Relayed from THE QUEEN'S HALL
ALTHOUGH not one of the venerable institutions in German music-it will not celebrate its jubilee till 1932—the orchestra has long been recognized as one of the foremost in the world. Each of its members is a first-rate player of his instrument, but its success has been won by splendid team-work rather than by individual skill; when it astonished London on its first visit, by playing really together and not merely approximately together, it was called ' well disciplined.' But discipline is taken for granted in such a body ; it is only the starting point. Enthusiasm for the team, whole-hearted, self-sacrificing, enthusiasm, is the real secret.
The great Nikisch, a very Napoleon among conductors, was its inspired and inspiring pilot for more than half of its lifetime ; under his mesmeric eye and hand, any orchestra played supremely well, and such an orchestra achieved wonders; that the great tradition of those twenty-five years of Nikisch's regime is worthily carried on, says as much for Furtwangler, the present conductor, as it does for the spirit of the orchestra.
To become a member of it is an affair of great difficulty. And a place in the team once won, it has to be kept by consistently keen work. The writer was once present when Nikisch stopped his players at rehearsal to tell one of the second violins, quietly and with the utter finality of a death-sentence—' You need not come here again.'