Karl Zeise (BSO cello, 1939-1970) oral history interview: Zeise, Karl, interviewee, 1991-08-09T00:00:00+00:00, 2023-06-13T00:00:00+00:00

Cassette 1: Oral history conducted by Robert Ripley on August 9, 1991.

Partial Transcript

Tape01 SideA

0:56 Early life 1:15-2:30 Learning Cello with uncle OSCAR SHULTZ (student of Hauptman) 2:30-3:27 ALVIN SHRADER (teacher)

3:30-5:40 Pre-BSO Activities 3:41-4:15 Phiadelphia Orchestra 3:50 Study with Hugebicka(SP?) 4:25-4:50 Ms. Widdal's with Louis Krasner 5:00-5:38 New England String Quartet & Boston Art Club 5:20-6:55 Art Club Concerts 6:50-7 New Friends Chamber Orchestra, New York

5:45 Audition 5:55-6:45 Francis Elliot Cabbot

7:30*-9:10 Attended BSO concert with KOUSSEVITZKY +8:23-9:10 Invitation to audition with symphony from George Judd

Audition 9:15-10:00 Played Dvorak for audition

9:40-10:35 position announced by KOUSSEVITZKY with Amal Kantsan(SP?) and Mr. Lingham(SP?), 1938

10:55-11:10 Summer 1938 played at Tanglewood

11:50-13:30 Playing with Rachmaninov, inspiration from him

14:00*-15:45 - audition with KOUSSEVITZKY

16:08-18:30 recollections of playing at Tanglewood and then with BSO

18:35-19:40 not intimidated by KOUSSEVITZKY saw him as very dedicated to orchestra

19:44-21:00 MONTOUR (SP?) became friends while traveling, discusses learning with SHRADER

21:00-22:00 SHRADER = significant influence

22:17-25:59 ROWLAND TAPLEY and GEORGE HUMPHREY and MALCOLM HOLMES, was a quartet, performed at Harvard Music Center -> invited to play for KOUSSEVITZKY at his home, became the Tanglewood Quartet, performed in Washington, Library of Congress

27:00*-28:30 story of how he got his Strativarius cello and plans to keep it in the family

29:50- end of career, played in orchestra for 32 years

[30:33] TAPE ENDS, INTERVIEW NOT CONCLUDED

Tape01, SideB

0:10 Interview begins

0:16-4:10 More "color" on KOUSSEVITZKY - conversations, discussion of where/how people came to the orchestra, admiration for Koussevitzky + 3:24: "To Koussy, the Boston Symphony was HIS orchestra... he was so dedicated to the Boston Symphony. It was his whole life. He didn't want to go on vacation, he didn't want to have anyone influence his orchestra..."

5:33 Interview Ends