The Writings of Conductor Fritz Reiner

Type of Abstract (select): Paper presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Hungarian-American conductor Fritz Reiner (1888-1963) held numerous posts in Europe and the US as the musical director of opera and symphony orchestras, as well as a teaching position at the Curtis Institute. While much scholarship has been produced about his precise conducting style, demanding rehearsal techniques, and for his landmark recordings of works by Bartók, Wagner, and Strauss, his own writings—particularly essays and speeches—have received less scrutiny. Based on archival research on Reiner’s papers at Northwestern University, this paper examines several unpublished and published writings by Reiner on a variety of musical topics, such as his interpretation of the works of Wagner, Strauss, and Mahler, and his ideas on creating an effective phonograph recording. At least one of the essays appeared in the syndicated newspaper column “Walter Winchell in New York”, for which Reiner served as a guest writer in 1943, while others were prepared as speeches for various audiences, including his students and major orchestra donors. Through study of these varied writings, scholars and musicians can better understand Reiner’s approach to interpreting the music of major composers, his philosophy of conducting and programming for audiences in the concert hall, on the radio, and on television, his pedagogical goals and outlook on the future of American musical life post-WWII, as well as his attitude toward demands placed on him as a conductor in his positions as musical director of the Chicago and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Sarah M. Lucas is Musicology Area Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Musicology at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She completed her PhD in musicology at the University of Iowa in 2018. Her dissertation, “Fritz Reiner and the Legacy of Béla Bartók’s Orchestral Music in the United States,” is based on archival research carried out in the U.S. and Hungary, where she conducted research with the support of a Fulbright Award. Her master’s work at the University of Missouri culminated in her thesis “Béla Bartók and the Pro-Musica Society: A Chronicle of Piano Recitals in Eleven American Cities during his 1927-1928 Tour.” She serves on the AHEA Board and as co-chair of the AHEA conference program committee’s Music and Folklore area. Since Fall 2022 she has served as an associate editor of AHEA’s e-journal Hungarian Cultural Studies.