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[Fabulin 3,510]

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[Matt S. 493]

I'm not sure if this is what you mean, but the principal players of the Boston Symphony Orchestra do not play for the Boston Pops Orchestra (with some exceptions).  In turn, the associate principals of the BSO become the principals of the Pops, and the extra chair is filled with another freelancer/subsitute player.

 

 

[SilverTrumpet 638]

Williams had problems with discipline in the Pops? 

[Quintus 5,399]

3. What are their addresses?

[Fabulin 3,510]

.

[Thor 7,478]

Well, the jury is still out about whether it was in relation to the piece itself, or more general discipline issues that reached its zenith at that particular rehearsal.

[karelm 2,903]

It's complicated.  I think it's probably similar to what happened with the other BSO, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, when Marin Alsop was selected as their music director and the first woman to be a MD of a major American orchestra.  Some of the members protested the appointment and walked out.  I later asked the member at large (who represents the orchestra members to the administration and was part of the selection process) about this and they said the general feeling had nothing to do with her being a woman but was rather that her celebrity eclipsed the process when they had a very fine tradition of artistry.  It can come across as snobby but there is a point there too that they believe the artistic intention of the members was bypassed because of the celebrity of the newly appointed conductor.  I would imagine some of the old school members of Boston Symphony could have reacted that way and might have done so vocally and that was at the heart of the issue.  In the early 1980's, JW was not considered a great conductor but a famous film composer who conducts.  The musicians probably wanted a great conductor and that wasn't what he was hence their strife.  High quality musicians can be a difficult group to contend with.  You need to have a certain personality to deal with them.  Think of it like how a coach of the finest teams has to deal with a wide range of divergent and strong personalities to get the best out the team.  If you aren't worthy of their talent, they'll ignore you immediately.  If you make them look bad because you aren't skilled enough they will resent you and rebel.  You have to be dominant yet collaborative...a bit of a diva and also an artist.  It's very tough and they'll judge you immediately and part of the challenge is the best players tend to be divas and artists too who are very intolerant of mistakes at the upper echelon.  JW was stepping in to that with virtually no concert conducting experience and on the heels of a very highly regarded conductor, Arthur Fiedler who was the DNA of the orchestra since he was their conductor from 1930-1979.  Fiedler was an excellent conductor and JW taking over in 1980 must have really shaken them.  Think of it from their point of view.  Had JW conducted anything but studio sessions prior and he was now their music director taking over the famous Arthur Fiedler who made the Boston Pops the benchmark of a summer orchestra?  This topic should be reconsidered not as BPO was rebellious towards JW but rather that JW sought to improve his conducting chops by putting himself in a very challenging situation of being music director of a major orchestra in spite of the challenges this presented to him.  I think it is a very positive reflection of his personality that he strives to improve his craft even when it takes him way out of what he knows and that work ethic shows in his music.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Maybe Williams was just too sensitive. Regardless of whether or not it was unprofessional (what exactly is hissing anyway, because I just imagine a snake), most people here seem to find the America song awful despite their Williamsian fandom, so there's that.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Yes, I'm the "Americana guy" here on JWFan as much as or more than anyone, but even I can't withstand the maudlin kitsch of "America, The Dream Goes On"

[Bayesian 1,359]

So, on one hand, the Pops under JW were disgruntled because they believed JW wasn’t as good as their beloved Fiedler, but on the other hand they showed poor discipline under Fiedler (and he knew it)—which demonstrates lack of respect—and it took the likes of JW to whip them back into shape?

 

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

Poor discipline isn't necessary unusual for orchestras. Just look what a hard time Karl Böhm had to get the Wiener Philharmoniker to shut up during rehearsal: