Simon Anders shifted uneasily in his seat. “I really have no idea how I can be of any help in your investigation, Detective McGill.”
“You’ve been a long-time, respected member of the orchestra, Mr. Anders. As the concertmaster, I think you’re in as good a position as anyone to give me a sense of the inner workings of the orchestra and its social dynamics.”
Anders sneered. “Social dynamics? I guess you’re not a musician.”
McGill smiled slightly. “No, I’m no longer a musician, Mr. Anders. I was one—in my younger and fancy-free days—but I’m certainly no expert on orchestras, having never played in one. Besides every organization—musical or otherwise—is different and demonstrates its own nuances. I thought that maybe you could help me decipher some of those.”
Anders nodded. “Very well, I’ll do what I can.”
“Thank you. Perhaps you can begin by telling me what it was like to play in the orchestra in the years when Maestro Hauptmann was conducting.”
Anders paused. “Orchestras are complicated organisms, Mr. McGill. They’re actually made up of a series of interlocking little societies. Brass players, for example, don’t spend a lot of their time talking to violinists.”
“I understand, Mr. Anders. But was there some general feeling—a mood or ethos that might describe how the orchestra reacted to Hauptmann’s leadership?”
“It was on the whole positive. How could it not be? When the orchestra began, no one took us seriously. Why should they? We were the very little brother living in the shadow of that ‘famous’ Philadelphia orchestra, the one that’s had a world-class reputation for several decades. And we were not a great orchestra. Most of the musicians were young—they still are—and at first the inexperience showed in our music-making. But under Maestro Hauptmann’s firm grip, all of that changed. The orchestra matured quickly and within a year of him taking over we were making very serious—sometimes even profound music.”
“And this resulted in some financial success as well?”
“The critics began taking us seriously first, and not just the Philadelphia critics. We were being praised to the skies, even by some of the hard-boiled New York critics. And Hauptmann, even though by no means a young man, turned out to be a charismatic figure who the feature writers loved to interview. And once we became ‘trendy,’ some big donors arrived on the scene. The rest is history.”
“You refer to Hauptmann as ‘charismatic.’ By that do you mean to suggest that he was popular with the orchestra?”
Anders grimaced. “Things are seldom that simple in the orchestral world. The musicians saw that they were receiving a lot more attention with him at the helm than they had previously. Most members of the orchestra had to admit that the ensemble had grown musically under his leadership so, yes, I guess you’d have to say he was generally popular with the orchestra members.”
“Generally popular?”
“Well, really, what can you expect? He had already made a significant reputation in Europe in his younger years and he exuded a sort of old world paternalism. Some of our younger players found that mixture to be very attractive.”
“Can I assume from the tone of that statement that you were not one of the members who felt that way?”
“I’m not sure my personal views have much significance.”
“Humor me.”
“I thought he was over-bearing and insufferable.”
”Is there some personal reason…”
“No. I did my job and never had any personal conflicts with him. At times he would insist on a musical interpretation that I considered archaic, but I was a good soldier. I played…the entire orchestra…played the way that Hauptmann wanted us to.”
“So there were no conflicts with the orchestra?”
“I didn’t say that! There were individual conflicts, some of them rather nasty.”
“Any examples?”
“Sure. One time, I think it was his last year with the orchestra, we had to use a substitute second bassoonist for one of the concerts. This guy comes in, after just receiving the music less than a day earlier, and has some problems in some tricky passages—passages where the meter keeps shifting. Well, right in front of the whole orchestra in the middle of the rehearsal, Hauptmann simply dismisses him.”
“Dismisses him?”
“Yes. Right there. He tells the poor guy to pack up his instrument and leave. Makes it pretty clear that the guy was incompetent.”
“Well, was he?”
Anders shrugged. “He was a fine bassoonist. He’d even subbed more than once with the Philadelphia Orchestra. But for some reason he had a little trouble counting one tricky passage. So Hauptmann fired him…on the spot…in front of everyone. Obviously the poor guy felt humiliated.”
“Did that happen a lot?”
“Not a lot…but it happened a few times. At least a couple of times every concert season.”
“Isn’t that sort of thing to be expected in a top-flight orchestra?”
“There are different ways of doing things and getting the same result. The fact is that Hauptmann liked exerting his authority and sometimes did so arbitrarily.”
“Do think any of the other musicians resented this?”
“A few of them quit to join other orchestras. But the fact is that there are more good musicians out there than there are vacancies, so musicians are willing to put up with a fair amount of garbage to keep a good position.”
“Are you suggesting that some musician might have been angry or disturbed enough to actually respond with a violent act?”
“No, that’s ridiculous. None of the musicians would do that.”
“I’m told that you yourself have expressed some hostility to Hauptmann from time to time.”
Anders shrugged again. “I was not one of his worshippers and I think that was generally known. But, as I said, I kept a professional relationship with him at all times.”
“I see, and I suppose you can give me some idea of what you were doing the night he was killed.”
“Certainly. I was rehearsing with my string quartet right after the reception.”
“In the orchestra’s building?”
“No, my quartet is not affiliated with the orchestra. We practice in my loft downtown.”
“You’ll send me the names of the other quartet members?”
“Of course.”
“Well, Mr. Anders, I appreciate your candor. Every little bit I can learn about Hauptmann and the orchestra is helping me to get a more complete picture of the situation. I don’t suppose you have any theories about anyone outside of the orchestra who might have had it in for Hauptmann?”
“No, clue, Detective McGill. None whatsoever.”
“Well, if anything occurs to you at any point, I need you to get in touch with me.”
“I seriously doubt whether I’m going to have any epiphanies about this, Detective, but if I do, I’ll let you know.”