["James DePreist conducts a rehearsal of the Pasadena Symphony at the
Ambassador Auditorium in 2010. DePreist formerly led the Oregon Symphony
for more than 20 years and served with several other orchestras across
the United States and the globe over his career.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times / October 20, 2010)"]
Bob Shingleton sends this post from On An Overgrown Path
On An Overgrown Path
Sunday, February 10, 2013
John McLaughlin Williams writes - There will be many tributes to the late James DePreist, and all will bear eloquent witness to the complete mastery and great humanity of a musician who touched many lives. Unfortunately, I had no personal acquaintance with Mr. DePreist, but he was frequently with me, whether from listening to his myriad recordings (that of Korngold's Symphony in F# stands out among many high points), or from recalling my first encounter with his conducting and musicianship.
As a young violin student resident in Washington, D.C., I had the privilege of attending many concerts of the National Symphony Orchestra. On one occasion my mother took me to hear Bruckner's 4th Symphony performed by NSO and conducted by DePreist. It was my first encounter with both. Though I thought the music very long, I remember being mesmerized by what seemed endless paragraphs of sound, all marshaled seamlessly by the conductor. My mother made no special emphasis of the conductor's race, but I know in retrospect that she thought it important that I see this conductor, this African-American conductor, working at the top echelon of music. Though James DePreist's race was (and is) obvious, that is not what has stayed with me. Nor should it; it is his ability to make music speak across that divide where silence becomes poetry that remains timeless to all who heard his music making. He made a kid love Bruckner. Which I still do.
A picture has settled in my mind since I heard the news. I imagine the shades of Furtwängler, Klemperer, Toscanini, Szell, Walter, Ormandy, Bernstein, Solti and Reiner looking up to see James DePriest striding towards them. They greet him: "Jimmy, great to finally see you!"
Thank you James DePreist. May you rest with the Angels.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
John McLaughlin Williams writes - There will be many tributes to the late James DePreist, and all will bear eloquent witness to the complete mastery and great humanity of a musician who touched many lives. Unfortunately, I had no personal acquaintance with Mr. DePreist, but he was frequently with me, whether from listening to his myriad recordings (that of Korngold's Symphony in F# stands out among many high points), or from recalling my first encounter with his conducting and musicianship.
As a young violin student resident in Washington, D.C., I had the privilege of attending many concerts of the National Symphony Orchestra. On one occasion my mother took me to hear Bruckner's 4th Symphony performed by NSO and conducted by DePreist. It was my first encounter with both. Though I thought the music very long, I remember being mesmerized by what seemed endless paragraphs of sound, all marshaled seamlessly by the conductor. My mother made no special emphasis of the conductor's race, but I know in retrospect that she thought it important that I see this conductor, this African-American conductor, working at the top echelon of music. Though James DePreist's race was (and is) obvious, that is not what has stayed with me. Nor should it; it is his ability to make music speak across that divide where silence becomes poetry that remains timeless to all who heard his music making. He made a kid love Bruckner. Which I still do.
A picture has settled in my mind since I heard the news. I imagine the shades of Furtwängler, Klemperer, Toscanini, Szell, Walter, Ormandy, Bernstein, Solti and Reiner looking up to see James DePriest striding towards them. They greet him: "Jimmy, great to finally see you!"
Thank you James DePreist. May you rest with the Angels.
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