JAVS Fall 1996

49

FORUM

S am, you're asking me if I'll play first stand in a concert with William Primrose? He only happens to be the world's greatest violist and my idol. What a question! I'm honored to be chosen. I shouldn't tell you, but I'd do this one for free." Sam laughs. "Good thing I'm not taping this, Dave. Otherwise I'd hold you to it!" It's 1967, ten years after the death of Arturo Toscanini. I'm talking to Sam Levitan, contractor for the Toscanini Memorial Or chestra, who is organizing a benefit concert for Carnegie Hall. The orchestra for the con cert will consist of musicians who were once members of the Toscanini NBC Orchestra, America's premier symphony from 1937 to 1954. (The orchestra was disbanded after Toscanini's resignation at age eighty-seven.) William Primrose joined the NBC Orches tra in 1937, its inaugural year. After four years playing under Toscanini, Primrose left to pursue his internationally acclaimed solo career. I joined the NBC Orchestra in 1953, after leaving the Detroit Symphony. "Jane, Jane-" I cry. "I'm going to be playing on the same stand with William Primrose." "How wonderful," Jane replies. "I know how much you admire him. You've practically worn out his RCA recordings." I'm not sure she knows just how I feel, so I offer a list of Primrose's many remarkable accomplishments, telling her that there's never been a violist to equal him; that his impeccable technique is equalled only by Heifetz; that his tone is deep and rich like Gregor Piatigorsky's cello; that his solo work conveys a unique personality; that he plays the Solfeggietto of C.P.E. Bach with incredible speed ... Finally, I ask her, "Do you remember in my Detroit Symphony days-his marvelous performance of the Harold in Italy solo? I can

hardly believe how lucky I am. What a great chance to get to know him better-a once in-a-lifetime opportunity!" William Steinberg, distinguished conduc tor of the Pittsburg Symphony, is going to conduct the orchestra at the benefit. Two rehearsals and a concert are all planned for the same day. Many of the players will have travelled from distant cities to be part of this historic benefit event. I arrive early. When Primrose walks in, I'm sitting at the first desk practicing Verdi's Overture to La Forza del Destino. He greets me with a pleasant, somewhat detached hello. His appearance hasn't changed much in the fifteen years since I last saw him in Detroit. Now in his early sixties, he's still sandy-haired and mustachioed, and wears horn-rimmed glasses. I look at his broad hands; he can play octaves and even tenths on the viola. These, of course, would be enormous stretches even on a violin. Maestro Steinberg reminds us, "We're here, honored to have been chosen to represent the best of the Toscanini tradition. In a single day we will blend to sound like an orchestra that has played together forever. Let's make this a memorable concert." I watch Primrose tune his viola. Even the open strings sound rich and full. The maestro gives the downbeat and the rehearsal starts. I notice that Primrose leans his ear close to his viola and plucks the first note to be played with his left hand many times before he makes an entrance. To my dismay, his intonation is not perfect. I had heard that his ear was beginning to fail him and that he could no longer be sure of the pitch of the notes. His face Hushes. What a tragedy that this artist should be losing his sensitive hearing! The job of the section leader is to alert the viola section when to enter. He is hesitant