The Great Orchestrator: Arthur Judson and American Arts Management

306 Pages·2013·3.8 MB·English

by  James M. Doering

ARTHUR JUDSON &
AMERICAN ARTS MANAGEMENT
T HE GRE AT
ORCHESTR ATOR
JAMES M. DOERING
The Great Orchestrator
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Music in AMericAn Life
A list of books in the series appears
at the end of this book.
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The Great
Orchestrator
Arthur Judson
and American
Arts Management
JAMes M. DOerinG
universiTy Of iLLinOis Press
urbana, chicago, and springfield
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Publication of this book was supported by a grant from
the Henry and Edna Binkele Classical Music Fund.
Publication supported by the AMS 75 PAYS Endowment of the
American Musicological Society, funded in part by the National
Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation.
© 2013 by the Board of Trustees
of the University of Illinois
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
c 5 4 3 2 1
∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Doering, James M.
The great orchestrator : Arthur Judson and American
arts management / James M. Doering.
p. cm. — (Music in American life)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-252-03741-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-252-09459-0 (e-book)
1. Judson, Arthur, 1881–1975.
2. Impresarios—United States—Biography.
3. Arts—Management—United States.
I. Title.
ML429.J85D64 2013
780.92—dc23 [B] 2012033147
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To Lauren
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Doering_Text.indd 6 12/10/12 3:06 PM
contents
Acknowledgments ix
Timeline of Major Events x
Introduction: Confronting the Silent Giant 1
Part i: Discovering the Audience,
1900–1921
1 The Young Educator 15
2 The Lessons of Musical America 29
3 Fertile Ground in Philadelphia, 1915–1921 44
Part ii: cooperation and cultivation,
1921–1942
4 New Alliances, New Media, New York 65
5 Managing a Renewal, 1922–1930 93
6 The List, the Old Man, and the English Replacement 120
7 Competition and Indecision 146
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Part iii: The empire of Diminishing returns,
1942–1956
8 The War Years and a Shift to a New Era 169
9 Troubled Waters 194
Conclusion: Lessons from AJ 219
Epilogue: The Final Years 231
Appendix: Leaders of the New York
Philharmonic Board of Directors, 1921–1970 241
Notes 243
Selected Bibliography 267
Index 269
Illustrations follow page 92
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Acknowledgments
Many individuals and organizations helped bring this book to light. I am
indebted to the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra Associa-
tion, and Denison University for access to materials. I especially thank the
archivists at those institutions, whose expertise and hospitality helped me
wade through mountains of documents: Barbara Haws (NYP), Richard Wan-
del (NYP), JoAnne Barry (POA), Florence Hoffman (DU), and Heather Lyle
(DU). I am also thankful for the time and insights of Harry Beall, Byron Bray,
James Buswell IV, Edward Cramer, Gary and Naomi Graffman, Tedd Joselson,
Arthur Judson II, Charles Seton, Tim Smith, and Katherine Weinhold.
This book would not have been possible without Joe Horowitz’s sage ad-
vice, scholarship, and moral support over the years. Thanks also to Mark
Clague and Michael Charry for their detailed and helpful critiques, to Laurie
Matheson, Dawn Durante, and Nancy Albright for shepherding the book to
press, and to Dolores Pesce for mentoring my first pass through the Judson
story so many years ago. I am also grateful to Randolph-Macon College,
whose Armour/DuPont/Cabell Endowment and Walter Williams Craigie
Endowment partially funded my research for this project. Thanks as well
to my colleagues Ray Berry, Bill Franz, Joe Mattys, Todd Munson, Barry
Pfitzner, and Chris Ryder for encouragement. I am also indebted to Brenda
Martin for her printing expertise and Ian Stewart for his faithful interview
transcriptions (despite his misplaced sports allegiances).
But my deepest thanks go to my wife and best friend, Lauren Bell, whose
love and intellect shaped this book in so many ways. Her unwavering sup-
port and insightful advice helped me see—and ultimately reach—the light
at the end of the tunnel. I could not have done it without her.
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