1962-1968

The Lincoln Center Years

His dynamism led to changes in the direction Lincoln Center was heading in its infancy and adolescence. Many heralded those changes. Many fought them. His legacy there is still felt today.

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1962

invites Kostelanetz to lead the Promenade Concerts in late spring 1963 (January)
is informed that his band co-arrangement of “Be Glad Then, America” doesn’t “sound” (January)
suggests Richard Franko Goldman to the Juilliard board as a candidate for president (January)
proposes commissions for the inaugural concert of the Philharmonic Hall organ; they go to Thomson, Persichetti, and Cowell (January)
suggests Norman Lloyd to the Juilliard board as a candidate for president (February)
attends a Camp Cobbossee reunion (March 1)
lobbies John D. Rockefeller 3rd to film some of Graham’s repertoire (March)
calls for a resumption of negotiations with City Center (March)
attends How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (late March)
pledges to work with the Museum of Modern Art to “make a contribution to the advancement of film as an art form” (April)
attends the opening game of the New York Mets (April 13)
attends the William Schuman Tribute Dinner at Juilliard; Richard Rodgers gives $15,000 to establish the William Schuman Fund there (May 3)
invites the New York Philharmonic to name composers it wishes to commission for Lincoln Center Festival ’66 (May)
accepts a commission from the Philadelphia Orchestra (May)
invites Mark Schubart to become executive director of the Lincoln Center Fund (June)
Symphony no. 8 (June 14)
accepts a commission from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation (Library of Congress) (July)
travels to Europe for three weeks; visits Henry Moore and attends six plays in London in as many days (July)
appears on The Tonight Show and What’s My Line? (August and September)
reports on his discussions concerning the creation of a musical theater constituent at Lincoln Center (September)
takes the lead in addressing concerns over the acoustics of Philharmonic Hall (October)
offers his help to Peter Mennin as Mennin becomes the next president of Juilliard (October)
receives honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Brandeis University and Dartmouth College
accepts a commission to write a work to celebration the Gateway to the West arch in St. Louis (December)
hears the Ives Variations on “America” at the Philharmonic Hall organ dedication concert (December)

1963

accepts a commission from Colgate University (January)
works to facilitate the creation of a repertory theater constituent at Lincoln Center (winter)
Schubart proposes a festival of avant-garde music at Lincoln Center (February)
reports on plans for the inaugural New York Film Festival (March)
Deo Ac Veritati (March 26)
works on creating a modern dance constituent at Lincoln Center (spring)
writes to Schubart about commissioning plans for Festivals ’66–’70 (May)
considers inaugurating a Choral Society of Lincoln Center (June)
receives an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from New York University and honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from Adelphi College and Northwestern University proposes to dictate to his copyist the instrumentation for The Orchestra Song and The Band Song (August; Anthony Strilko cannot begin this project until mid-October)
signs the contracts that give him permission to orchestrate the Ives (August)
moves from the house in New Rochelle to an apartment on Fifth Avenue (September)
receives an invitation to write an article for Perspectives of New Music (October)
hires Schuyler Chapin as vice president for programming at Lincoln Center (October)
Variations on America (October 22)
invites Alicia Smith to write or arrange “a text for a major work” on America (October)
gives the eulogy at Fritz Reiner’s memorial service (November 18)
writes an arrangement of The Old Grey Mare in honor of the retirement of Carl Haverlin, president of BMI (December 4)
Festival ’66 is moved to 1967 (December)
donates his violin, estimated at $500, to Mannes School of Music (December)
The Orchestra Song (orchestra) (December)

1964

expresses condolences to Bernstein upon the death of his friend and colleague Marc Blitzstein (†January 22)
searches “for some formula which will give me a little time for composition” (February)
encourages Antony Tudor to revive Undertow (March)
is informed that Bernstein’s recording of the Eighth Symphony was selected as a nominee in the category of Best Classical Composition By Contemporary Composer for the 1963 Grammy Awards; Britten’s War Requiem won that year (April)
oversees the opening of the New York State Theater (April)
takes a month-long working holiday (May)
congratulates Barber on being selected to compose an opera for the new Met opera house (June)
congratulates Walter Hendl on being selected as president of Eastman (June)
travels to London on Lincoln Center, BMI, and State Department business (June)
agrees to be honorary president of the American Recorded Music Society, U.K. (summer)
takes up occupancy in a “little prefabricated house in Greenwich” (summer)
wrestles with the leaders of City Center over the terms of their occupancy of the State Theater (summer–winter)
Amaryllis, Variations for String Trio (August 21)
encourages Richard Rodgers to write a new musical for summer 1966 (September)
travels to the West and speaks at UCLA, UC Riverside, and the University of New Mexico, receiving an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the latter (October)
begins plans for the International Choral Festival next year (October)
tells Ormandy that “the symphony is beginning to take shape in my mind … Do plan on it for ’66-’67.” (November; it is not performed until January 1969)
is engulfed by “the Krawitz affair”, resignations in the Repertory Theater leadership, and machinations with the City Center leadership (December)

