Edited by Catherine Austen
catherine.austen@futurenet.com
@cfausten123
IN 1947, when maestro Bruno Walter was struck down with flu, the young Leonard Bernstein was called up, without rehearsal, to take his place on the podium, conducting America's most celebrated orchestra in its most famous venue.
“It's a good American success story,” proclaimed the front page of The New York Times the following morning, propelling the prodigious Bernstein to lifelong fame.
Few professions can offer such opportunities; similarities between the necessary persona and skills required by conductor and huntsman should not be underestimated. A red-letter day's hunting may struggle to hit the national press positively these days, but a dazzling debut can certainly set the rural drums a-beating.
Orchestral players, like hounds, can take no prisoners – the chief is at their mercy. However, they can also be fiercely loyal and their endeavours can blow the minds of those in their wake through the sum of their parts.