Q&A with Juilliard President Joseph W. Polisi
Author of Composer William Schuman’s Biography, American Muse
Aug 31, 2009
William Schuman’s Tenth Symphony of 1975, written for the U.S. bicentennial, was subtitled “American Muse.” It seemed the only appropriate title for Joseph W. Polisi to choose for his book, American Muse: The Life and Times of William Schuman.
Released last fall, Schuman’s story is devotedly told through such means as years of saved mail correspondence and communications with his children, Tony and Andie. Polisi, the current president of The Juilliard School, talks about the former Juilliard president with Suite101.
Polisi's Personal Recollections of Schuman
AH: What do you recall about your first interactions with Schuman?
JP: I am a bassoonist, and when I was a sophomore in high school in New York City, I was accepted to the all-city high school orchestra. We were playing Bill’s New England Triptych. In the band version, it’s for baritone horn, but the solo in the second movement is for bassoon. I was a sophomore and the other three members of the bassoon section were all seniors. I’m only mentioning that because that morning, all the seniors were taking SATs, so I was the only bassoonist in the orchestra for that rehearsal.
We rehearsed the second movement, and that solo is in tenor clef. And I was still a very young bassoonist, and I wasn’t totally fluent in reading tenor clef. So I had a real challenge in playing the second movement of the New England Triptych, and it always stuck with me, the first introduction that I had to Bill’s music. Every time I hear the solo I always remember the feeling of having to sight-read in front of the whole orchestra and not feeling as secure as I should’ve been.
Anyway, fast-forward to when I was at Yale as an executive officer and I put together a conference, and that’s the first time I actually spoke with Bill, because he was part of a panel discussion with [Aaron] Copland and Jacob Druckman and a few other luminaries like Krzysztof Penderecki. It was just a great honor to meet him. He was such a lively man, just an incredible intellect, so much energy. And then of course, I really got to know him when I interviewed for the Juilliard position. This was in May 1984.
AH: What was your relationship with him like?
JP: Well, he was a great friend and a mentor. I became very close to him, and became very close to his wife, Frankie. Along with a few other friends my age, we all became what he called the “junior club” of friends. It was just something that was life-changing for me.
Schuman's Determination as Composer and Administrator
AH: What primary reason, in your assessment, can you attribute to Bill’s rise from being a 20-year-old without a thought of being a serious composer, to becoming an eminent composer and president of Juilliard?
JP: That’s a big question. I think first of all, he had an innate talent that was actually quite remarkable and an intellect for music in particular that was very, very strong. As you saw in the book, he was not directed toward academic activities at all and wasn’t motivated about that; whereas in music, he was on fire. So he had this innate talent, and that talent translated into the ability to intensively study and to hone his skills.
Secondly, and perhaps just as important, he was an incredibly self-assured and, in many ways, aggressive individual. He completely believed in himself. It was very difficult to discourage him. Even when he had this debacle with the Second Symphony and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1939, he comes back. He comes back right away and keeps composing. When he’s set back not being able to enlist in the Army after Pearl Harbor, he bounces back right away and writes Prayer 1943, which becomes Prayer in a Time of War, which is an amazing piece.
So he had this combination of great talent, very strong intellect and self-assuredness that just allowed him to keep moving himself forward and never questioning whether he could do the job or not. In fact, that’s what finally catches up with him when he becomes president of Lincoln Center in 1962. He’s so sure that he’s right that he overrides everybody, including his chairman, John D. Rockefeller III. That eventually is his demise as president at Lincoln Center, and he has to resign.
New Schuman Recordings with the Seattle Symphony
AH: We’ve sort of had a Schuman revival as far as the new recording projects that have taken place in the last 10 or 15 years.
JP: Well, certainly with Gerry Schwarz and Seattle. In fact, there are two new discs coming out I’ve just written the liner notes for. The Sixth Symphony, Prayer in a Time of War and the New England Triptych is one disc, and the second one is Symphony No. 8, Night Journey for 15 instruments and Variations on “America”.
AH: When do you expect those discs to be released?
JP: I think in the fall.
Update: The disc with Schuman's Sixth Symphony as the centerpiece has a release date of Nov. 17. New England Triptych is a lighter companion, in stark contrast to the storminess of the symphony. The bassoon solo that left such an imprint on Dr. Polisi lives on in another Schuman album.
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