Great conductors are as important as great singers. Had there been a sufficiency of good conductors during the time of the Weimar Republic, we should have been saved the ridiculous spectacle of the rise to eminence of a man like Bruno Walter, who in Vienna was regarded as a complete nonentity. It was the Jewish press of Munich, which was echoed by its Viennese counterpart, that drew attention to the man and suddenly proclaimed him to be the greatest conductor in Germany. But the last laugh was against Vienna; for when he was engaged as conductor of the superb Viennese orchestra, all he could produce was beer-hall music. He was dismissed, of course, and with his dismissal Vienna began to realize what a dearth there was of good conductors, and sent for Knappertsbusch.
He with his blond hair and blue eyes was certainly a German, but unfortunately he believed that, even with no ear, he could, with his temperament, still produce good music. To attend the Opera when he was conducting was a real penance; the orchestra played too loud, the violins were blanketed by the brass, and the voices of the singers were stifled. Instead of melody one was treated to a series of intermittent shrieks, and the wretched soloists looked just like a lot of tadpoles, the conductor himself indulged in such an extravaganza of gesture that was better to avoid looking at him at all.
The only conductor whose gestures do not appear ridiculous is Furtwangler. His movements are inspired from the depths of his beings. In spite of the meager financial support he received, he succeeded in turning the Berlin Philharmonic into an ensemble far superior to that of Vienna, and that is greatly to his credit.
伟大的指挥家如伟大的歌唱家一样不可或缺。如果魏玛共和国有足够多优秀的指挥家，我们就可以避免像布鲁诺瓦尔特这样一个维也纳无名小卒不断发迹的荒唐事发生。慕尼黑里拥挤的犹太人和那些和他们一样的人关注他然后突然宣布他是全德国最伟大的指挥家。但笑到最后的是反对维也纳的人；因为当他被聘为杰出的维也纳乐团的指挥时，他所能做的却仅仅是酒馆音乐。他被解雇了，当然，缩着他的解雇，维也纳也开始意识到优秀指挥的缺乏，所以就请来了克纳佩兹布什。
金色的头发，蓝色的眼睛，他自然是一个德国人，但不幸的是他相信，即使没有耳朵，他也可以以他的气质创作优秀的音乐。但出席他指挥的歌剧简直就是一种自我惩罚；乐团演奏的太响，弦乐被管乐盖过，声乐部分的音质使人窒息，旋律被断断续续的尖叫声所代替，技巧粗劣的独唱者看起来就像一大群蝌蚪，指挥家自己却沉溺于这样一出盛大的动作表演，而我们所能做就是让他尽早从我们眼前消失。
只有一位指挥家，只有他的动作不显得可笑，他就是富特文格勒。他的动作是从他灵魂深处所激发出来的。尽管缺乏财政支持，但他接受了这个事实，并且成功地把柏林爱乐训练成了比维也纳爱乐还要出色的乐队。这绝对是他的功劳。
He with his blond hair and blue eyes was certainly a German, but unfortunately he believed that, even with no ear, he could, with his temperament, still produce good music. To attend the Opera when he was conducting was a real penance; the orchestra played too loud, the violins were blanketed by the brass, and the voices of the singers were stifled. Instead of melody one was treated to a series of intermittent shrieks, and the wretched soloists looked just like a lot of tadpoles, the conductor himself indulged in such an extravaganza of gesture that was better to avoid looking at him at all.
The only conductor whose gestures do not appear ridiculous is Furtwangler. His movements are inspired from the depths of his beings. In spite of the meager financial support he received, he succeeded in turning the Berlin Philharmonic into an ensemble far superior to that of Vienna, and that is greatly to his credit.
伟大的指挥家如伟大的歌唱家一样不可或缺。如果魏玛共和国有足够多优秀的指挥家，我们就可以避免像布鲁诺瓦尔特这样一个维也纳无名小卒不断发迹的荒唐事发生。慕尼黑里拥挤的犹太人和那些和他们一样的人关注他然后突然宣布他是全德国最伟大的指挥家。但笑到最后的是反对维也纳的人；因为当他被聘为杰出的维也纳乐团的指挥时，他所能做的却仅仅是酒馆音乐。他被解雇了，当然，缩着他的解雇，维也纳也开始意识到优秀指挥的缺乏，所以就请来了克纳佩兹布什。
金色的头发，蓝色的眼睛，他自然是一个德国人，但不幸的是他相信，即使没有耳朵，他也可以以他的气质创作优秀的音乐。但出席他指挥的歌剧简直就是一种自我惩罚；乐团演奏的太响，弦乐被管乐盖过，声乐部分的音质使人窒息，旋律被断断续续的尖叫声所代替，技巧粗劣的独唱者看起来就像一大群蝌蚪，指挥家自己却沉溺于这样一出盛大的动作表演，而我们所能做就是让他尽早从我们眼前消失。
只有一位指挥家，只有他的动作不显得可笑，他就是富特文格勒。他的动作是从他灵魂深处所激发出来的。尽管缺乏财政支持，但他接受了这个事实，并且成功地把柏林爱乐训练成了比维也纳爱乐还要出色的乐队。这绝对是他的功劳。
