At a time when tyrant conductors still very much roamed the earth, Fritz Reiner was one of the most feared. With a glower that would make Bela Lugosi quake – and sporting quite the similar hairline – Reiner was forged in Hungary at the twilight of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Hungary at the time had quite the reputation for churning out great conductors. Among those to achieve considerable international success were George Szell, Eugene Ormandy, Antal Doráti, Ferenc Fricsay, Sir Georg Solti, and István Kertész.
Among Reiner’s own teachers was Béla Bartók, with whom he studied piano. Reiner would later repay the favor with what many consider to be the benchmark recording of Bartók’s “Concerto for Orchestra.” He also worked closely with Richard Strauss in Dresden, and his recordings of Strauss’ works are equally revered. All in all, the Chicago Symphony under Fritz Reiner was a surefire choice to give the ol’ hi-fi a good workout in the early days of stereo.
Reiner became a naturalized American citizen in 1928, and began to teach conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Among his pupils was Leonard Bernstein. His first American post was as principal conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony. He led the Pittsburgh Symphony for ten years, from 1938 to 1948, then spent several years at the Met. But it was as music director of the Chicago Symphony that he attained legendary status.
For a master interpreter of some of the largest and most challenging works in the repertoire, his baton technique was notable for its precision and economy. Much of what he achieved, unfortunately, was through the brutality he exerted in rehearsals. Reiner emerged from an Old World steeped in aristocratic methods. At the top of their profession, conductors then were regarded as gods-on-earth. When drive and ego were bolstered by absolute power, working conditions became downright perilous. Before strong musicians’ unions, conductors exercised the authority to fire anyone on the spot. So when musicians played for Reiner, they played as if there lives depended on it – or at the very least their livelihoods.
Did it make for better musicmaking? You can’t argue with the excellence of Reiner’s Chicago Symphony.
Read this account of the day Reiner finally gave his “perfect concert.”
Even autocrats have birthdays. Happy birthday, Fritz Reiner.
Reiner conducts Beethoven
Reiner conducts Kodály and Bartók, with Rudolf Serkin at the piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOE83a1FrwA
Reiner conducts Strauss’ “Salome”
