Mitropoulos was away conducting the New York Philharmonic for four weeks in late November/early December that year, and so, as Carlo Fisher says, it is Chardon conducting. Yves Chardon was the orchestra's French-born principal cellist and assistant conductor of the orchestra back then. The "Mr. Fitch" mentioned by Fisher was Ray Fitch, a double-bassist with the orchestra who also played the alto saxophone for a performance of Debussy's "Rhapsody" on the same program.
Ray was dad's stand-partner and a lovely man. He was deaf in his left ear and would say that he turned that ear to a "later" conductor of whom, he thought less 🙂
Mitropoulos was away conducting the New York Philharmonic for four weeks in late November/early December that year, and so, as Carlo Fisher says, it is Chardon conducting. Yves Chardon was the orchestra's French-born principal cellist and assistant conductor of the orchestra back then. The "Mr. Fitch" mentioned by Fisher was Ray Fitch, a double-bassist with the orchestra who also played the alto saxophone for a performance of Debussy's "Rhapsody" on the same program.
Ray was dad's stand-partner and a lovely man. He was deaf in his left ear and would say that he turned that ear to a "later" conductor of whom, he thought less 🙂