Chicago Symphony Tuba Audition 1988 ?

[ubq]

Dear All,

I'm just curious, and my only info is that Mr. Pokorny has been appointed by Maestro Solti for the Tuba Chair of the CSO in 1988. Do you have more information relating this? Was there an audition? If yes: who were the other participiants etc.?

Thanks for any comment!

[Roger Lewis]

I was there as were quite a number of others from around the world. Sumner Erikson was there for the same hour that I was and sounded pretty awesome. I think the auditions went over a two day period as there were quite a number of qualified applicants. I know Fritz Kanezig played a heck of an audition as well. The audition was run very professionally and everyone played on the stage to a screened panel of orchestra members.

It was fun to be there and to get to play for them. I was using a 5/4 Rudolf Meinl CC and a B&S PT10 F tuba for my main horns that day.

Peace.
Roger

[Mitch]

I can't remember all the specifics, but as memory serves, there were (I think) 8 finalists in the final round, which wouldn't be too surprising, given that basically the best tuba players in the world showed up.

I was a student of Fritz's at the time (but really, once a Kaenzig student, always a Kaenzig student) so we in the studio got to hear first-hand some of how it went. As I recall, a few of the finalists were asked back to play a concert or two. Tony Kniffen did two concerts, I believe, if not more. I saw him play 2nd on Also Sprach, I think it was. It has been twenty years, after all. I remember thinking Tony must've felt pretty yanked around for all they called him back to do, only to not be offered the job.

For all of you young'uns who wonder how much to practice, Tony had been playing tuba 2 years at that point. Granted, he'd been playing euphonium long before that. But in the summer of '86 he started playing tuba so he could beef up his low register on euphonium. The next thing we knew, that boy was walled up in a practice room and hardly ever came out. And he sounded awesome on the Strauss.

But then, Fritz really shoulda been the one.

Wanna have a lesson with Jacobs? Get a lesson with Fritz.

[Rick Denney]

There was more commentary about that audition in the tuba world than all the rest put together. Mountains of speculation and rumor, and a range of stories, most of which are probably apocryphal. It was Gossip Topic #1 for a long while. I remember opining about it once to a symphony pro at the time, who then informed me that he had been a finalist in the first audition and that I had it wrong. Most embarrassing for me, but I deserved it. I have really come to had that sort of gossip since then.

As I recall, there were 8 finalists in the first round, but the committee declined to make a selection. There were many great players at that audition, and at the second audition, when they selected Gene. I recall there was a question of availability--many of the auditionees already had good gigs at the time, which is, of course, to be expected for an orchestral audition of that stature.

Everyone would have wanted that gig in theory. But as I think on the promotion possibilities that I have passed on in my career, one factor that affected my decision making was the stature of the person who I would be replacing. Replacing a giant of whatever business is tough, and in this case the giant had 44 years to shape his relationship with the orchestra. Gene is a remarkable performer and has really risen to the challenge. Of course, others might have done so also.

Rick "thinking this is a subject best left to private conversations with the participants of the process, fueled by appropriate adult beverages" Denney

[Mojo workin']

Besides Tony Kniffen, I know that Rex Martin and Dave Fedderly were two of the other finalists. I want to say Marty Erickson, and James Jenkins as well, but I am less sure about them.

[Alex F]

Besides Tony Kniffen, I know that Rex Martin and Dave Fedderly were two of the other finalists. I want to say Marty Erickson, and James Jenkins as well, but I am less sure about them.

If Dave had won the audition, we might now have "Chicago Brass" instead of "Baltimore Brass".

Nonetheless, we are indeed fortunate to have Mr. Pokorny as a Chicago Treasure.

[BriceT]

I second that. His orchestral CD is a life-saver, and I love his solo CDs too!

[eupher61]

I wasn't there to audition, I was there coaching a friend at the first audition. Dale Clevenger remembered Ed's audition; after the last player, we caught up to Clevenger (a former KC Phil player, as was Alan[duh] Kofsky--why do the best leave KC???? ) and after passing on greetings from mutual friends from KC, we asked him for any comments. Clevenger's response about Ed was "you had a great sound, but pitch wandered too much". Ed realized he was overblowing, and that was his downfall. But, then, Clevenger said "we haven't had good sound and solid pitch both all day". And, there were some monster players there.

There were 3 rounds overall. The final of the finalists, from what I recall, were Tony and Rex (Dave F was there the first round). Gene was offered the gig for a year's trial, Mike was available to play St Louis for the year, and the rest is history. Gene did play LAPO for a year later on.

Crazy times. Think Chicago will ask for resume's first, next time??

I remember talking to a guy who had never seen the Fountains part until the morning of, and he was taking the committee's time to play anyway. That, in my opinion, was unprofessional.

[Rick Denney]

...[hate]...

Thanks for correcting my spelling.

Rick "typing with his elbows again" Denney

[Todd S. Malicoate]

and the [] is so much more polite than (sic), which I have always disliked. I always read it as "sick" and have to giggle.

