Guests in the East

Ten years ago a pale young Hungarian violinist playing in the orchestra at Manhattan's Capitol cinemansion, applied to Conductor Willem Mengelberg for the job of assistant concertmaster with the New York Philharmonic, was refused. The refusal proved fortunate for young Eugene (English for Jeno) Ormandy. Not long afterwards the sudden illness of the Capitol conductor gave Ormandy a chance to show that he could conduct Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony from memory. Eugene Ormandy was leading a radio orchestra when he was called upon last year to pinch-hit for Conductor Arturo Toscanini whose glass arm kept him from leading the Philadelphia Orchestra (TIME, Nov. 16, 1931). He did so well that the Minneapolis Symphony engaged him to substitute for sick Henri Verbrug-ghen, kept him for its permanent conductor.

Last week instead of Conductor Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy took the Philadelphia Orchestra to Manhattan, to Carnegie Hall stage where Conductor Mengelberg refused to let him play ten years ago. The audience loudly approved his firm, clear beat, his authority over the orchestra, his unmannered way of letting the music speak for itself. He suggested to some people the simple, hard-working conductor that Stokowski used to be before he let his pale hair grow.

Soon, for seven weeks, the Philadelphia Orchestra will have a young Russian guest conductor utterly unlike Eugene Ormandy. Crinkly-haired Issay Dobrowen. the San

Francisco Symphony's conductor, now spelling Arturo Toscanini with the New York Philharmonic, stayed in California long enough this autumn to open the symphony season in San Francisco's new War Memorial Opera House, to win $25 from the beating California gave Stanford at football. Then he hurried to Manhattan where he scored the quick success that San Franciscans had prophesied for him. Dobrowen (pronounced Do-bro-vane) gets dynamic effects by constantly fluttering his left hand, tossing his black head, whipping the air nervously with his baton. Considerable excitement was aroused at his Manhattan debut fortnight ago when he played Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, of which San Francisco is tired but which Manhattan seldom hears now since Toscanini is not attracted to the pessimistic Russian's music. The tireless drilling that Toscanini gives his orchestra made Dobrowen's dramatic Tchaikovsky perform-ance possible. Rehearsals bore Dobrowen. Audiences excite him. He likes to wait for the inspiration of the moment, which rarely counts when an orchestra is ragged.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.