GREAT MEN

DIMITRO  MITROPOULOS AND BEETHOVEN’S SEVENTH

Imagine, you are present in the audience at Carnegie Hall with great expectations waiting to enjoy this magnificent Symphony interpreted by one of the leading ‘maestros’ of all times. Out comes the maestro, greeted by applause, goes up the podium, takes the baton in hand, lifts up his arms ready to orchestrate the musicians of the New York Symphony Orchestra.

All of a sudden, he puts down the baton and walks back out of  stage, leaving the musicians and audience mouth wide open, not knowing the reason for his sudden change of mind and action.

What passes through your mind, is he feeling sick, has he got something troubling him ? A thousand similar questions come to mind.

An orchestrated movement and agitation among the audience, stirring like a wheat field when the westerly winds blow. What is wrong ? Where is the Maestro ? The tickets were quite expensive, the bookings had been made weeks before. What is going to happen? Have we come for nothing ? The great expectations came to nothing. What a disappointment.

History in the making in the glorious annals of Carnegie Hall, of Dimitri Mitropoulos,  of the New York Symphony Orchestra ... a black page, out of tune from the rest; a discordant note without playing any music.

Another thing, the maestro was a world celebrity, known for his affable, humble character, patient, and very well known for the great charities he used to give to the needy. Above all he was level-headed person and not moody.

After a few minutes, which actually seemed to be eternity, the maestro came out, back on the podium, baton in hand, looked at the audience and greeted them with a smile ... sort of an apology for the ’brief’ interruption. The concert started, he conducted the orchestra with verve and passion. It was a huge success ... as usual.

As expected after the concert the journalists, like a tsunami wave, swept on him all asking the same self question: ‘’What happened to you, Maestro?”

He replied: ‘’Oh, there was nothing wrong, but I remembered that I had forgotten to put the Rosary Beads in my pocket. Without them I feel so far away from God, and I needed Him to be with me.”

Only great people can think like that. Alessandro Manzoni, who wrote the well-known ‘’Promessi Sposi”, never sat down to work before attending the daily Mass.

Are you one of these great men ?