Music: Local Boy

Athens awaited its moment of musical glory. Conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos was returning to his native Greece for the first time in 17 years, bringing with him the 104 members of his touring New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra. Thousands, many equipped with food and folding chairs, camped all night in front of the box office, and scalpers set the price of seats at $30. When Mitropoulos arrived four hours late at Athens' airport, after a bumpy flight from Naples, hundreds of admirers greeted him with cries of "Yassou, yassou—Hello, hello." and thrust bunches of tuberoses...

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