A REMARKABLE MAN
Silvestri is the only Romanian musician who could be compared with Enescu: he was a brilliant instrumentalist, a wonderful conductor, a composer of genius and an excellent teacher.
Violinist Ida Haendel: When I came on stage in the Great Hall of Exeter University on the evening of November 29 1968 to play the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto it was the twelfth time I had performed it with Silvestri. For him, it would be the last concert he would conduct. I did not know what was wrong with him but I could see he was desperately ill and, by the look on his face and by his colour, that he was suffering terribly. But within himself he was strong enough to rise above it and he conducted wonderfully – with so much feeling and emotion. But it was a very, very sad occasion.
Radu Zvoristeanu, Leader Romanian Radio Symphony Orchestra: He was hypnotic for the players and the public. We had the feeling it was not just music any more: it had a supernatural quality.’
Tuba player Nicolae Ionascu, Bucharest Opera: He had the patience of iron. If he had to tell a player seven times how to do something he would do it again and again without becoming impatient. He was always so friendly to everybody and you could discuss anything with him, especially during breaks in rehearsals or in the corridor. He would listen to any problem, be it personal or to do with music. We didn’t have to ask for an appointment to talk with him as we did with other conductors.
BSO Principal Clarinet Raymond Carpenter: The whites of his eyes were very white and if he looked at you, you knew you were being looked at! But when he smiled, the whole face lit up. It was really a beautiful smile and showed you that underneath all the biting sarcasm there was a great warmth of personality and character.
I wasn’t the only one who received his bouquets – in fact, he was lavish with them. He would go off after the applause had started, come back and make his way to this or that player’s chair and make a gesture as if to say: ‘This is my oboist or my flautist or whoever. He played for me – wasn’t it beautiful?’ It was a very nice side of his character.
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Bucharest Opera conductor Constantin Petrovici: Silvestri studied Enescu’s handwritten score of the opera Oedipe with a magnifying glass and for three months before the first rehearsal he had himself copied the parts for each instrument.
BSO Assistant Conductor James Laughran: “We did a BBC recording of Manfred in the Winter Gardens. When it was finished, Silvestri said to me: ‘What did you think of the organ?’ and I answered: ‘Not very good, really.’ So he said: ‘Let’s do it ourselves.’ He waited until everybody had left except the BBC technicians and then, while he played the organ’s manuals, I got on my hands and knees and played the pedals – with my hands. That recording is at the BBC Transcription Services, but no one knows how the organ was played. Rather than embarrass the man who played it originally, Silvestri first sent everyone away. If you haven’t played the organ for some time, you lose co-ordination of feet and hands. It had to be done for a broadcast and there was no time to practise, so he did the right thing – and it worked!’