The National Herald | Remembering Dimitri Mitropoulos, The Monkish Maestro

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SUBMIT YOUR TALK TO THE HERALD Remembering Dimitri Mitropoulos, The PHOTOGRAPHS Upload your local news. Upload photos from your Read all readers news. Monkish Maestro community.

Constantine S. Sirigos

NEW YORK – Dimitri Mitropoulos, who was the Director of the New York http://www.thenationalherald.com/article/48272 (1 of 9) [12/13/2010 10:22:36 AM] The National Herald | Remembering Dimitri Mitropoulos, The Monkish Maestro Philharmonic from 1949 to 1958, is a 20th Century titan among musicians and artists of modern Greece, and by extension, and a towering figure among Greek Americans. Yet, few Greek Americans know him and those who do seldom speak of him today, 50 years after his

death. That changed, even if not enough, on Dimitri Mitropoulos, who was the Director of the from 1949 to 1958, is a 20th Century titan among musicians and artists of modern Greece, and by Nov. 29, when there was extension, and a towering figure among Greek Americans. Yet, few Greek Americans an opportunity to learn know him and those who do seldom speak of him today, 50 years after his death. about this brilliant but enigmatic Greek from a panel discussion that at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing arts in New York, the current home of the orchestra which he conducted when its home was the renowned Carnegie Hall. His place among the likes of and who preceded him, and , his immediate successor after his painful dismissal was discussed by two men who worked and made music with him, - renowned composer Gunther Schuller and Stanley Drucker, who played clarinet in the orchestra for 62 years - and two women who have studied his life and career intensely, Philharmonic archivist and historian Barbara Haws and documentary film maker Valery Kontakos. The panel, titled Considering Dimitri Mitropoulos, was part of the Philharmonic’s Insight Series and was part of a special tribute sponsored by the Niarchos Foundation. Mitropoulos, born in in 1896, was a musical prodigy, making his American debut in 1936 with the esteemed Boston Symphony Orchestra and was conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra from 1937-49.

Everything about the man, who seems to have always been filmed or photographed in harsh light and shadows, is a study in contrasts, ironies and contradictions. Mitropoulos fled the monastic life that called a number of his relatives, yet no one lived a more ascetic life in one of the worldliest on places on earth, a penthouse suite on the ninth floor of a hotel in midtown Manhattan. Schuler told the audience of an almost ritualistic pattern to his days. After a performance, he would flee the spotlights and both the applause and criticism of one of the world’s temples of music to enter the dark spaces of Times Square movie houses where he watched his era’s B movies, what he described in an interview with legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow as his fast-food version of the common life, which his schedule would not ● permit him to experience. “Like spaghetti out of a can,” the only nourishment his basic Articles last commented on humanity tasted the shy musician told Murrow whom he so respected, one of the few ● Philip Vorgias commented on permitted to interview him. ● Cypriot Ghost Town in Limbo as Peace After the movie, he would be asleep by midnight, only to wake up again at 4 a.m. Like Talks Falter http://www.thenationalherald.com/article/48272 (2 of 9) [12/13/2010 10:22:36 AM] The National Herald | Remembering Dimitri Mitropoulos, The Monkish Maestro

Orthodox monks who must attend services through the day and night, Mitropoulos was ready ● Philip Vorgias commented on for his next ritual: In his study, surrounded by music scores, images of his favorite, if not his ● Greek Foreign Minister Calls for Western patron saint, Francis of Assisi, and a crucifix, he would begin an intensive four hour study of Balkan Countries EU Entry those scores. Schuler said he would often finger his rosary but having spent time on Mount Athos, its may well have been a komboskini, an Orthodox prayer rope. Murrow’s film crew ● Philip Vorgias commented on found him gazing at the stars over Manhattan, lost in solitude. In a sense, he followed the ● Greek Parliament to Tackle Controversial footsteps of his uncles, the monks who lived on a mountain, beneath the stars, only Labor Reforms meditating on musical notes rather than the words of prayers. There was a poignant and ironic moment in the interview – he was clearly uncomfortable throughout it and Schuller ● Philip Vorgias commented on noted he was trying very hard to be relaxed – when he revealed that he is lucky to have ● Behind a Taxi Wheel, Greek Ex-Banker escaped the fate of his uncles the monks, dying alone in their cells. Still, there was a powerful Remembers Glory Days pull from that world and he said that, “St. Francis inspired and guided me practically all my life.” ● Philip Vorgias commented on

