In February 1947, Arthur Rodzinski was featured on the cover of Time magazine. He lived in an era when the popularity of music recordings was growing as quickly as the technology and made several recordings for Westminster Records and EMI Records. He is also featured in the 1947 film “Carnegie Hall.”
So that this great artist can be brought to the public’s attention again, percussionist and archivist John Polanski produced the documentary, which includes Rodzinski’s rare rehearsal recordings and performances of the works of great composers such as Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Strauss, Gershwin, and many more. Also included is a never-before-heard extract of Rodzinski rehearsing with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
The listener will be reminded of the conductor’s musical integrity apparent through his meticulous precision. His highly exacting attention to detail and his ability to pull the best from the musicians under him make Rodzinski peerless.
Born in Split, Dalmatia on Jan 1, 1892, Rodzinski, studied both law and music in Vienna as a young man. However, he followed his passion down the road of music.
His resume seems endless: He conducted at the Warsaw Opera and the Warsaw Philharmonic. Due to his impeccable musical leadership during a performance of “Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg,” Leopold Stokowski invited him to assist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He also conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the late 1920s and early 30s. Afterward, he became the conductor for the Cleveland Orchestra.
Rodzinski established the Cleveland Orchestra as a force that rivaled the New York and Boston Philharmonic Orchestras. In the late 1930s, he was invited to conduct the New York Philharmonic and later became its director.
According to Nancy Shear Art Services, composer and music critic Virgil Thompson is reported to have said about Rodzinski’s work with the New York Philharmonic, “We now have an orchestra that is a joy to hear, and we owe it all to Arthur Rodzinski.”
His Son’s Recollections
Rodzinski’s son, Richard Rodzinski, 63, currently holds the position of President of the Van Cliburn Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping amateur musicians grow and perform. Richard recalls his father’s powerful character which made him such a great conductor. In particular, his father possessed a trait that great conductors and even great leaders have—the ability to make the person under you want to do what needs to get done.
“My father was very demanding,” Richard explained, “constantly unsatisfied, and pushed, but not to the breaking point, his musicians.”
Richard Rodzinski remembers a story in which a French horn player was asked to play a series of bars in one breath, challenging for any wind-instrument musician. This musician was rather young and the pressure in this environment was rather intense. When the musician repeatedly failed the task, he began to break down and cry. Rodzinski immediately called for a rehearsal break and sat down next to the young man, put his arm around him, and the two worked out the music together. This is an example of compassion that few conductors have, especially famous and demanding ones.
In 1948, Rodzinski conducted for the Chicago Lyric Symphony and produced one of his most celebrated conducted works, “Tristan and Isolde.” Ten years later and two weeks before his death, he was begged to come back to Chicago to perform “Tristan and Isolde” again. He was very sick, but his dedication was much stronger. He told his wife, “I have to do this.”
Information used with permission from Nancy Shear Arts Services.
The documentary will air Nov. 28 in Chicago and Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. in Dallas.
