of University California Berkeley Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California University of California Source of Community Leaders Series James H. Schwabacher, Jr. RENAISSANCE MAN OF BAY AREA MUSIC: TENOR, TEACHER, ADMINISTRATOR, IMPRESARIO With Introduction by Marvin Tartak Interviews conducted by Caroline C. Crawford in 1999 Copyright c 2001 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well- informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and James H. Schwabacher, Jr., dated April 20, 2001. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Bancroft Library, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with James H. Schwabacher, Jr., requires that he be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: James H. Schwabacher, Jr., "Renaissance Man of Bay Area Music: Tenor, Teacher, Administrator, Impresario," an oral history conducted in 1999 by Caroline Crawford, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2001. Copy no. James H. Schwabacher, Jr. Cataloguing information Schwabacher, James H. , Jr. (b. 1920) singer, music administrator Renaissance Man of Bay Area Music: Tenor, Teacher, Administrator, Impresario. 2001, viii, 197 pp. Early years in San Francisco; the Fleishhacker, Dinkelspiel and Schwabacher families; UC Berkeley Department of Music, 1937-1941; Jan Popper and the Stanford University Department of Music, 1945; Schwabacher-Frey Printers and Stationers, 1905-1959; performing oratorio and opera; teaching young singers; thoughts on vocal interpretation, the role of Bach s Evangelist, master classes; Bay Area music organizations: San Francisco Opera, Merola Opera Program and Spring Opera Theater; San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Performances, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Schwabacher Debut Recitals. Introduction by Marvin Tartak, professor of music and pianist. Interviewed in 1999 by Caroline Crawford for the University of California, Source of Community Leaders series, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Regional Oral History Office, on behalf of future researchers, wishes to thank the following persons and organizations whose contributions made possible this oral history of James H. Schwabacher. Willa K. Baum Jonathan Elkus Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr., Fund Sidney Lawrence III, in memory of Polly Ghirardelli Lawrence Jack Rosston University of California, Class of 1931 Endowment Fund TABLE OF CONTENTS- -James H. Schwabacher PREFACE i INTRODUCTION by Marvin Tartak iv INTERVIEW HISTORY by Caroline Crawford vi BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION viii I EARLY YEARS AND FAMILY: 1920-1937 1 The Fleishhacker, Schwabacher and Dinkelspiel Families 1 Family Rituals and Traditions, Schwabacher-Frey and Family Stories: the "Fleishhacker Girls" 5 A Close Family and a Governess 11 The Lorenzini Brothers, Blum s, and the Pig N Whistles; Family Mores, Pastimes and Philanthropy 18 Religion and Early Schooling; Awareness of Anti-Semitism 25 Marie Louise Schwabacher and More Schooling; Attending San Francisco Opera and Exposure to Music 29 Helen Moore Matthias and Franz Prochowski 35 II THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA YEARS, 1937-1941, AND STANFORD ACTIVITIES 42 Curriculum, Friends and Professors: Arthur Bliss, Ernest Bloch, Albert Elkus, Charles Gushing 42 Performing: First Soloist at Hertz Hall; Founding the Symphony Forum, Philip Boone and the San Francisco Symphony and More About UC 48 Stanford Involvements: Performing with Jan Popper; Opera Workshop Lecturing, Conducting the Glee Club, 1945 53 III THE FOUNDING AND OPERATING OF SCHWABACHER-FREY, 1906-1959; STUDYING VOICE; WORKING WITH SAN FRANCISCO OPERA, 1948-1952 58 The Family Business, Operations and Scope 58 A Family Trip to South America, 1947 63 Serving as President of Schwabacher-Frey; Selling the Company in 1959 68 Thoughts on Voice Teachers 70 Vocal Interpretation: Martial Singher, Sir Geraint Evans, and Povla Frijsh 80 San Francisco Opera Engagements, 1948-1952; Working with Kurt Herbert Adler 85 IV ORATORIO, RECITAL DEBUT, AND THE EVANGELIST 96 Studying the Role of the Evangelist; Preparing the Passion of Johann Sebastian Bach; Remembering Gastone Usigli 96 Performing at the Carmel Bach Festival 98 A New York Debut at Town Hall 102 Thoughts on Opera in English and the Critics 106 Touring the High Cs; On Aging and Retirement; Career Highs 109 V ANOTHER CAREER: BOARDS AND ADMINISTRATIONS AND THE MEROLA OPERA PROGRAM 115 Program Objectives 115 Auditions and Training Young Singers 124 Study Grants and a Finale Concert Instead of Competition and Prizes 130 The Schwabacher Debut Recitals 135 VI SPRING OPERA THEATER; THOUGHTS ABOUT OPERA GENERAL DIRECTORS 143 The Launching of Spring Opera Theater, 1961; Kurt Adler and the Development of SPOT 143 San Francisco Opera Boards of Directors and General Directors and Administrators 151 VII BAY AREA MUSIC ORGANIZATIONS; REWARDS AND BEST PERFORMANCES 166 Thoughts about Symphony Boards and Conductors 166 The Conservatory of Music; San Francisco Performances 172 Rewards and Best Performances 178 APPENDIX A Schwabacher-Frey Brochure, ca. 1955 181 B American tour itinerary, 1960s 185 C Program notes for LP Recording (Repertoire Records, 1986) James Schwabacher, Lyric Tenor: A Discography 190 INDEX 194 PREFACE On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of our graduation from the University of California at Berkeley, the Class of 1931 made the decision to present its alma mater with an endowment for an oral history series to be titled "The University of California, Source of Community Leaders." The Class of 1931 Oral History Endowment provides a permanent source of funding for an ongoing series of interviews by the Regional Oral History Office of The Bancroft Library. The commitment of the endowment is to carry out interviews with persons related to the University who have made outstanding contributions to the community, by which is meant the state or the nation, or to a particular field of endeavor. The memoirists, selected by a committee set up by the class, are to come from Cal alumni, faculty, and administrators. The men and women chosen will comprise an historic honor list in the rolls of the University. To have the ability to make a major educational endowment is a privilege enjoyed by only a few individuals. Where a group joins together in a spirit of gratitude and admiration for their alma mater, dedicating their gift to one cause, they can affect the history of that institution greatly. The oral histories illustrate the strength and skills the University of California has given to its sons and daughters, and the diversity of ways that they have passed those gifts on to the wider community. We envision a lengthening list of University-inspired community leaders whose accounts, preserved in this University of California, Source of Community Leaders Series, will serve to guide students and scholars in the decades to come. Lois L. Swabel President, Class of 1931 William H. Holabird President, retired, Class of 1931 Harold Kay, M.D., Chairman, Class of 1931 Gift Committee September 1993 Walnut Creek, California ii UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SOURCE OF COMMUNITY LEADERS SERIES April 2001 Robert Gordon Sproul Oral History Project. Two volumes, 1986. Includes interviews with thirty-four persons who knew him well: Horace M. Albright, Stuart LeRoy Anderson, Katherine Connick Bradley, Franklin M. "Dyke" Brown, Ernest H. Burness, Natalie Cohen, Paul A. Dodd, May Dornin, Richard E. Erickson, Walter S. Frederick, David Pierpont Gardner, Marion Sproul