Pierre Monteux in a guest appearance with the NBC Symphony from November 15, 1953 and featuring Beethoven’s Symphony Number 7.
Pierre Monteux appeared as guest conductor with many orchestras; he commented in 1955, “I regret they don’t have symphony orchestras all over the world so I could see Burma and Samarkand”. His successor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky, invited many guest conductors during his twenty-five years in charge; Monteux was never among them, probably, in Canarina’s view, because of Koussevitzky’s jealousy. In 1949 Koussevitzky was succeeded by Charles Munch, whose early career had been boosted by an invitation from Monteux to conduct the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris in 1933. Munch invited Monteux to Boston as a guest conductor in the 1951 season. The engagement was greeted with enthusiasm by the critics and the public, and Munch invited Monteux to join him the following year in heading the orchestra’s first European tour. The high point of the tour was a performance under Monteux of The Rite of Spring at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, in the presence of the composer. Monteux returned annually to Boston every year until his death.
Although Pierre Monteux retained his vitality to the end of his life, in his last years he suffered occasional collapses. In 1962 he fainted during a performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. In 1963 he collapsed again after being presented with the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society, Britain’s highest musical honour. The presentation was made by Sir Adrian Boult, who recalled that as they left the platform, “Monteux gave two little groans as we walked down the passage, and I suddenly found my arms full of violins and bows. The orchestra had recognized the signs. Their beloved chief was fainting.” Pierre Monteux suffered another collapse the following year, and David Zinman and Lorin Maazel deputized for him at the Festival Hall.
In April 1964 Monteux conducted his last concert, which was in Milan with the orchestra of Radiotelevisione italiana. The program consisted of the overture to The Flying Dutchman, Brahms’s Double Concerto and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. Unrealized plans included his debut at The Proms, and his 90th birthday concert, at which he intended to announce his retirement. In June 1964 Monteux suffered three strokes and a cerebral thrombosis at his home in Maine, where he died on 1 July at the age of 89.
Enjoy the Beethoven.
