“A symphonic conductor should reconcile himself to the realization that, regardless of his approach or temperament, the eventual result is the same — the orchestra will hate him.”

— Oscar Levant

Source: In "Music in Aspic," Harper's Magazine (October 1939), an abbreviated chapter from Levant's soon-to-be-published A Smattering of Ignorance (1940); reproduced in Gentlemen, Scholars, and Scoundrels: A Treasury of the Best of Harper's Magazine from 1850 to the Present https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=%22Oscar+Levant%22+intitle:Gentlemen+intitle:scholars+intitle:and+intitle:scoundrels&num=10 (1959), edited by Harry Knowles, p. 246

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Oscar Levant42

American comedian, composer, pianist and actor 1906–1972

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