Conductors Eugene Ormandy, 58, and Fritz Reiner, 69, are two boys from Budapest, but musically they have never talked the same language. Ormandy's orchestral speech is as rich and gusty as Reiner's is precise and lucid; Ormandy's Philadelphia Orchestra is famed for its massive sweep and sumptuous sound, Reiner's Chicago Symphony for its fine articulation and meticulous attack. Last week the two Hungarians swapped podiums and gave their audiences a fascinating demonstration of how quickly a first-rate conductor can teach a first-rate orchestra to talk his own idiom.
Fire & Ice. When short, balding Conductor Ormandy stepped before the Orchestra Hall audience,...
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