The Classics, Literary and Musical: Sister Carrie and Star Turns and Cameo Appearances

Two Reviews today! Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser and Star Turns and Cameo Appearances by music critic Bernard Jacobson.

The Classic American Novel

Our local library book club read Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser, a book I had never read. It is considered one of the 100 best novels by The Guardian. Dresier's style, called 'Naturalism', was hugely influential. His books had to be a big 180 for readers used to Victorian novels. His characters lacked morals, followed their baser desires for love or material things, and they don't all get their just desserts in the end.

"The critics have not really understood what I was trying to do," Dreiser said later. "Here is a book that is close to life. It is intended not as a piece of literary craftsmanship, but as a picture of conditions done as simply and effectively as the English language will permit … It makes one feel that American criticism is the joke which English literary authorities maintain it to be. When [the novel] gets to the people, they will understand, because it is a story of real life, of their lives."

Sister Carrie was published in 1900 and the book begins in 1880 when unsophisticated, pretty Carrie leaves her rural Wisconsin home for her sister's home in Chicago. On the train she meets a 'masher,' Drouet, a traveling salesman with a golden tongue who eventually sells Carrie on the idea of moving in with him when she can't make it in the big city. Under Drouet's protection Carrie enjoys nice clothes, good food, and a comfortable apartment. Her prettiness becomes beauty, her provincial simplicity is replaced with more worldly manners. She also badgers Drouet about marriage, which he deftly rebuffs with hollow promises.

I had trouble with Dreiser's writing style. I was being told about the inner lives of the characters and their personalities instead of being shown. Until this point I "had" to read the book. Then Hurstwood comes into the picture. He manages a swell bar that Drouet frequents, and the two have an informal friendship. When Hurstwood meets Carrie he becomes infatuated with her. He is wealthy, a workaholic, with a distant wife and children with whom he shares little but a house and income. Hurstwood decides he deserves a little love and pursues Carrie. Carrie gets starry eyed. Hurstwood is not only of a higher class than Drouet; she believes he will bring her social legitimacy and give her the life style she covets. Hurstwood has one problem: his money is in his wife's name as a tax protection and divorce means impoverishment, loss of social standing, and employment. One night he has an opportunity to steal money from his boss.

It is the best scene in the novel, bringing the character to life. Carrie has kicked Drouet out, and he tells her that Hurstwood is married. Hurstwood can't let Carrie go. He grabs the money and lures Carrie away on false pretenses. Carrie is ignorant of what he has done, and blames him for their fall into poverty.  Hurstwood's story and tragic end makes Sister Carrie a page-turner. And Carrie? She ends up on stage, becomes famous and wealthy, but is distrustful of men and lonely.

We had a great discussion of the book. Themes of class and the lure of upward mobility especially interested us, as well as how women's options have changed in 100 years.

One lady said she couldn't put the book down. Another said she would had never chosen to read Sister Carrie, but was glad she did.

"Oh, Carrie, Carrie! Oh blind strivings of the human heart!...Know, then, that for you is neither surfeit nor content."

*****

A Career in Classical Music

Bernard Jacobson's memoir of a life in music, Star Turns and Cameo Appearances, has an index over 20 pages long. "Blessed or cursed" with "nearly total recall," he drops that many names, performances, and works. 

I requested the book because he was as the Philadelphia Orchestra's  "Manager, Publications and Educational Programs," later changed to "Program Annotator and Musicologist," under Riccardo Muti. Our family joke was that we moved to Philadelphia for my husband's favorite orchestra, then under Eugene Ormandy. Muti succeeded Ormandy and we enjoyed several years of his conducting before leaving Philly.

I enjoyed his stories about Muti. It was interesting to learn more about the man behind the baton.

I was thrilled when Jacobson mentioned the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia which he joined for a while as a Bass singer. Sean Diebler organized Choral Arts in 1982 as a 120-200 voice choir. My husband and I had been singing with The Mastersingers choir under Bob and Gail Reilley for years when we auditioned for Choral Arts. We sang with them in their second and third seasons, 1984-5. This was before Jacobson's joining.

The Choral Arts Society participated in a Concert for Humanity at the Academy of Music. The Concert was organized as part of the Nuclear Arms Control Movement. Riccardo Muti conducted members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Orchestra, and Concerto Soloists.  On November 11, 1984 my husband and I were on stage as the chorus sang Kodaly's Hymn to St. Stephen, and two pieces we had sung before, Virgil Thompson's Alleluia, and Vaughn Williams' O Clap Your Hands. The concert ended with Ravel's Bolero. The program notes for several pieces, including Bolero, were written by Jacobson! I am writing this right after seeing Leonard Slatkin conduct the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in Bolero last evening. Very cool!

As Jacobson notes, Deibler was demanding but exciting. We sang The Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra under William Smith at the Academy of Music, an incredible experience. We also sang in a  Rodgers and Hammerstein pops concert at the Mann Music Center under Erich Kunzel. I was used to Masses and Requiems and enjoyed letting loose with Oklahoma! Another highlight was singing Ralph Vaughn Williams' A Sea Symphony. Incredible. We also enjoyed singing The Brahms Neue Liebeslieder. My husband took a position in New York City, commuting from Philly, and we left the choir. Soon after I became pregnant and my choral singing days were over! Interestingly, Diebler graduated from my grandfather's alma mater, Susquehanna University. Diebler died in 2009.

