Making "Good Music": The Oregon Symphony and Music Director Jacques Singer, 1962-1971

Abstract

GENEVIEVE J. LONG Making "Good Music" The Oregon Symphony andMusic Director Jacques Singer, 1962-1971 Show me an orchestra that likes itsconductor ana I'll showyou a lousyorchestra. ? Goddard Lieberson A conductor is exactly that,do you know what Jmean? Like a conductor of elec tricity. He does not originate the electricity of themusky hut that currentmust pass throughhim. ? Jacques Singer WRAPPED INA LONG CAMEL-HAIR COAT, JacquesSingerarrived forhis first rehearsal with the Portland Symphony Orchestra looking to one musician every inch theNew Yorker. Itwas February 1962, and Singer was serving as guest conductor. Tall and craggy, Singer had a habit of raking his hands through his curly black hair when he was excited or frustrated. Some of the performers were dubious of his ability to lead an orchestra. "He looked sowild," recalls clarinetist Cheri Ann Egbers. "I thought, cThis is the conductor?'" Singer's first Portland performance, however, was a success. "Never has the orchestra been more responsive to a baton," wrote music editor Martin Clark of the Portland Oregon Journal. The orchestra, conductor, and soloist received "a tremendous ovation. * Two months later, inApril 1962, the Portland Symphony's governing organization, the Port land Symphony Society, chose Singer as the organization's next permanent conductor and music director. Jacques Singer,who Oregonians came toknow forhis exciting conduct ing style and gregarious nature, helped bring patrons together in efforts to raise the orchestra's status. His effortsmade the Portland Symphony 60 OHQ vol. 109, no. 1 ? 2008 Oregon Historical Society In this publicityphotographfrom around 1966,Jacques Singer ? conductorand music directorof thePortland (nowOregon) SymphonyOrchestrafrom 1962 to 1971 ? sitsbya posterfrom theLondon Philharmonic, which he had conductedfor the first time in 1962. well-known throughout the Pacific Northwest and improved its standing in the ranks of American orchestras. Although not the sole architect of changes in the 1960s, Singer's presence as a leader and community figure drew attention ? and much-needed funds ? to the organization. His volatile temperament, however, led many musicians under his baton to call him difficult, even abusive. Many challenged his conducting skills and musicianship, while others supported him in a controversy thatdivided the organization. Ultimately, Singer's problems at the podium led to his highly publicized dismissal, a decision that placed theOregon Symphony at the center of civic debate. The Portland Symphony Orchestra, forerunner of theOregon Symphony, gave itsfirst concert under that name on October 30,1896. Orchestras and Long,Oregon Symphony and Jacques Singer, 1962-1971 61 amateur musical societies had previously performed in Portland under various names, and they continued to do so after the Portland Symphony's 1896 debut. In 1911,the Portland Symphony Society reorganized on amore permanent basis, rotating conducting duties among fivemusicians. By 1918, audience interest had grown to the point that local business leaders con vinced thePortland Symphony Society to choose a permanent director, and the symphony appointed a talented local musician named Carl Dent?n.2 By the 1950s, Oregon was home to enough ensembles that Interna tionalMusician, the journal of theAmerican Federation ofMusicians of theUnited States and Canada, dubbed it "the Athens of theWest."3 That statewide interest inmusic was a boon to the Portland Symphony, helping boost box-office receipts and making itpossible to hire more musicians. Because ofthat interest, the Portland Symphony's firstmusic director, Carl Dent?n, saw increases in ticket sales and was able to add to the number of orchestra musicians during his 1918-1925 tenure.His successor,Willem van Hoogstraten (1925-1938), conducted theorchestra inperformances thatwere broadcast nationally on the radio and commanded attention frommusi cians and thepublic alike. The Great Depression, however, ushered innearly thirtyyears of financial instability. In 1938, the Portland Symphony board voted to suspend operations due to lack of funds; van Hoogstraten left,and themusicians joined smaller groups and aWorks Progress Administration ( WPA) orchestra. It was not until 1947,when thePortland Symphony Society reorganized after the hardships ofWorld War II and gained financial sup port from audience members and themusicians' union, that the Portland Symphony Orchestra was able to perform again.4 The Portland SymphonyOrchestras secondmusic directorand conductor, Willem vanHoogstraten?pictured at center with theorchestraduring the1923-1926 season ? served from 1925 to 1938. 62 OHQ vol. 109, no. 1...