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Conflicting reports note he was ● Most Read revered and disrespected by 1. Church Files Claim Against WTC Owner - his musicians; the Updated performances he conducted ● Emailed were spectacular and ragged, 2. Archbishop Spyridon Formerly of America Has he was both beloved and ● SearchedNo Regrets unpopular with the public. 3. Church Fires Legal Notice at PA in St. Nicholas Haws acknowledged that the Battle man was irreducibly enigmatic, but her research yielded a 4. ‘Rebellious Immigrant’ Marks 2008 Riots somewhat coherent 5. Greek PM Holds Pow Wow with Drachma explanation for the divergent Advocate Nouriel Roubini views of the man, and some 6. Ancient Greeks Knew Spoonful of Honey “political” background is Boosts Energy required to understand what was going on. During 7. Greece Needs to Restore Growth: IMF Chief Mitropoulos’ tenure, there were 8. Greeks ‘Unhealthy but Happy’ bitter battles among the 9. Orphanides: ECB Will Continue to Play orchestra’s Board of Directors Supportive Role over and Haws said that in

The Maestro examines the master: Mitropoulos, who recorded for Columbia many ways he was, collateral 10. Put A Cultural Center of World Hellenism in and RCA, watches a record being cut. damage in a war that was New York really about efforts to oust the orchestra’s manager, , who was there from 1928. Mitropoulos did not make things easier for himself. He was devoted to the music and the composers he presented but not defend himself when he was attacked. His concerts featured the most modern of so-called classical music, the works of Anton Berg, Mahler and others filled with rhythms and dissonances that did not suite the taste of many, and the completely http://www.thenationalherald.com/article/48272 (3 of 9) [12/13/2010 10:22:36 AM] The National Herald | Remembering Dimitri Mitropoulos, The Monkish Maestro atonal pieces of Arnold Schonberg.

It was not just modern sounds which moved him – Drucker said Mitropoulos loved “the total landscape of music” and turned in brilliant performances composers as early as Monteverdi, and Schuller said he witnessed “incredible performances of Tosca and Boris Gudunov – but Mitropoulos was powerfully devoted to 20th Century composers, especially his contemporaries whose works were neglected or maligned. Drucker told The National Herald that in New York, it was expected that a great orchestra would perform a variety of music, but Schuller said Mitropoulos overdid it.

Missing from the discussion was an examination of his Greek background and life experiences and how that shaped his personality. A Greek would have brought up the word “pisma”, stubbornness. Clearly there was some of that, but there is a spiritual element too. It was not clear from the discussion the place of Orthodox Christianity in his life, but he was clearly a very spiritual man. In a fascinating Life Magazine article by Winthrop Sargeant on Feb. 18, 1946, it was revealed that Mitropoulos “grew up with the notion that he would become a monk on Mount Athos, like one Lets go to the tape: the answer to criticisms that some made about his of his two uncles.” Sargeant performances are in the recordings, both of his live concerts and of recording wrote: “That he failed to sessions. pursue this ambition is mainly attributable to a native rebelliousness against dogma and a lifelong love of instrumental music, which is not permitted in the rituals of the Greek Orthodox Church.” The article also mentioned that “Local dignitaries of the Greek church (in Minneapolis) have long been deeply offended because on the few occasions when he attends services,” he shows a preference for a local Presbyterian, church but the maestro said that was because he liked the pastor. The piece described Mitropoulos as “strictly an individualist where his religion is concerned, and quoted him saying, “Music for me is concerned with religious feeling and mystical expression. It arouses feeling towards God.”

