Marcel Dupré was and is consistently described as a patient teacher and a kind mentor, while he expected from his students the same exacting standards on which he insisted for himself. Moreover and probably more importantly, he seems to have been absolutely consistent in this, never losing his temper or “firing” a student on a whim.
On the other hand, more than one rift developed (exploded) between him and others. The one most discussed nowadays is the one between him and Jeanne Demessieux. Everyone leans toward the same lurid explanation, but the abruptness and finality of the rift remain a mystery. I am not interested in the rift as much as I am in Dupré’s immovability over it. I am interested in Dupré the patient, wise, kind, grandfatherly teacher, who apparently also had a dark side and would forsake someone so talented and otherwise irreproachable. Surely that had consequences to Dupré’s reputation and art that he was willing to accept.
Organists just wouldn’t be organists if they weren’t in one tiff or another. But aren’t we all that way? We like it. We like the juicy gossip. We like the drama. We keep hoping the ones who deserve it will get theirs, good or bad. If The American Organist magazine were to re-format into a People Magazine for organists, subscription sales would skyrocket, and Hollywood would get some competition for headlines. Every profession has grudges, and everyone in that profession knows about them. Organists are no different, but they’re probably a bit worse.
While we’d love to get a psychological profile of our favorite composers, we’d probably find consistently that all of them were ordinary people with extraordinary talents and press. So what if Dupré had a dark side? Franck probably did too, and his reputation is spotless. [And deep down, we all probably have our suspicions of Bach, too!] Perhaps in a hundred years, someone will unearth this blog and begin to piece together a psychological profile of me. I would find that very interesting. And I’ll bet that much of it would be inaccurate, just as we probably have a few things wrong about Dupré.
There are two pipsqueaks in the world who have treated me with extreme disrespect, through no particular fault of my own. One has been hailed as a patient and kind teacher and a benevolent mentor. The other is hailed as a young, humble talent worthy of glory, honor, and praise. Each one has his dark side, which if exposed would negate much of their press. I have been the unlucky recipient of their animosity simply because I heeded the advice of one much wiser than them or me.
It’s a New Year. Time heals all wounds, and I do let those grudges go little by little. Until they start affecting my own reputation, then they are harmless and quite normal in this profession. Starting with a clean slate in the new year is not possible, but polishing the slate every now and then is plenty therapeutic enough. This post has been restorative for me. Maybe next year I’ll name names!