Music: Chicago's Cure

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"Molten incandescence," "submerged iridescence," "celestial," "arcadian," "skyrocketing" were some of the words that critics were using to describe, of all things, the symphony orchestra which for a decade had been the Sick Man of Chicago. Special object of the critics' delight: Fritz Reiner, 65, who became the orchestra's sixth permanent conductor last fall* and this week reaches the half way point in his first season.

On an afternoon last week. Chicagoans heard a typical program. Conductor Reiner strode across the stage as the lights dimmed, shook hands with the concertmaster, and mounted the podium. With a concise snap of his baton, he launched the orchestra into a sweet, crisp performance of an 18th century Concerto Grosso by Corelli, a rollicking version of Beethoven's Eighth Symphony and, after the intermission, a whirling reading of the Dances of Galanta by Hungarian Composer Zoltan Kodaly. As the finale swooped to its finish, the crowd gave a startled "Oh!" and burst into heavy applause.

The Reiner treatment seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. Where his predecessors had budget controversies with management, Reiner turned out to be an acute businessman. Where their programs had recently been driving listeners away with too much unfamiliar music, Reiner's struck Chicago ears as satisfyingly balanced.

Programs & Ideas. Among the notable results of Reiner's approach: 1) the demand for tickets and subscriptions is sharply up; 2) the local sponsors of the orchestra's weekly TV broadcast have received more letters in six weeks than they used to get in a season; and 3) prestigious RCA Victor has signed the Chicago orchestra to a record contract for the first time in four years.

Conductor Reiner thinks the selection of programs is the most important of his activities. "I spend 80% of my time in planning programs." he says. The other 20% of the conductor's work is what he calls "transferring my ideas to the musicians." Budapest-born, he has been transferring his ideas to U.S. orchestras since 1922. He led the Cincinnati Symphony for nine years, was largely responsible for the orchestra's fine reputation. In 1938 he took the ambitious but struggling Pittsburgh Symphony and put it on its feet. Five years ago he went to the Metropolitan Opera, where his whip-crack performances dazzled the public.

Strictly Business. Perched on his high stool at rehearsals, Conductor Reiner is strictly business. In quiet passages the tip of his baton ticks off the beat with the precision of a stop watch, in fortissimo it slashes the air like a rapier. When a phrase is not up to snuff, he raps sharply for silence, speaks quietly but in a no-nonsense tone, e.g., "I would suggest you play that adagio." When he is pleased, he warms the players' spirits with quick nods of approval.

Chicago's music lovers are as happy—if not quite so flowery—as the critics with their new conductor. Typical reaction: "After all the agony we've been through, I feel that at last we have a conductor." Conductor Reiner himself is delighted with his first half-season. Said he: "I have no objection to staying here for the next 40 years."