Dangerous Melodies

by Jonathan Rosenberg

  73. “Furtwängler Answers His U.S. Critics,” Chicago Tribune, January 12, 1949. Note “Musician Answers Critics,” Chicago Sun, Ibid; “On the Aisle,” Chicago Tribune, January 9, 1949; and “Furtwaengler Row Recalls ’36 Outcry,” Chicago Sun, January 7, 1949.

  74. “Yehudi Menuhin Raps Critics of Furtwaengler,” Chicago Tribune, January 13, 1949; Michael H. Kater, The Twisted Muse: Musicians and Their Music in the Third Reich (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 196–97. Note “Menuhin Takes Furtwaengler’s Side,” Chicago Daily News, January 12, 1949.

  75. “Readers Explain Why They Are for and against Furtwaengler,” Chicago Daily News, January 13, 1949.

  76. “Discord,” Chicago Sun, January 7, 1949. Another reader claimed Furtwängler was under attack not because he was a Nazi, but because he was German. Ibid.

  77. “Sees a Parallel,” Chicago Tribune, January 19, 1949.

  78. “Two Views on Musicians’ Blasts at Furtwaengler,” Los Angeles Times, January 14, 1949.

  79. “For Furtwaengler,” New York Herald Tribune, January 12, 1949.

  80. “Viennese Support Director,” Chicago Sun, January 15, 1949.

  81. “Germans Defend Musician,” Chicago Sun, January 18, 1949.

  82. Mrs. Serena Krafft to the Philharmonic Orchestra, January 15, 1949, FF/CSOA.

  83. “Sigrid Schultz Tells Furtwaengler’s Status under Nazi Regime,” Chicago Tribune, January 7, 1949.

  84. Another problem emerged when James C. Petrillo, president of the American Federation of Musicians and of the Chicago local, said the musicians’ contract stipulated that the Local must approve foreign artists hired to perform with the orchestra. “Petrillo Holds Key in Case of Furtwaengler,” Chicago Tribune, January 18, 1949.

  85. “Extra,” Chicago Daily News, January 19, 1949.

  86. “Furtwaengler Withdraws in Orchestra Row,” Chicago Tribune, January 20, 1949. Note “Dr. Furtwaengler Drops Chicago Bid,” New York Times, January 20, 1949; “Furtwaengler Drops Chicago Orchestra Plan,” New York Herald Tribune, January 23, 1949; “On the Aisle,” Chicago Tribune, January 23, 1949; “No Trip for Furtwaengler,” Los Angeles Times, January 20, 1949.

  87. Ibid. Note “Dr. Furtwaengler Won’t Come Here,” Chicago Sun, January 20, 1949; “Seek New Guest Conductor to Replace Furtwaengler,” Chicago Daily News, January 20, 1949.

  88. “Dr. Furtwaengler to Chicago—‘nein,’ ” Chicago Sun, January 20, 1949.

  89. Klaus Goetze to Manager, Chicago Symphony, January 23, 1949, FF/CSOA.

  90. Edward Ryerson, “To Guarantors, Sustaining Members, and Season Ticket Subscribers,” January 1949. Conductor file, Furtwängler, folder 7, New York Philharmonic Archives. A typescript copy of this document, labeled “Press Release,” is also in the Furtwängler file in the Chicago Symphony Archives.

  91. Edward Ryerson to Wilhelm Furtwängler, February 4, 1949, FF/CSOA.

  92. Wilhelm Furtwängler to Edward Ryerson, February 5, 1949, FF/CSOA.

  93. Sekretariat Furtwängler to George Kuyper, February 27, 1949, FF/CSOA.

  94. C. Monteith Gilpin (Secretary of the Society for the Prevention of World War III) to the Chicago Orchestral Association, January 7, 1949, FF/CSOA.

  95. “Says We Fall Prey to Old Nazi Line,” Chicago Daily News, January 29, 1949. Note “Furtwängler Still Issue in Chicago,” Christian Science Monitor, January 25, 1949.

  96. “Furtwaengler’s Standards on Trial in Berlin,” New York Times, December 29, 1946.

  97. “German Musicians and Politics: Furtwaengler and Beethoven,” Commonweal (November 6, 1942): 68–70. For an altogether luminous discussion, see Kater, Twisted Muse, 195–203.

  98. “Gieseking—His Death Closed A Chapter in Great Artistry,” Musical America (November 15, 1956): 9–10.

  99. “A Review of Gieseking’s Record since 1934,” New York Times, February 8, 1948. Note “Whitewash vs. Blacklist,” New York Post, November 8, 1945; “Top Reich Pianist Barred by Allies,” New York Times, December 11, 1945.

  100. “Vets Picket to Stop U.S. Tour of Once-Banned German Pianist,” PM (April 20, 1948): 13.

