The Black Heart Of Reginald Goodall

[Guest]

People with long memories will remember Humphrey Burton's 1984 Omnibus programme, 'The Quest For Reginald Goodall', in which RE was presented as an ego-free, mild-mannered, chronically shy old codger who'd been criminally under-appreciated by wicked old Solti at Covent Garden and generally shunned by the up-itself British musical establishment, who reserved their respect for flamboyant foreign conductors with fancy names.

Well, as we all now know, this wasn't the whole story:

http://www.overgrownpath.com/2007/05/reginald-goodall-holy-fool.html

What I'd like to know is, why did it take so long for all this to come to light? Why did the canard about Goodall's abilities being under-appreciated have such a long life?

I should add, I'm by no means convinced of Goodall's qualities as a Wagner conductor: though I can appreciate certain moments, his general reluctance to move into any gear above 2 makes for a constipated listening experience. His habit of peforming the works in English (and working with not the best ensembles - though he may not have had much choice in that) doesn't help, either.

[Cellini]

People with long memories will remember Humphrey Burton's 1984 Omnibus programme, 'The Quest For Reginald Goodall', in which RE was presented as an ego-free, mild-mannered, chronically shy old codger who'd been criminally under-appreciated by wicked old Solti at Covent Garden and generally shunned by the up-itself British musical establishment, who reserved their respect for flamboyant foreign conductors with fancy names.

Well, as we all now know, this wasn't the whole story:

http://www.overgrownpath.com/2007/05/reginald-goodall-holy-fool.html

What I'd like to know is, why did it take so long for all this to come to light? Why did the canard about Goodall's abilities being under-appreciated have such a long life?

I think the man was probably an extreme right-wing anti-semite, who'd learned to cultivate a mild-mannered front to put people at their ease.

I should add, I'm by no means convinced of Goodall's qualities as a Wagner conductor: though I can appreciate certain moments, his general reluctance to move into any gear above 2 makes for a constipated listening experience. His habit of peforming the works in English (and working with not the best ensembles - though he may not have had much choice in that) doesn't help, either.

As someone who took part in that programme and worked a lot with Goodall, I don't know where you get these ideas from, and why you come up with such ill informed crap, Mandryka.

Because of the sort of personality he was, Goodall was ignored, especially by much less talented conductors like Solti. Yes, the British musical establisment did not realise that we had one of our greatest conductors working with singers behind the scenes in Covent Garden for years, and that he was only given occasional opportunities to conduct.

Benjamin Britten realised Goodall's abilities when he worked with him on the premier of Peter Grimes which Reggie conducted at Sadlers Wells. That was back in the 1940's.

Goodall was a reluctant musician, who had no ego whatsoever. He did not seek fame, and he was only interested in music. He was a true intellectual and academic, and had musical abilities far in excess of mere conducting. He did not have to be a good conductor to make an indelible imprint on the interpretion of Wagner, and other music too.

He was not anti-semite and worked with many of my Jewish friends quite normally and with great pleasure.

You are ignorant again, as he was not always mild mannered , and never sought to put people at their ease unless there was a good reason, which in most cases in old age there was. As a young conductor he was pretty volatile. An elderly harpist sent a message to Reggie, wishing him good luck, and apologising for once throwing her stool at him.

The fact that you are not convinced about Reggie's abilities as a conductor, and comments about second gear making it a constipated listening experience, just go to show what an ignorant fellow you are, when most people who experienced the Goodall years especially when he was in old age, consider it to be the finest they have heard, and in the tradition of Feutwangler, Walter, Klempler etc.

I would suggest you learn a little more before making such crass comments. It is one thing to say you don't appreciate a musician, but quite unnaceptable to dig up all the dirt you can find about them.

[Peter Everest]

"I would suggest you learn a little more"

See [UNSUITABLE LINK REMOVED: any appeal should be addressed to the administrator]

[Cellini]

In his later years Goodall was mostly interested in the environment and music. He enjoyed walking.

A lot of the information in those blogs is rather biased, and yes, he made mistakes and was quite right wing in his youth. Yes, he did support the wrong people, but he never mentioned these things after the war, as far as I know.

He was generally loved by musicians, and the stories of him being very rude to high standing members of the establishment probably did him no favours, but musicians found this aspect of Reggie very entertaining.

In the end he should be judged by his outstanding musicianship and not his early politics, which were unfortunate.

And many players from London orchestras went out of their way to work as extras and deputies so they could experience that unique Goodall effect.

[Mandryka]

As someone who took part in that programme and worked a lot with Goodall, I don't know where you get these ideas from, and why you come up with such ill informed crap, Mandryka.

Because of the sort of personality he was, Goodall was ignored, especially by much less talented conductors like Solti. Yes, the British musical establisment did not realise that we had one of our greatest conductors working with singers behind the scenes in Covent Garden for years, and that he was only given occasional opportunities to conduct.

Benjamin Britten realised Goodall's abilities when he worked with him on the premier of Peter Grimes which Reggie conducted at Sadlers Wells. That was back in the 1940's.

Goodall was a reluctant musician, who had no ego whatsoever. He did not seek fame, and he was only interested in music. He was a true intellectual and academic, and had musical abilities far in excess of mere conducting. He did not have to be a good conductor to make an indelible imprint on the interpretion of Wagner, and other music too.