He often prayed in his dressing room before a concert.

http://www.thenationalherald.com/article/48272 (4 of 9) [12/13/2010 10:22:36 AM] The National Herald | Remembering Dimitri Mitropoulos, The Monkish Maestro Mitropoulos said he had a mission, and although he did not take orders from what he called “the Bishops” of the music world, it did not seem motivated by a need to rebel. Rather, there was a personal dimension, rooted in his desire to help his fellow man, composers in particular, with whom he identified and helped to the detriment of his career. Drucker said, “He was ahead of his time, but mainly he tried to give new composers a platform.” They deeply appreciated it. Schuller said he wrote a piece that included a 5/8 rhythm, to honor the maestro’s heritage – noting many Greek songs have odd- numbered beats, 5, 7, 9, etc. “He never swears or scolds,” the Life article noted. “He talks to the men as if they were his closest friends, which in fact many of them are ... Mitropoulos never conducts an orchestra without first

This photo brings out two of Mitropoulos' salient qualities: Intensity and memorizing the name of every kindness. man in it.”

Reports of his life are dominated with stories of the maestro assisting musicians and others in need, buying instruments and paying medical bills to the point almost of destitution where he himself needed help with medical payments – he suffered two heart attacks in this Philharmonic days. The one consistent criticism that does not meet with much sympathy among musicians is his without a baton. Drucker explained that he was not the only conductor to do so, but apparently his hand movements that were related to keeping the beat were too subtle to be followed by players who were not used to him. Eventually they caught on, “it really worked,” said Drucker, but it caused much frustration. His hand movements added to the Mitropouos experience. They were dramatic and passionate, matching his facial expressions. Drucker said he was very emotional when he conducted, sometimes “crying, pleading, saying ‘gentlemen, gentlemen,’” begging his musicians to get exactly the sound and feeling he wanted. Life magazine reported: “Privately he admits he http://www.thenationalherald.com/article/48272 (5 of 9) [12/13/2010 10:22:36 AM] The National Herald | Remembering Dimitri Mitropoulos, The Monkish Maestro dislikes using a baton because it is a symbol of authority.” When Murrow asked him about conducting with his hands, he speculated about himself that he was reaching for their souls, for all they could give, and perhaps even for their love.”

THE EROTIC PROPHET

Schuller said he was almost in an altered state of mind when he conducted and that Mitropoulos’ physical reactions to the music could only be described as musical orgasms. So there may have been an element of the non-rational in the programs he presented, but who is qualified to mess with an artist’s eros? Mitropoulos may have assuaged his anger over his leaving the Philharmonic, whether he showed in or not, with the faith that that the music’s time will come. Mitropouolos was not just a musical missionary as he and

A youthful Mitropoulos looks "more Greek" and more relaxed than the intense others made him out to be. He missionary of music of his later daysl. was a musical prophet, compelled to follow a lead from within and ignoring the demands of his environs. But he clearly needed those people too. At one point he told Murrow, just after speaking about the solitary Assisi, that “only people who are worshiped and loved are worthy of eternity.” That strange utterance again suggests that his Greek and Orthodox background needs further exploration, as all his life he had heard the words, at funerals and memorial services “aionia i mnimi” – eternal be his memory.

His detractors were few in the beginning. The Life article was titled A fabulous Greek with monk-like habits is making music history in Minneapolis. The panelists noted that Mitropoulos fascinated and delighted both musicians and audiences, just emerging from the horrors of wars, were ready for something new. Bruno Walter never played the new music with the Philharmonic and only at the end, under pressure. But over time, New York, the city Mitropoulos loved, fell out of love with him. Schuller said Mitropoulos’ aim was “to be of complete service to humanity” through his chosen pieces, “but gradually they turned against him and his music: audiences, press, and even musicians who resented the music he was foisting on them.”

http://www.thenationalherald.com/article/48272 (6 of 9) [12/13/2010 10:22:36 AM] The National Herald | Remembering Dimitri Mitropoulos, The Monkish Maestro Mitropoulos had one more passion besides music. He told Murrow “some people have passions for women, or drinking or cars, but he loved mountain climbing, and noted he would have preferred to live 30 stories high. Murrow’s intuition picked up on the piano in the maestro’s study and he got him to confess that through the years he had neglected it and that, “I now like to listen better than to play,” suggesting a now-faded passion of a man who was a piano virtuoso. He was always credited with a photographic memory, but denied it. Mitropoulos told Murrow that he had to work very hard to memorize scores, but even though he said he no longer conducted from memory, Schuller said he continued to torture himself to memorize scores almost always right down to his last performances. One of the benefits of this practice was the amazing speed with which his orchestras learned pieces, causing one participant to comment “he must have at least pleased the record companies paying by the hour.”