  101. “Paging Tom Sawyer” (source unclear, probably New York Sun), September 25, 1948. Clipping file, Walter Gieseking, NYPLPA.

  102. Ibid.

  103. “Gieseking Here for Recital, Still Called Pro-Nazi,” New York Herald Tribune, January 23, 1949; “German Pianist Arrives,” New York Times, January 23, 1949. Note “Gieseking Due in U.S. Today from Germany,” Los Angeles Times, January 23, 1949.

  104. “Gieseking Here for Recital, Still Called Pro-Nazi,” New York Herald Tribune, January 23, 1949.

  105. “U.S. Won’t Interfere with Gieseking’s Tour,” World Telegram, January 24, 1949.

  106. “Gieseking Agrees to Quit U.S. without Giving a Concert Here,” New York Times, January 25, 1949.

  107. Ibid.

  108. Ibid.

  109. In addition to the New York Times piece cited above, descriptions of the event are taken from several papers from around the country.

  110. “Gieseking Off to Paris, Bitter over Treatment,” New York Herald Tribune, January 26, 1949.

  111. “Gieseking Leaves for Paris by Plane,” New York Times, January 26, 1949.

  112. “Gieseking Off to Paris, Bitter over Treatment,” New York Herald Tribune, January 26, 1949. Gieseking’s manager, Charles Wagner, said the episode was a great loss, since “95 per cent of the people wanted to hear him.” Quoted in Ibid.

  113. “Gieseking Off for Paris and Is Glad of It,” Daily Mirror, January 26, 1949.

  114. “Gieseking Leaves for Paris by Plane,” New York Times, January 26, 1949.

  115. “Gieseking Praises Furtwaengler for His ‘Good Judgment’,” Chicago Tribune, January 27, 1949; “Gieseking Blames U.S. Demagogues,” Los Angeles Times, January 27, 1949.

  116. “Gieseking Off to Paris, Bitter over Treatment,” New York Herald Tribune, January 26, 1949.

  117. “Rubinstein Tells Stand on Gieseking and Furtwaengler,” Chicago Tribune, February 20, 1949. Horowitz said he would not appear in any concert series that included Gieseking, and several conductors and soloists also denounced Gieseking’s war record while criticizing Furtwängler.

  118. “In New York,” New York Daily Mirror, January 25, 1949.

  119. “Music,” Nation (January 8, 1949): 54. The Nation’s editors had argued that the decision to attend a Gieseking performance was an individual one. “Walter Gieseking’s American Manager,” Nation (December 4, 1948): 617–18. Note a reader’s response: “Do Art and Politics Stand Apart?,” Nation (December 18, 1948): 708–9.

  120. “Faith, Hope and Charity,” New York Sun, January 22, 1949.

  121. “Gieseking Case Decried as Sign of Intolerance,” New York Herald Tribune, February 7, 1949. Note “Gieseking Pardon Urged,” New York Times, February 7, 1949.

  122. “Further Comment on Mr. Gieseking,” New York Herald Tribune, January 29, 1949.

  123. Ibid. The day’s letters page had three more letters opposing the Gieseking tour.

  124. Ibid.

  125. “Let Gieseking Pay for the Nazis’ Victims,” Nation (January 8, 1949): 55. For a different perspective: “What Do You Do with a Defeated Enemy Musician?,” Ibid. For further discussion, see website.

  126. “Gieseking Arrives for His Recital,” New York Herald Tribune, April 22, 1953.

  127. “Jewish Congress against Concert by Gieseking,” New York Herald Tribune, April 4, 1953. Note “Gieseking and the McCarran Act,” New York Herald Tribune, April 18, 1953.

  128. Descriptions of the concert and the protests from “Gieseking Returns to Carnegie Hall,” New York Times, April 23, 1953; “Gieseking Is Picketed,” Ibid.; “Gieseking Picketed by 300 at Carnegie Hall Recital,” New York Herald Tribune, April 23, 1953.

  129. Henderson quote: “Mme. Flagstad as Bruennhilde,” New York Sun, February 23, 1937. Flagstad story: “Music: The Flagstad Story,” Newsweek (June 25, 1945): 104; “The Kirsten Flagstad story—f
irst time told,” Cosmopolitan (December 1950): 32–35; “A Statement by Marks Levine,” who was Flagstad’s adviser and also chairman of the board and director of the Concert Division of the National Concert and Artists Corporation, n.d., Kirsten Flagstad clipping file. Metropolitan Opera Archives, Lincoln Center, New York (hereafter MOA). A number of the newspaper and magazine accounts cited here (through note 194) were found in the Flagstad Clipping file.

  130. “Flagstad Wants to Live in U.S. and Sing No More in Norway,” Herald Tribune, June 10, 1945.

  131. “Flagstad’s Career Put Up to U.S. as Norwegians Here Attack Her,” New York Times, June 15, 1945.