I also got a kick out of Jacobson's mention of David Grossman of the Temple University Cinematheque screening private viewings for Riccardo Muti. We frequented the Cinematheque and loved seeing those classic films on the large screen. It was here that I first viewed classic films like Casablanca. Grossman's introductions enhanced our enjoyment. We started attending while I was still a Temple student and before the showing Grossman would encourage us to enjoy a cup of coffee without payment. He knew we were poor students. 

Frankly, most of what Jacobson talks about is beyond my ken and made me quite dizzy and overwhelmed with information. His career took him from his native Britain to Holland, Chicago, Philadelphia, and the West Coast. Those intimately involved in the world of orchestras and classical music will better appreciate his stories. But from the start he has an upbeat, excited voice and you feel a sense of his personality and love of music. 

I received a free ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Star Turns and Cameo Appearances: Memoirs of a Life Among Musicians

by Bernard Jacobson

University of Rochester Press

$34.95 hard cover

ISBN:9781580465410

Symphonic Politics and Egos: Shoot the Conductor by Anshel Brusilow

My Love of  Classical Music

My husband used to quip that after seminary we moved to Philadelphia because it was the home of his favorite orchestra. We both had an interest in symphonic music. My knowledge was based on a set of LP records Mom bought from the A&P and my piano books which included themes by the great composers. My husband was a music major.

It was the Philadelphia Orchestra that gave me my real education in classical music. Our first concerts at the Academy of Music were in the 'nosebleed gallery'. We'd arrive early and wait in line with other students and young people. The seats were near the ceiling, they were hard, the view was not so great, and the stairs were steep, but the sound was wonderful. Later on we had season tickets--in more comfortable seats.

We went to the free outdoor concerts at the Robin Hood Dell a few times before it closed, and then often went to the Mann Music Center and sat on the lawn. Like hundreds of other people, we brought a blanket, a hamper with cheese and wine, and under the darkening sky listened to the lush sound of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Our last concert at the Academy of Music was in 1987. Now we are enjoying being near an orchestra again and have heard the Detroit Symphony every few months since our move.

When I saw NetGalley offer a book about a Philly boy who studied at Curtis and was concertmaster under Ormandy I requested it right away.

Shoot the Conductor: Too Close to Monteux, Szell and Ormandy 

by Anshel Brusilow and Robin Underdahl

What a title! Right off you know that this person has a sense of humor and isn't afraid to use it.

I was quite riveted by this book. It is full of humorous antidotes, personal stories and juicy back stage insights. Brusilow drops the names of dozens of symphonic stars. I laughed out loud while reading. I also learned about the egos of musicians and the political reality that can make or break a career. Even great men have clay feet and ugly sides. Brusilow can appreciate the gifts of those he worked with but does not sugar coat anything.

A talented violinist, Brusilow studied under Efren Zimbalist at the Curtis Institute of Music and Dr. Szanto at the Philadelphia Musical Academy.When he saw Jascha Heifetz in concert he studied his staccato technique and learned to copy it. At sixteen he won a young conductor contest and then studied conducting under Pierre Monteux. He conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in young peoples concerts and played at the Robin Hood Dell.

George Szell of the Cleveland Orchestra hired Brusilow to be his assistant concertmaster. Szell was precise and tyrannical in achieving the perfection he sought. Eugene Ormandy invited him to be concertmaster at  Philadelphia, even holding the position open for a year. Ormandy allowed more personal freedom to the players. Brusilow formed a warm relationship with Ormandy. But Ormandy, like so many other musicians Brusilow describes, he could be vengeful if his wishes were countered.

Brusilow had to chose between violin performance and conducting. Ormandy did not want competition in the city, and he did not tolerate challengers for his position. Brusilow formed the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra,conducting pieces written for smaller orchestras. Ormandy was not amused.

Finally Brusilow had to make a decision between performance and conducting. He sold his violin and turned down Zubin Mehta's offer to be his concertmaster. Then he turned down Seiji Ozawa's offer of assistant conductor and concertmaster.  Finally the Dallas Symphony Orchestra offered him the position of conductor.

Brusilow started what in 1970 was the innovative blend of pop and orchestral music. His debut performance had Itzhak Perlman as soloist. Sadly the local music critic paned the performance. Musical friends told him they refused invitations from Dallas because "there's a music critic there who ruins careers." The Dallasound concerts drew crowds and were well received by the players. But that critic continued to pan the concerts. When the new "rock opera" Jesus Christ Superstar album came out Brusilow was the first to perform it concert style and sold 10,000 tickets.

A death brought changes to the board members. After taking the orchestra on tour in Latin America Brusilow returned to learn his contract had not been renewed.

His later career was in teaching and conducting at the Southern Methodist University and University of North Texas.

While reading the book I fondly recalled when I heard many of the stars he mentions in person or on television or recordings. I found the book accessible and interesting and not needing any more depth of knowledge than what I have. I better appreciate the challenges of a musical career, even for persons of talent and drive. Sharing some of the stories with my husband he thought Brusilow sounded pompous and arrogant, but I thought he came across as light hearted, sometimes clueless and naive, but willing to laugh at himself as well as at others. Becoming a conductor himself he realized that now he was the conductor his players would want to "shoot."

Shoot the Conductor
Anshel Brusilow
University of North Texas Press
ISBN-13:9781574416138
$29.95 hard cover
Publication May 2015