The best conductor insults
They're refined and sensible on the podium, but these musicians are responsible for some pretty brutal put-downs. Uncover the greatest catty remarks and withering comments from some of the best musical minds in the world.
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1. Arturo Toscanini
"God tells me how the music should sound, but you stand in the way." - Arturo Toscanini
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2. George Szell
"He tried Debussy's La Mer once. It came out as Das Merde." - orchestra member on George Szell
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3. Sir Thomas Beecham
"Madam, you have between your legs an instrument capable of giving pleasure to thousands and all you can do is scratch it." - Sir Thomas Beecham
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4. Eugene Ormandy
"Why do you always insist on playing when I'm trying to conduct?"
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5. Sir Thomas Beecham
"It's like a lot of yaks jumping around!" - Sir Thomas Beecham on Beethoven's Symphony No. 7
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6. Hans von Bülow
"A tenor is not a man, but a disease." - Hans von Bülow
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7. Sir Thomas Beecham
"English sopranos sound as if they subsisted on seaweed. English tenors sound like yawning giraffes." - Sir Thomas Beecham
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8. Arturo Toscanini
"I hate you all because you destroy my dreams!" - Arturo Toscanini
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9. Sir Thomas Beecham
"Her singing reminds me of a cart coming downhill with the brake on." - Sir Thomas Beecham on a soprano
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10. Arturo Toscanini
"I am a pig!" - Arturo Toscanini