1965

drafts an outline for his memoirs and sends it to his lawyer (January)
attends a lecture-concert given by Lukas Foss; Bernstein is also there (January 25)
Frankie has surgery for breast cancer (February 2)
celebrates the induction of Persichetti and Mennin into the National Institute of Arts & Letters and laments Weisgall being passed over this time (February)
recommends Seymour Shifrin for a position at Brandeis (March)
is asked, and declines, to consider becoming the president of BMI (April)
suggests starting the Lincoln Center Teachers Institute during Festival ’68 (April)
tussles with Mennin over a modern dance constituent at Lincoln Center (May)
explains his intent to cannibalize his own music for the Philharmonic Fanfare (New York Philharmonic) and the Dedication Fanfare (St. Louis) (May)
Philharmonic Fanfare (June)
is asked by Martha Graham for a new dance work (June)
criticizes the Pulitzer advisory board for not awarding a prize in music (June)
receives an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University of Rhode Island
exchanges letters with Rockefeller in which they express accord and affinity (July)
The Witch of Endor (August 1)
corresponds and telephones Frank Loesser re: the performing arts (August)
appears on The Creative Person, a series of National Educational Television (September 22)
congratulates all on the First International University Choral Festival (September)
serves as MC for the dedication of the Vivian Beaumont Theater (October)
writes to Rockefeller to inform him of “our initial planning for a ‘Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’” and his desire to meet Alice Tully to discuss her potential involvement (October)
is involved in the dedications of the Calder stabile the Library & Museum of the Performing Arts (November)
relinquishes his rights to set An American Tragedy as an opera (November)
presents Richard Rodgers with the Special Cultural Award for 1965 given by the West Side Association of Commerce (November 18)
contemplates using the materials of The Witch of Endor in his Ninth Symphony (November)
has an afternoon meeting with Alice Tully (December 2)
Rockefeller writes that “the new [Lincoln Center administration] set-up makes it clear that the full responsibility for all aspects of the Center is in Bill Schuman’s hands as President” (December 16)

1966

works with Alicia Smith on a text for a large choral work tentatively titled Nineteen Seventy-Six (winter 1966–summer 1967)
is asked by Mennin to compose a work for the projected 1968 opening of Juilliard at Lincoln Center; asks to wait until the fall to give an answer (winter)
indicates he hopes to finish the Ninth Symphony by the end of the year; is told that Ormandy studies new works in the summertime (winter)
expresses his displeasure with his Philharmonic Fanfare (February)
oversees a visit to Lincoln Center from Indira Gandhi, prime minister of India (March 30)
outlines plans for a proposed Mozart Festival to take place in Philharmonic Hall in August (March)
considers releasing a recording of The Witch of Endor (April–November)
receives an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Bates College
speaks to 100 U.S. Congressmen and their wives who are visiting Lincoln Center (May)
receives a second commission from the New York Philharmonic (August)
loses the entire summer to illness: “I spent my time not at the writing desk but with doctors and in hospitals.”
celebrates the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera House (September 16)
receives a gift of cigars from President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines (October)
witnesses the demise of plans for the modern dance constituent at Lincoln Center (October)
oversees the formal creation of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and persuades William May to serve as chairman (October–November)
is turned down by Doubleday as publisher of his memoirs (November)
gives a speech at Princeton that alarms and worries Rockefeller (December)
expresses discouragement privately over the direction of the Repertory Theater constituent (December 8)
exudes elation over his meeting with George Harrar, president of the Rockefeller Foundation (December 19)
seeks corporate funding for Festival ’67 (December–January)
has lunch with Rockefeller, at which Rockefeller expresses “concerns … as to whether Bill Schuman’s leadership has been as effective as it should be” (December 23); Rockefeller lays out his concerns in a year-end letter that Schuman calls “unfriendly”

