85.—DISPOSING OF AN AUDIENCE.
It is a very interesting experience to see any good orchestral conductor drill his men, and especially so when the leader is an exacting drill-master. But add to this that he has a thousand peculiarities and a fiery temper, and the scene becomes well worth a good price of admission.
Such a conductor was Hans von Bülow. But with all his eccentricities and his manifestations of temper, he was one of the foremost orchestral leaders in the world. There was much curiosity among musicians to see him drill his orchestra, but Bülow had an aversion to spectators and generally managed to get rid of them one way or other.
Several ladies once obtained entrance to the hall when he was to conduct an orchestral rehearsal, and prepared themselves to hear quite a treat and to see quite a performance.
When Bülow arrived he saw them seated in the house and at once turned to the orchestra, saying: "We will have a rehearsal of the fagott parts first." Now the fagotts (i. e., bassoons) had not a note until after thirty-two measures of rests, but he gravely beat the time for the thirty-two measures. The fagott players sounded a few notes and then came sixty-four measures of silence, Bülow all the while beating the time. Before the end of this passage of quietness rather than music, the audience had had enough, and taken its flight. When the whimsical conductor saw this he stopped practicing rests and set his orchestra to work.
After the experience of these ladies as a self-invited rehearsal audience had become noised abroad, Bülow was not frequently disturbed in that manner.