  132. “Flagstad Is Heard in Concert at Paris,” New York Herald Tribune, January 26, 1947; “Flagstad Applauded by Audience in Paris; Calls Thomsen Charge ‘an Abominable Lie’,” New York Times, January 26, 1947.

  133. “Flagstad Here on America for Concert Tour,” New York Herald Tribune, March 15, 1947.

  134. “Flagstad Welcomed Enthusiastically at Symphony Hall Concert,” Boston Globe, April 7, 1947.

  135. “Music,” New York Herald Tribune, April 7, 1947.

  136. “Flagstad Welcomed Enthusiastically at Symphony Hall Concert,” Boston Globe, April 7, 1947.

  137. Cassidy’s view: “On the Aisle,” Chicago Tribune, April 12, 1947; Chicago picketers: “Flagstad Is Picketed,” New York Times, April 12, 1947.

  138. On the concert: “Flagstad Gets Ovation while Pickets March,” New York Herald Tribune, April 21, 1947; “Flagstad Receives a Great Welcome,” New York Times, April 21, 1947.

  139. “Protesting Appearance of Kirsten Flagstad Here,” New York Times, April 21, 1947.

  140. “Kirsten Flagstad Concert to Be Picketed by the A.V.C.,” New York Herald Tribune, April 20, 1947.

  141. “Protesting Appearance of Kirsten Flagstad Here,” New York Times, April 21, 1947.

  142. See photos accompanying front-page story: “Flagstad Greeted by Stench Bombs at Recital Here,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 23, 1947.

  143. Description from “Flagstad Greeted by Stench Bombs at Recital Here,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 23, 1947.

  144. “Bombs and Boos Fail to Silence Flagstad,” New York Times, April 23, 1947. Note “Stench Bombs,” New York Herald Tribune, April 23, 1947.

  145. “Flagstad Gives Recital Marked by Wide Range,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 23, 1947.

  146. Statement: “Damrosch Aids Flagstad,” New York Times, April 26, 1947; “Damrosch Asks to Play Piano for Flagstad,” New York Herald Tribune, April 26, 1947.

  147. “More Artists Join Flagstad Defense,” New York Herald Tribune, April 27, 1947; “Artists Support Mme. Flagstad,” Christian Science Monitor, April 28, 1947.

  148. “Walter Winchell in New York,” New York Daily Mirror, March 24, 1947. From March to May 1947, Winchell mocked and excoriated Flagstad in his columns.

  149. “Walter Winchell in New York,” New York Daily Mirror, March 18, 1947.

  150. “Walter Winchell in New York,” New York Daily Mirror, December 19, 1948.

  151. “Music and Politics,” New York Times, March 9, 1947.

  152. “In Re Flagstad,” New York Sun, March 22, 1947.

  153. “These Days,” New York Sun, May 6, 1947.

  154. “Miss Flagstad,” Washington Post, March 29, 1947. Editorial: “Miss Flagstad,” Washington Post, March 23, 1947.

  155. “Wants Flagstad to Sing,” New York Times, April 6, 1947.

  156. “Flagstad Cheered at Recital Here,” New York Times, December 13, 1948.

  157. “Kirsten Flagstad,” New York Herald Tribune, December 13, 1948. For 1948 reviews lauding Flagstad: Clipping file, Flagstad, Kirsten MOA.

  158. “Statement by Marks Levine, Chairman of the Board and Director of the Concert Division of National Concert and Artists Corporation,” n.d., Clipping file, Flagstad, Kirsten MOA.

  159. Levine Statement, 6–7.

  160. “Flagstad Is Barred,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 15, 1949.

  161. “Opera Board Insists Flagstad Must Be Allowed to Sing,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 19, 1949.

  162. “Flagstad Is Barred,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 15, 1949.

  163. “ ‘A Traitor to Norway’,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 15, 1949.

  164. “Ban on Flagstad,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 21, 1949.

  165. “The Kirsten Flagstad Case,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 16, 1949.

  166. “City Calls Peace Talks on Flagstad,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 20, 1949.

  167. “San Francisco Wants Flagstad,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 21, 1949.

  168. “Ban on Flagstad,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 21, 1949.

  169. “Safety Valve,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 21, 1949. Page is filled with relevant letters. Quotations: “Chauvinistic,” “Bigotry,” and “Art.”

  170. “Safety Valve,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 22, 1949. See “Intolerance.”

  171. “The Board Says ‘No,’ ” San Francisco Chronicle, July 22, 1949.

  172. “A Setback for Flagstad,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 30, 1949. Acting Mayor Christopher’s pro-Flagstad message: “Flagstad Dispute,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 26, 1949.

  173. “Music” in “Safety Valve,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 30, 1949.

  174. “Ban on Flagstad Opera Is Lifted,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 2, 1949.

  175. “Opera House Will Open as Scheduled,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 2, 1949.