1967

receives word that more than 290,000 copies of Holiday Song have been sold (January)
receives what he calls a “chilly” letter from mayor John Lindsay, stating that the city will not help Lincoln Center with any funds beyond those designated for City Center (January)
suggests that Festival ’68 celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Koussevitzky Music Foundation (February)
speaks to his lawyer about “some provision in my will for the establishment of a Fund which will assure that my published works and records are available to students, Departments of Music, etc.” (February)
Rockefeller voices his reluctance to pursue the Chamber Music Society due to financial concerns; Schuman pushes back (February–March)
suggests that Itzhak Perlman be approached to record the Violin Concerto (March)
receives the Concert Artists Guild award; Copland speaks at the event in praise of Schuman (March 12)
films an invitation to Festival ’67 with U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey (March 16)
informs others that the Juilliard building will not be ready for occupancy until early 1969 (March 27)
defends the prospect of the Film Society against the wishes of the majority of Lincoln Center directors (March 30)
travels to Europe to promote Festival ’67; visits the Weisgalls in Rome and sees the Ardeatine caves for the first time (April)
delivers a speech to the Friends of the Kennedy Center in which he calls for more government support: “Congress, as a body, does not understand the value and the meaning of the arts as a precious national asset and because of this lack of understanding it short changes our cultural programs with appalling stinginess.” (May 19)
volunteers that “the Lincoln Center Festival might be conducted in alternate years, if required by fiscal realities” (May)
recommends that Richard Rodgers contact Edward Kleban, which Rodgers does (June)
receives praise for the artistic success of Festival ’67 (July–August)
gets about halfway through writing the Ninth Symphony; Hugo Weisgall suggests the title “Symphony IX (Le fosse Ardeatine)” (summer)
sees Benny Goodman and discusses composing a piece for him (summer)
discusses with Antal Doráti the possibility of an all-Bartók program for Festival ’70 (September)
outlines plans for Festival ’68 (October)
attends, with Tony, Game 3 of the World Series in St. Louis; St. Louis beat Boston, 5–2 (October 7)
engages in discussions designed to save the Drama Division of Juilliard and to reassure Mennin of Juilliard’s primacy as “the professional arm for education in the arts at the Center” (fall–winter)
speaks on behalf of the North Carolina School of the Arts and attends a concert of Amaryllis at the Library of Congress, which is holding an exhibit of Schuman’s manuscripts (November)

1968

speaks to the Economic Club of New York, where he outshone the other speaker for the evening, Ronald Reagan (January 17)
fundraising for Lincoln Center fails to reach its internal targets (winter–spring)
travels to Europe to promote Festival ’68; meets with Yugoslavian composers in Belgrade; sees Eddie and Margie Marks in London; takes ill on the trip home (March–April)
Symphony no. 9, “Le fosse Ardeatine” (March 27)
Rockefeller reminds Schuman of the year-end letter from 1966 and one from February 1967, which to him “cover very much the same ground as we are now focusing on” (April)
the concept of Lincoln Center as independent producer is challenged (April)
receives word that sales for Festival ’68 are well below those for the previous year (April)
Dedication Fanfare (May 5)
receives a report from an external consultant, stating that the drastic cutback in programming demanded by the Lincoln Center board contravenes the mission as stated ten years prior and makes ongoing fundraising impossible; also refers to the “poisonous atmosphere created by those who, now that their new facilities are in hand, want L.C. to disappear as a programming organization” (May)
takes ill and is ordered by his doctors to stay home for a week (May 10)
experiences a mild heart spasm; is ordered to curtail all activities for the summer (May 23)
Andrea marries Donald Weiss in the living room of the Fifth Avenue apartment (May 30)
plans for Festival ’69 are approved (June 20)
To Thee Old Cause (Evocation for Oboe, Brass, Timpani, Piano and Strings) (August 17)
congratulates Richard Franko Goldman on his appointment to head the Peabody Conservatory (August)
has lunch with Rockefeller, at which his comments, to Rockefeller, indicate “a confusion concerning the responsibilities of a chief executive as to his organization’s finances” (September)
accepts election to the board of National Educational Television (October)
fields letters from around the country criticizing Lincoln Center for causing the likely elimination of Juilliard’s Dance Division (October–November)
receives a memo from Schuyler Chapin, asking for an emergency meeting (November 1)
asks Rockefeller to approach the Charles A. Dana Foundation on behalf of Lincoln Center (November 11)
Festival ’69 and the Mid-Summer Serenades for 1969 are canceled (November 12)
exchanges letters with Chapin about Festival ’69 (November 13)
has lunch with Rockefeller, who invites Schuman to step down (November 14)
receives the John H. Finley Medal from the City College of New York, “presented annually … to that individual who has contributed most to advancing the welfare of the people of New York” (November 20)
drafts his resignation letter (November–December)
the New York Times runs the story of Schuman’s resignation (December 5)
is invited by Tully to become a member of the Chamber Music Society board (December 13)
the Programming Department and the position of Vice President, Programming at Lincoln Center are eliminated (December 18)
is notified that he will receive the title of President Emeritus and $60,000 in deferred payment over the next three years (December 29)
writes to Rockefeller on his last day as president, stating that “I want always to be available to you, should you feel the need of my guidance in the areas of my professional competence” (December 31)