[rodmathews]

Dave Kirk was also a finalist. I was living in Houston at the time, and I had made plans to be in Chicago for the Jacobs seminar at Northwestern. Dave had a trial concert with the CSO at Ravinia during that week, so of course I went to check it out. They played Russian Easter Overture, some concerto I don't recall, and Sibelius Second Symphony. Dave sounded great on his Alexander CC, and Charlie Vernon was really letting it fly that night. The committee must have thought Dave sounded great as well, because he went back and played in another round of finals (I think the last one, but I may be mistaken). I just remember a HUGE Holton that Dave had procured for that round of finals - he sure sounded great on it.

I also remember something about one of the final rounds (the last one?) involving every finalist sitting on the stage together, each going up to the "hot seat" one at a time to play in front of everyone else. Anybody recall anything like that?

Gene definitely spent a year in the LA Philharmonic. I was at the audition he won, and I'll never forget the entrance Gene made. Everyone was in the mass warmup room getting ready when the personnel manager walks through the door dragging one of Gene's tuba cases. Gene is right behind him dragging the other one, trying to make a quiet entrance. He might as well have been Godzilla walking through the door. The big question going around right up to the audition was "will Gene show up or not" and when he did you could see a look of defeat on more than one person's face. A few of us stuck around after we got cut to listen to Gene's finals audition through the side door of the stage, and Gene put on a heck of a clinic.

Rod

[ubq]

Thank you so much for our answers, it's very interesting to read those storys!

And Congratulations to everyone who came until the finals at this audition!

[Alex C]

The auditions for the CSO tuba position did not yield a “winner,” a fact which does not seem evident in the posts so far. Though several fine tubists from the audition did receive further consideration by playing with the CSO, none of them were asked to fill the position.

Part of the problem was that Solti was looking to replace Arnold Jacobs who sound was a cornerstone of the CSO sound for about 40 years. He was looking for a 30 year old Arnold Jacobs and there just wasn’t one.

The next stage of the search process was to invite a number of tubists who were playing on other orchestras to audition by playing with the CSO for a week or more. In all fairness, not all of the rejection was from the CSO; at least one of the invitees was unhappy with the conditions involved with playing in the CSO and asked to have his time with the CSO cut short.

The eventual selection of Gene Pokorny was an excellent one.

[BriceT]

Thank you so much for our answers, it's very interesting to read those storys!

Dito. This for me has been one of the most interesting topics to read. There is just so much history and nostalgia from some of the posts.

[Tom Holtz]

This brings back some memories. I had finished one year of undergrad at Arizona State when Kniffen, Jeff Anderson, Mo Anderson, Jack Brownell, and a few others showed up. A year later, Tony was in the finals for CSO. Even just watching from the sidelines, it was a heck of an experience.

[happyroman]

I could be wrong, but this is a great story, regardless.

Tony Kniffen was apparently in town to take a lesson with Mr. Jacobs and was not planning to to take the audition. Mr. Jacobs was impressed enough during the lesson to place a call and arrange for Tony to take the short trip down the street and play. My understanding is that he was the only player to make the finals that day.

I remember hearing him warm up in the practice area and was simply blown away by his sound. I had my back to the room, packing up my stuff after having played a rather uninspired audition. I whirled around and literally did a double take when I first heard him play. Very impressive.

Although Indianapolis is a nice job, I have always been just a little surprised that Tony did not end up with one of the premier orchestra jobs, since they all became available at one point or another after Chicago was filled.

[brianf]

Now 23 years ago, In 1988, with the words "several people could play the position of principal tuba in the CSO but nobody replaces Arnold Jacobs,” Gene Pokorny rented the tuba chair of the Chicago Symphony. Since that day he has been an asset to the Chicago Symphony and the tuba community. His kindness extends to visiting grade schools in Chicago, developing new literature, helping tuba players whether they played on the street or studied at a conservatory, and doing more than most musicians do to preserve the memory of his predecessor.

Yes this was probably the audition of the century and the major players of the day took part. There were no winners or losers, the Chicago Symphony made their choice and 23 years later it has turned out to be a good choice. After Gene someone else will rent that chair - that is how symphony orchestras have worked for hundreds of years.

We have well passed the time of speculation.

[joh_tuba]

Cost of living, levels of local taxation, and quality of life factored in, Tony may have one of the very highest-paying tuba orchestra jobs in the world.

Not only does it pay well relative to the cost of living it's also a really great ensemble that plays in a very nice hall AND it's one of the most financially stable orchestras in the country. Indianapolis is a seriously underrated orchestra. Musicians that land a job there tend to stay.

[graybach]

Wasn't Mr. Jacobs in the Indianapolis Symphony in the early part of his career?

[PMeuph]

Wasn't Mr. Jacobs in the Indianapolis Symphony in the early part of his career?

That's what the wiki says.