Here’s a pencil … and an eraser

‘The following is an account of the conductor Hans von Bülow:

Young composers whom Bülow decided to feature in the concerts were encouraged to present themselves at the rehearsals, and even to direct the orchestra themselves, whenever it was deemed to be helpful.  We can only admire the resourcefulness of the budding symphonist who, in an attempt to save time, distributed seventy pencils among the players and told them to mark their copies according to instructions he proposed to deliver verbatim.  The next day, Bülow took over the podium and distributed seventy erasers, advising the orchestra to delete everything that they had earlier written down.

Cited in Walker, Alan (2009) Hans von Bülow: A Life and Times. USA: Oxford University Press, p. 392.


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