Posted on 02/13/2010 9:42:51 AM PST by franksolich
I have no idea the standing of the late Sir Adrian Boult (1889-1983, if memory serves me correctly) in the world of music, other than that he was a famous symphony conductor, quite possibly one of the best of the past century.
But by the time I met him, in February 1978 in London, he was nearing 90 years old, and had long ago passed the baton on to others.
His appearance was a shock to me, because I had not realized how ancient he was at the time; I was seeing a white-haired crooked little man who in no way resembled the photographs on the covers of 33.3 records my father had collected.
I was a shallow, glum, silent, sullen kid from the Sandhills of Nebraska, spending that winter wandering around England, sleeping in youth hostels and flophouses, hoping to stretch one month's traveling-around money into three or four months (and ultimately succeeding), thus avoiding another semester at the University of Nebraska.
By chance, I had remembered a friend back home, a classmate who was into classical music, and purchased some British recordings of that genre, when I noticed many of them had been conducted by Sir Adrian Boult, C.H.
As I was doing nothing in particular, being mellow and laid-back, allowing random spontaneous events and people to shove me forward, upon learning the address of the retired conductor, I wrote him a letter, asking if it would be convenient for him to autograph the album-covers of his recordings, for this friend.
(Excerpt) Read more at conservativecave.com ...
Ping for the list.
Classical music ping
Thank you for posting it. Very interesting.
Are you the keeper of the classical music ping list? If so, would you include me? I am a musician — classical piano.
A fascinating story Frank.
What a gift your story is! Thank you for taking the trouble to write it. Much food for thought here. Extraordinary. We are in your debt for recording this moment of communication between two very different but very valuable minds.
Dear mylife,
Thanks for the ping.
Classical Music Ping List ping.
If you want on or off this list, let me know via FR e-mail.
Thanks,
sitetest
One of the joys of this site, Free Republic, is when one of these posts comes in ‘over the transom’ so to speak. A glimpse into the world of the deaf and the intersection of that world with that of classical music - utterly and totally fascinating. Thank you very much for posting this,
Great story!
Please add me to this Classical Music Ping List. Thank you.
That was fascinating, in many ways. Thank you for bringing it here.
Sir Adrian Boult, conducting Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, is the single best piece of music I know.
franksolich always has interesting stories to tell.
The British sometimes have an inferiority complex about classical music. Hard not to when the competition was the likes of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms. Yet there's such a rich tradition in Britain of not just composition and performance, but also for the appreciation of classical music by the general public.
Understatement, Frank. Great story. :)
Wow, you have so many interesting experiences. Thanks.
Ya know, I’ve got that trip coming up for my book, and I have thoughts of stopping in on you and maybe talking of you in my book, then I have a problem. I can speak in detail of the spiritual malady, I can share parallels between our various stories, I can wax rhapsodic over the details of a motorcycle journey but when I think about trying to paint a adequate picture of you for my readers, my synapses fall silent.
You are a fascinating man Frank Solich.
You created a mental picture in my mind of the typical London neighborhood, the usual wrought iron fence in front, the cluttered flat, the old maestro, his helpmate wife busy with the tea, the well-used instruments....a pleasurable snapshot of your moment of musical history which delighted me no end. Thanks.
Leni
great writing, truly enjoyed reading this.
Something you might like.
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