Quite right Mr. Gray,

The conductor is your boss. I still think Szell made Dorati look like a weak-willie in the tyrant/bully department. By the way, did you know that Tuckwell apparently dubbed in a number of high horn passages for players of the Philharmonia Hungarica who couldn't quite reach the notes in Dorati's Haydn cycle? Sort of like Schwartzkopf's high "C's" for Herr Furtwängler's "Tristan."

Cheers,
Alex

On Jun 8, 2012, at 12:39 PM, Gray, Mike wrote:

> From 'in front of the box', quoted in Orchestra: the LSO : a century of triumph and turbulence, pp. 138-139
>
>
>
> Barry Tuckwell : 'He [ Dorati ] was a bully, not an orchestral trainer.'
>
>
> Howard Snell: '... He [ Dorati ] knew how things fit together, and if you didn't do what he wanted he got short-tempered in a very quick time. His shriekings in a high-pitched voice became a regular feature. ... But on the other hand, he was almost always right about the things he said.'
>
>
> and Dennis Wick:
>
>
> 'There was no question of preparation [for the Mercury sessions] You got it right first time. You had to. If it wasn't, Harold Lawrence's voice would come over the loudspeakers: "Gentlemen, first violins not together, first measure letter B.'
>
>
> And finally, Tuckwell again:
>
>
> 'It was boot camp. .. But the hard work was good for us.
>
>
> Maxim: The conductor is not your friend ... he's your boss.
>
>
> Mike Gray