Haws said another myth pertains to bad blood between Mitropoulos and Bernstein, who reportedly pushed or elbowed out the elder maestro through his superior political skills. She said that Mitropoulos presented his successor with a medallion that he wore all his life.

He said that “Music is my life,” and the recordings of his concerts are all preserved. Hawes, when referring to the criticism that some performances were ragged, said, “When you listen to the recordings you don’t hear that at all. Drucker added: “They are amazing,” and added that despite being often attacked by critics, some of Mitropoulos’ concerts received the most fantastic reviews he ever saw.

FANTASIA, A LITTLE STRAVISKY ON THE SIDE

The Mitropoulos enigma invites speculation. Schuller told of the powerful experience of seeing the movie Walt Disney’s Fantasia in 1940, a masterpiece of early animation that is also memorable for its film score filled with classical musical favorites. He said that’s when he he first heard Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and that was when he was determined to become a composer. But “Rite” might still be as modern as many music lovers still will go. Perhaps the 1950’s was the worst time to ‘overdo’ the moderns. The horrors of World II and the Holocaust prepared audiences to receive music that was not lush and lachrymose. On the other hand, they could not let go of the romanticism that the 20th Century was killing. The terrors and fears of the cold war – shelter drills and film clips of nuclear bombs being tested, the armistice that ended the Korean war that could come undone at any time, may have required Chopin and Strauss as antidotes. And Vietnam lurked. For many patrons the music was not just edgy, but provoked fears that the world was going over the edge. Or maybe modern music, whether for physiological, or cultural reasons, is an acquired taste whose audience had yet to reach a critical mass, which the maestro failed to understand. That was more than 50 years ago. Audiences still have their limits, though young musicians now seem to love the stuff Mitropoulos played. Bernstein was once quoted saying: “The 20th Century was the century of death and Mahler was its Musical Prophet.” Two world wars and many of history’s horror shows had to pass before the mainstream could accept his music. Perhaps Mitropoulos was the prophet of the barely-suppressed angst of the cold war. As the international crises http://www.thenationalherald.com/article/48272 (7 of 9) [12/13/2010 10:22:36 AM] The National Herald | Remembering Dimitri Mitropoulos, The Monkish Maestro mounted and the nuclear blasts continued, he may have been the unwelcome herald of a disturbing era and was pushed away by a populace that desperately needed escapism and could bear music like the Rite of Spring as no more than an occasional spice during a main musical course of Fantasia.

MUSICAL CHRIST OR SOCRATES?

Was he a martyr for music? One characteristic of the maestro that his supporters very much regretted was his unwillingness to fight back or defend himself. Schuller said, “He was almost a masochist.” He related the story of an orchestra in full rebellion against him over a piece of music. Mitropoulos bore the insults for a full week, and when they finally performed it was the most beautiful performance of Weber Opus 21 Schuller said he’d ever heard. Mitropoulos also loved to read Greek drama and philosophy, especially Plato and Kierkgaard. He had some traits in common with Socrates, also done in by his rivals and “the public.” Schuller said, reaching to explain some of the strains Mitropoulos experienced with both his orchestras and audiences, that, “He did not look the other conductors, central European or South European.” He certainly didn’t resemble the Greek gods depicted in the sculptures at many of the world’s cultural centers. Schuller said “Nobody had a face life that.” Life described him thus: He is a wiry man with a deeply tanned complexion and pale, childlike blue eyes that contrast curiously with his craggy features and shiny scalp.” There was a mystical intensity to his countenance, and his outward appearance transcended the beauty-ugly dichotomy. But the notion he did not look Greek is puzzling. He had roots in Sparta, and the faces of modern Greece are multiform, but Mitropoulos showed he was in a Pantheon of One.

December 11, 2010

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