18 Friday, December 29, 1918 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS . 'Toscanini' Biography Traces Maestro's Fight Against Fascists By MARGUERITE KOZENN CHAJES Harvey Sachs, 32, born in Cleveland, is a musician liv- ing in Milan, Italy. In addi- tion to conducting various orchestras, he is also writ- ing documentaries for radio stations about Arturo Tos- canini. Lippincott of New York just published a biog- raphy under the title "Tos- canini," on which Sachs had worked for 17 years. Sachs traveled to many countries, where he ob- tained exclusive interviews with members of Tosca- nini's family, his friends and associates. The book is fascinating, interesting for musicians as well as non-musicians and meticulously describes the Italian Maestro, who until his death at the age of 90, in 1957, was the uncontested, most revered and highest - paid conductor in the world. Toscanini was a unique personality. He was very sensitive, impetuous, often obstinate and un- compromising, but he also was a champion for political rights and free- dom and an extremely generous contributor to worthwhile causes. Toscanini met Mussolini, when the latter still advo- cated a socialist policy. Tos- canini. joined the party, at- tracted by the idea that it would alleviate and change the sad economic situation of the country and its citi- zens. In 1920, the Fascists staged their march on :Rome. The Maestro, who had expected the forced ab- dication of the king, as Mus- solini had always promised, was upset and disappointed. He refused to conduct the Fascist anthem and his dif- ferences with the govern- ment were growing. How- 'aver his artistic value was so great, that nobody dared to come out openly against him. But his friends did not fare so well. One of them, for 26 years the director f the Milan Conservat- y, learned about his,in- ant dismissal and threw .mself out the window. oscanini angrily wired le Minister of Educa- ion: "This suicide will veigh upon your con- ;cience forever!" At the funeral he detected a large wreath from the Ministry of Education; he grabbed it and threw it away! When a professor, also guilty for the dismissal, started a eulogy, Toscanini snatched away the notes and screamed: "No, you will not speak!" Toscanini was rigid with his family, his friends and co-workers. He threw ba- tons, music scores or even chairs. For many years he was the conductor of the New York Philharmonic or- chestra. In 1932, his fee was $110,000. TOSCANINI The two composers Tos- canini loved best and per- formed most were Wagner and Verdi. As a young man his major dream was to play Wagner. In 1929, his dream materialized when he conducted at the Wagner festival in Bayreuth. He refused a fee and even the ex- penses, since he consid- ered it "to be like the ful- fillment of a religious vow." In 1931, at_the age of 64, he wanted to present two concerts with exclusive works by a dear friend in Bologna. Again he declined any fee! A shameful incident took place prior to the first con- cert: two Fascist ministers had promised to attend and Toscanini was asked to open the program with the Fas- cisty hymn. He refused! In the evening, when he ar- rived for the concert, Fascist hooligans surrounded his car and hit him in the face when he got out. The chauf- feur shoved him back into the car and returned to the hotel. The public was told the Maestro had become ill. Within hours the entire city, the country and, through international wires, the world knew what had happened. The Meastro had sustained cuts on his face and neck, but fortu- nately he was not seriously hurt. However the family was advised to leave Bologna at once. They left at midnight for Milan, where their passports were taken away. Letters and telegrams of protest came in from all over the world. Serge Koussevitsky cancelled his concerts at "La Scala" and to its directors he wrote: "Maestro Tosca- nini does not belong only to Italy but to the whole world!" Ossip Gabrilowitsch and his wife Clara, Mark Twain's daughter, were va- cationing in Zurich. They immediately came to Milan and later Gabrilowitsch wrote: "He (Toscanini) greeted us most cordially and seemed spontaneously inclined to describe the entire Bologna experience. He did so with undisguised indignation against the Fascist factions . . . in the expression of his feelings, the great artist before us also divulged the great man . . . 'Truth,' he said: 'truth we must have at any price, and also freedom of speech, even if that price should be death. I have said to our Fascists time and again: you can kill me, if you wish, but as long as I am living I shall say what I think!' " In the summer of 1931 he conducted at the Bayreuth Wagner festival, again without any remuneration. He liked Winifred Wagner, the widow of Wagner's son Siegfried and at that time she was the director of the festi- val. She was born in England and was fasci- nated with the Nazis' ideologies and their "fuehrer" Hitler. Tosca- nini discussed his diSlike for Nazidom with her, but she was firm in her belief then and even still today, that Hitler was the ideal leader for Germany. In 1932 the German vio- linist Adolf Busch had recommended the Russian pianist Vladimir Horowitz to the Maestro. His daugh- ter Wanda said in an inter- view that "Horowitz was al- ready very famous and known throughout the world; when he had to audi- tion for Papa, he became frightened. Papa was very gentle . . . listened and said, `That's very good. Now I must ask you to leave be- cause I have a lot of work. See you at the dress rehear- sal.' " In 1933 Wanda Tos- canini became engaged to Horowitz. The time was drawing nearer to the next Bayreuth festival; in February Tosca- nini (in absentia) was made an honorary citizen of Bayreuth. In March, the Busch brothers, leading German musicians, who were anti- Nazi and also had Jewish sons-in-law, one of them pianist Rudolf Serkin, had left Germany; Bruno Wal- ter also fled as had Klem- perer and many other lead- ing musicians and per- sonalities. - Through the news media one learned that Toscanini was reconsid- ering his plan to conduct , in Bayreuth. He received a letter from Gab- rilowitsch with these concluding phrases: "Under those conditions, will you, Arturo Tosca- nini, the world's most il- lustrious artist, lend the glamor of your interna- tional fame to the Bayreuth festival? A de- cisive protest from you at this time would amount to a great historic