Here’s are some bound 1966/67 Minneapolis Symphony programs, from the estate of dearly missed music director Stanisław Skrowaczewski.
Some notes…
- George Trautwein is probably pronounced TrautWein, not TroutVein, but my brain was obviously in a random German mode, so sorry about that. Here’s a page about his career.
- Isidor Saslav had quite the career, and was also a Bernard Shaw expert.
- Lea Foli was a Canadian-born violinist; he later became professor at the University of Minnesota; biography here.
- Yep, I misinterpreted the asterisks. They must indicate a first-time Minneapolis Symphony performance, not a world or national premiere, as I initially assumed. According to Wikipedia, Lutoslawski’s Funeral Music’s “first performance occurred on March 26, 1958 in Katowice by the National Polish Radio Orchestra under the direction of Jan Krenz.”
- Dvořák 2 is indeed known as Dvořák 7 nowadays. But that too is starred in the program. Did Minneapolis really not play Dvořák 7 or Paganini second concerto until 1966? That doesn’t seem right, but I don’t know how else to interpret those asterisks.
- $44,500 adjusted for inflation is around $350k nowadays.
- In short, primary sources are the best!!
I hope y’all enjoy the glimpse into 1966 concert life!
Song of the Lark 