He was not anti-semite and worked with many of my Jewish friends quite normally and with great pleasure.

You are ignorant again, as he was not always mild mannered , and never sought to put people at their ease unless there was a good reason, which in most cases in old age there was. As a young conductor he was pretty volatile. An elderly harpist sent a message to Reggie, wishing him good luck, and apologising for once throwing her stool at him.

The fact that you are not convinced about Reggie's abilities as a conductor, and comments about second gear making it a constipated listening experience, just go to show what an ignorant fellow you are, when most people who experienced the Goodall years especially when he was in old age, consider it to be the finest they have heard, and in the tradition of Feutwangler, Walter, Klempler etc.

I would suggest you learn a little more before making such crass comments. It is one thing to say you don't appreciate a musician, but quite unnaceptable to dig up all the dirt you can find about them.

Apologies if I've offended you, Cellini. You knew the man and I can appreciate that you have a very diffferent perspective on him.

But I'm afraid I'm going to have to stand my comments on Goodall's conducting: I would certainly not call his musicianship into question, but his way of interpreting Wagner has never really appealed to me. Periodically, I do listen to a Goodall recording to see if I've 'got it' yet, but in twenty years of listening to his legacy, this has never happened (I've listened to his Mastersingers Act 1 within the last 24 hours and the record stands).

[Cellini]

Well, if you don't like Goodall's interpreations that's fine. I can't stand Solti, who I'm sure you admire.

But you do need to get your facts right about just how Goodall behaved - he worked with lots of Jewish musicians - he had a sense of humour - he never mentioned politics, and he could tell a recording producer, speaking to the orchestra but knowing full well the mics were live, that what he was being asked to do was "****** impossible" (He was asked to do 8 and 16 bar edits, impossible for him as such a great interpreter, to just stick a few bars in here and there, without reference to the whole work, and this was in Tristan & Isolde. OK, Solti could do it, but he was just a stick waver).

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

His habit of peforming the works in English (and working with not the best ensembles - though he may not have had much choice in that) doesn't help, either.

This was the subject of another recent thread.

But hey, lets keep it civil - please!

[Peter Everest]

"he never mentioned politics" -

"He was recruited by Walter Legge to take part in a tour of to Germany in 1946. Some of the performers visited the site of the Belsen concentration camp, only to be told by Goodall, who did not make the visit, that Belsen was British fiction manufactured in a leading movie studio".

Source 'Reggie - the life of Reginald Goodall' by John Lucas page 100

[Mandryka]

Well, if you don't like Goodall's interpreations that's fine. I can't stand Solti, who I'm sure you admire.

But you do need to get your facts right about just how Goodall behaved - he worked with lots of Jewish musicians - he had a sense of humour - he never mentioned politics, and he could tell a recording producer, speaking to the orchestra but knowing full well the mics were live, that what he was being asked to do was "****** impossible" (He was asked to do 8 and 16 bar edits, impossible for him as such a great interpreter, to just stick a few bars in here and there, without reference to the whole work, and this was in Tristan & Isolde. OK, Solti could do it, but he was just a stick waver).

I'm not an unequivocal admirer of Solti, though it would be fair to say I enjoy his Wagner more than Goodall's.

Actually, even if Goodall WAS anti-semitic, it wouldn't prevent me from enjoying his music-making (that's if I did actually enjoy it in the first place). I don't doubt that many, many people of his generation felt the same and it's wrong to judge historical attitudes by modern criteria - so, I've amended my original post accordingly.

[Cellini]

So we have another new member pushing certain stories? What is going on here?

[french frank]

I think it would be safer to keep to the musical issues here.

[Ferretfancy]

If I may make a comment about Goodall's music making, I would say that few of his recordings do him justice, and there are not that many. The slow speeds that Mandryka refers to are there, it's true, but the performances in the theatre that they reflect are memorable. What works in the opera house is not always effective without the visual element, as we all know.

[gradus]

May I say that I know nothing of Goodall outside his conducting and not a great deal about that but I did hear him conduct a truly memorable performance of Tristan at Snape, as good as I have ever heard, including the famed recordings of Furtwangler and Bohm.
To my ears, Solti was another great conductor whom I heard on many occasions conduct very impressive performances, but evidently not a man greatly loved by his musicians.

[Mandryka]

May I say that I know nothing of Goodall outside his conducting and not a great deal about that but I did hear him conduct a truly memorable performance of Tristan at Snape, as good as I have ever heard, including the famed recordings of Furtwangler and Bohm.
To my ears, Solti was another great conductor whom I heard on many occasions conduct very impressive performances, but evidently not a man greatly loved by his musicians.

I think Solti had a variable record, as far as his relations with his orchestras went: the VPO never warmed to him, apparently, though they understood that working with him made deafening economic sense. But a man who gleefully described his role as 'semi-fascist' was never going to be a walk in the park to work for, was he?

[Anna]

So, Goodall was a member of Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists. He was an outspoken opponent of the Second World War, and he was briefly arrested for his views. So, some of the Mitford Gels were also fans of Adolph. It's such water under the bridge isn't it? Either he was a good conductor, or he wasn't, that's what it comes down to when push comes to shove isn't it? It's like these endless questions about Furtwangler. Quite frankly My Dear, who gives a damn?