Sir Henry Wood had the most inelegant way of expressing things that were perfectly normal. At a rehearsal of the Tannhäuser overture, when the much-used special sets of orchestral parts Sir Henry had devised in order to prevent constant page turning became difficult to keep on the stands, he exclaimed: “Me private parts! Must have ’em sewn up!” In fugal passages he exhorted the orchestra to “pull out your subject with vigour.”
© 2014 by Frank Daykin, for Innovative Music Programs
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