fact. The world has a right to expect this noble gesture from you!" A cable against the boycott of Jewish musicians and the Nazi regime was sent to Hitler from New York. Toscanini's name headed the list of the protes- ters, among them Kous- sevitsky, Gabrilowitsch, Reiner, Damrosch and many others. The following day all the U.S. newspapers published the text and when Toscanini came out on the stage of Carnegie Hall to conduct a concert, he was greeted by endless ovations! Several days later the Be- rlin radio station transmit- ted the following order: "Ac- cording to reports, several conductors and musicians in the U.S.A. . . . Arturo Toscanini and others have lodged a complaint with the Chancellor (Hitler) because of the rejection of certain Jewish and Marxist fellow musicians in Germany . . . I direct that the compositions and records of the aforementioned gentlemen shall no longer find a place on the programs of German broadcasters and also that no musical performance in which they have a part, shall be received from con- cert halls or other broad- casting sources." The American papers also reported that Winifred Wagner had dined with Hit- ler that very same evening. She had admired Hitler for a long time and his "love for Wagner's music was matched by his admiration for Wagner's anti-Semitic and other racial writings." , Hitler, most likely to please Winifred Wagner, wired Toscanini and asked him to reconsider "as chancellor of Germany he would be especially happy to per- sonally greet the Maestro in Bayreuth." Toscanini answered Hit- ler in a rather indecisive way; it must have been ex- tremely difficult for him to give up Bayreuth. He was eager to conduct Wagner in Bayreuth. It was a dream about to become reality, but he reconsidered his promise and refused to perform be- cause of the mistreatment of the Jews and the rise of Nazism. Toscanini's answer to Hitler was indecisive, but he had no intention of per- forming for the Nazis. Bronislav Violinist Huberman, like all the other Jewish musicians, was grateful to the Maestro for ree,,.i•rur in _conduct Bayreuth. In December 1933, Wanda Toscanini married Horowitz. She remembered that her father "warned her . . . you know very well that life with an artist is very dif- ficult." In 1935 during his stay in New York, Toscanini re- ceived a note from Huber- man, who wanted to "dis- cuss a constructive idea in the artistic field." He was "obsessed" by a plan to found a first class orchestra in Palestine, of Jewish musicians who had fled from Central European countries. He told the Maes- tro about the financial sup- port promised by American Jews and he asked whether the Maestro would conduct the "inaugural concerts." "It would mean a declara- tion of solidarity with the victims of persecution and it would be easier to obtain fi- nancial support for the or- chestra; it would be the greatest encouragement!" Toscanini consented enthusiastically and de- clined any fee or even the refund of his expenses. The news about Tosca- nini's acceptance became known at once and Al- bert Einstein was the first to write from Princeton: "Honored Master! I feel the necessity of telling you for once how much I admire and honor you. You are not only the un- matchable interpreter of the world's musical liter- ature, whose forms de- MRS. CHAJES serve the highest admira- tion ... in the fight against the Fascist crim- inals too, you have shown yourself to be a man of greatest dignity. I also feel most deeply thank- ful, because you have given the soon-to-be founded Palestine Or- chestra a push forward of inestimable significance. The fact that such a con- temporary exists cancels many of the delusions one must continually ex- perience from the species • minorum gentium! With love and greatest respect, cordial greetings from your Albert Einstein." Einstein became the hon- orary president of the or- chestra's American com- mittee and within a short period funds necessary for the first three years were secured. and his wife _ came to Palestine and stayed for a month. "There was unbelievable excite- ment throughout the coun- try and Mme. Toscanini wrote her daughter: "On the day of our arrival Papa had his first rehearsal and is satisfied with the orchestra. They put us in a lovely little villa on the outskirts of the town. As far as beauty and comfort go, it is everything one can desire. We have at our disposal a car, a valP 4- and cook-maid. We i treated as if we were ro alty." Concerts were given in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. "Everywhere and always the ecstasy and gratitude were the same." The Maestro was "very anx- ious to see Palestine, its bi- blical and other historic sites, its potash plants and agricultural settlements and the daily life of its people. Once when Toscanini and Huberman were on a _sight seeing trip, a storm forced them to drive into the nearest ag- , ricultural village, called Ramoth Hashavim. Years later one of its leaders recalled: "Nearly 'all of these farmers were professors, doctors, lawyers, who became ag- riculturalists in Palestine after the destruction of their existence in Ger- many. All these people had been raised in the world of German culture; they were all music lov- ers and were full of- love and gratitude for Tosca- nini and Huberman, who had brought such unex- pected musical events to their new country ... the village dedicated a piece of land to Toscanini." or The concerts were re- peated also in Cairo and Alexandria; before leaving Palestine Toscanini told Huberman: "I am so sad to be leaving this country, this people, its public, its or- chestra. I must come back — and I shall be back!" year later he returned to Palestine and again pre- sented concerts in the lead- ing cities. On his programs were also the preludes to Acts I and III from the opera "Lohengrin" by Wagner. "It has been the only music by Wagner (played in Israel) either before or after creation of the state of rael." The Toscaninis turned" of course to RamOth Hashavim and wept when they were pre- sented with the first oranges from their "piece of land." From 1937 until 1954 millions of Americans could listen to Toscanini's NBC broadcasts and one has to acknowledge gratefully the output of his unique record- ings. He died of a cerebral thrombosis on Jan. 16, 1957. The world, which was richer because he had lived and created great music, remained bereaved because ; had lost a genius!