EASTMAN’S WALTER HENDL

By PETER DAVIS

Walter Hendl brings a formidable array of talent and experience to his new position as director of the Eastman School of Music. His 15-year career as a conductor, pianist and composer has given him unique insight into the practical problems his students will face outside the conservatory. Hendl is no stranger to music education, either, for shortly after completing his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, he was made a full professor at Sarah Lawrence College at the age of 22. He remained at Sarah Lawrence until 1941 when his teaching career was interrupted by World War II. Hendl again returned to academic life after his service in the army, and at the invitation of William Schuman, he joined the faculty of Juilliard in 1945.

It was in 1949 that Hendl decided to become a conductor on a permanent basis and he accepted the musical directorship of the Dallas Symphony, a post he retained until 1958. At that time, his former conducting teacher at the Curtis Institute, Fritz Reiner, invited him to Chicago to become the orchestra’s associate conductor. In addition to his duties with the Chicago Symphony, Hendl also served as music director for the Ravinia Music Festival, the Caramoor Festival and the Chautauqua Symphony.

Hendl maintains that these years as a conductor for so many different musical organizations have solidly fortified him for academic administration. “There are those who believe a conductor cannot function as an administrator,” he said. “My answer was that in a decade as music director of the Dallas Symphony, with a dozen summers at Chautauqua, five at the Ravinia Festival and a couple at Caramoor, I quickly learned about the inevitable problems of personnel, the budget, boards of directors and the press. Also, planning a season’s program with a symphony may easily be equated with curriculum decision-making in academic administration.”

Like Howard Hanson, Eastman’s director for the past 40 years, Hendl has shown an avid interest in performing serious American music. In 1954 he recorded 19 major American works in Vienna and subsequently was given the Alice M. Ditson Award from Columbia University for “distinguished service to American music.” Also in 1954, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music presented him an honorary doctorate in recognition of his contributions to American music. Hendl himself has made a mark as a composer with his score for “Dark of the Moon,” a music drama which played successfully in New York and on tour in 1945.

Hendl has often appeared with leading orchestras as piano soloist. His first important appearance in this capacity was early in his career as assistant conductor with the New York Philharmonic. Oscar Levant, who was to play the Gershwin Piano Concerto, had suddenly taken ill and Artur Rodzinski, then conductor of the Philharmonic, asked Hendl if he could take over. “The only answer to a question like that is, ‘of course,’ “Hendl said, reminiscing over the incident. Calling upon his enviable sight reading abilities, he managed to learn the score in a few hours and performed it with the orchestra several days later.

While serving in the army, Hendl’s pianistic prowess came in handy at officers’ club dances, his one excursion into the jazz idiom. He formed a jazz band which was dubbed the “Jive Bombers” and Hendl admits to a further contribution as the band’s principal crooner.

Although his conducting career has taken precedence over that of a performer, Hendl still likes to appear as a piano soloist or with a chamber group whenever he can. “As a conductor, one can’t make music unless he has the help of many colleagues. There comes a time when it is refreshing to make music without the help of anyone else—and the piano gives this kind of satisfaction. For this reason, I ·would like to get back to the piano and my composing too, and being in an academic environment is ideal for this. Many artists in the past have worked successfully and productively under the aegis of a school while remaining a performer.”

Naturally, Hendl’s duties at Eastman will now monopolize most of his time. He is counting, however, on fulfilling conducting engagements in Pittsburgh and Chautauqua as well as returning to the Chicago Symphony for concerts in December.

It is inevitable that Hendl will pass on his vast practical experience as a performer and an educator to the students at Eastman. “It is my hope,” he says, “that those of us who know the world of music can give gifted people a more realistic view of the profession. We have a double responsibility towards our students: to acquaint them with the achievements and disappointments that will await them in the music world and to provide them with the equipment that will make them formidable musicians. In this profession, being just ‘good’ is no longer enough.

“Our teaching will accent reality. Pipedreams will not be encouraged in a profession that presents untold difficulties for both performer and composer. We will mold not only the solo virtuoso but also the basic man of music who will settle in one part of the country and dominate its musical life. Although it is too early for me to make any sweeping statements, I believe that my goal here at Eastman for the coming years is to produce an ever more integrated performer-educator-scholar.”