Music: 10,000 Miles of Music

San Francisco’s first orchestra (organized even before the city) was a group of 13 Indians trained by Spanish friars in 1827. San Francisco’s present symphony has 100 members, and is generally recognized as the best in the West. Last week it appeared in Manhattan, on the most extensive tour ever undertaken by a U.S. symphony.

Manhattan was just about the halfway mark in its schedule of 56 concerts in 57 days. Almost everywhere the San Franciscans have played to capacity audiences. Their biggest drawing card was their 72-year-old conductor, twinkle-eyed little Pierre (“Papa”) Monteux, who was Serge Koussevitzky’s predecessor in Boston 23 years ago. New York had seen him as guest conductor, but never with the orchestra he has led with distinction for twelve years. Some Manhattan critics found his orchestra weak in the strings and noisy in the brasses, but all praised Monteux’ skilled, sensitive conducting.

On the long tour which Monteux calls “10,000 miles of music,” the orchestra traveled in a ten-car special train.

Says Monteux: “If the orchestra is on tour or not on tour they have to play every day. A three-hour rehearsal is much more tiring than an hour-and-a-half performance. They take this as sort of a vacation.”