  176. “Restoring City’s Good Repute,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 2, 1949.

  177. “Flagstad Triumphant as Isolde,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 2, 1949.

  178. On Bing’s appointment and transition from predecessor Edward Johnson, see Irving Kolodin, The Metropolitan Opera, 1883–1966: A Candid History (New York: Knopf, 1967), 482–93.

  179. Robert Tuggle, “Clouds of War,” Opera News (July 1995): 17.

  180. Ibid.

  181. The correspondence on Flagstad that I draw on here was shared with me by the late Robert Tuggle, director of the Metropolitan Opera Archives, who devoted a great deal of time to researching Flagstad’s life. The letters related to Flagstad were originally located in the Edward Johnson Correspondence files, 1949–1950, at the Met Archive. (Johnson preceded Bing as General Manager.) The material I quote from below comes from several folders Mr. Tuggle compiled and organized at the Archive, which he shared with me during the time I spent there. In addition to several hundred letters on the Flagstad case, the material in these folders includes postcards and telegrams, which illuminate the views of hundreds of supporters and opponents of Bing’s decision.

  182. Fred and Edith Nagler of Riverdale, New York, to Bing (no date visible), Tuggle files, MOA. Bing’s response dated April 12, 1950.

  183. Mrs. John Wardlaw to Bing, April 6, 1950; and Bing to Mrs. John Wardlaw, April 18, 1950, Tuggle files, MOA. Letter to the editor of the Indianapolis Star, “The People Speak,” is part of the correspondence.

  184. The two letters, the first (February 16, 1950) and the second (n.d.), are from the Tuggle files, MOA.

  185. Letter dated February 4, 1950, Tuggle files, MOA. The letter does not indicate whether it is from Washington, DC, or Washington State.

  186. Letter (n.d.), Tuggle files, MOA.

  187. Letters from the Tuggle files, February 2, 1950, and February 21, 1950, MOA.

  188. Letter from Ethel Cohen to Bing, February 3, 1950, Tuggle files, MOA.

  189. Letter from Bing to Mrs. Cohen, February 6, 1950, Tuggle files, MOA.

  190. Undated letter from Flagstad to Bing, Tuggle files, MOA.

  191. See Charles Buchanan to Bing, April 26, 1950; and Bing’s April 27 response, Tuggle files, MOA.

  192. Description from “Return of Flagstad,” Newsweek (February 5, 1951): 79.

  193. Quote from the Newsweek review above.

  194. On Karajan’s Nazi Party membership, Michael Kater writes that Karajan joined
the party twice: on April 8, 1933, in Salzburg, and three weeks after that in the Swabian town of Ulm. According to Kater, Karajan later falsely claimed he had joined in Aachen in 1935, to satisfy “a condition for permanent employment there,” where he directed the opera and (soon after) the symphony. Kater writes that Karajan’s party membership in Ulm was seen as valid in Aachen, and “his Reich membership was transferred there.” Later, it was transferred to Berlin, where the registration number remained the same. Kater, Twisted Muse, 57; and 258 (n. 101). See Kater’s superb discussion (55–61). Note “Von Karajan to Conduct Berlin Philharmonic in American Tour,” Musical America (January 1, 1955): 3.

  195. “Berlin Philharmonic Hopes Art Will Win Over Reaction to Nazi Past on U.S. Tour,” New York Times, February 8, 1955.

  196. “Musicians Oppose Concert Here by ‘Nazi-Led’ Berlin Orchestra,” New York Times, February 20, 1955. On petition and visit: “Shadows of the Past Darken Tour of Berlin Philharmonic,” Detroit News, February 27, 1955.

  197. “Berlin Philharmonic Manager Explains Nazi Membership, Silent on Tour Protest,” New York Times, February 21, 1955.

  198. “Union Urged to Drop Move to Ban Berlin Orchestra,” New York Herald Tribune, February 22, 1955.

  199. On the American Committee for Cultural Freedom and the 1955 tour, see Frances Stonor Saunders, The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters (New York: New Press, 1999), 226–28.

  200. “Musicians Press Protest on Tour,” New York Times, February 24, 1955; “Bid Petrillo Ban Berlin Orchestra,” New York Herald Tribune, Ibid.

  201. “Orchestra Takes Off,” New York Times, February 24, 1955.

  202. “Berlin Orchestra Here,” New York Times, February 25, 1955.

  203. “Berlin Philharmonic Head Explains Relations to Nazis,” New York Herald Tribune, February 26, 1955. On Karajan’s party membership, see n. 194.

  204. “Berlin Philharmonic Head Explains Relations to Nazis,” New York Herald Tribune, February 26, 1955; “Two in Orchestra Support Leaders,” New York Times, Ibid.

  205. “Berlin Orchestra Gets Ovation Here,” Washington Post, February 28, 1955.