. Machine

Yehudi Menuhin added another anecdote to the Toscanini legend. In an interview with syndicated Columnists Tex & Jinx McCrary, Menuhin told of the time he and Toscanini were rehearsing in the peace & quiet of a hotel room.

"The Maestro was playing the piano when the telephone rang. He was so absorbed in the Beethoven concerto that he positively refused to recognize this foreign noise--but for me it was like trying to ignore a fire siren. Toscanini kept right on playing, and I was certainly going to continue as long as he did, but I could feel the pressure, the temperature rising. Any second, something had to explode."

Something did: the telephone rang a third time. Testifies Menuhin: "Deliberately, the Maestro got up, walked over to the phone, picked it up, and with one mighty yank he pulled it, plaster and all, out of the wall. All this without saying a word. Then, completely relaxed again, at peace with the world, he sat down and we continued to play the Beethoven concerto."

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