One day Josef Hofmann gave Bok an entirely new point of view. The
artist was rehearsing in Philadelphia for an appearance with the
orchestra, and the pianist was telling Bok and his wife of the desire
of Leopold Stokowski, who had recently become conductor of the
Philadelphia Orchestra, to eliminate encores from his symphonic
programmes; he wanted to begin the experiment with Hofmann's appearance
that week. This was a novel thought to Bok: why eliminate encores from
any concert? If he liked the way any performer played, he had always
done his share to secure an encore. Why should not the public have an
encore if it desired it, and why should a conductor or a performer
object? Hofmann explained to him the entity of a symphonic programme;
that it was made up with one composition in relation to the others as a
sympathetic unit, and that an encore was an intrusion, disturbing the
harmony of the whole.
"I wish you would let Stokowski come out and explain to you what he is
trying to do," said Hofmann. "He knows what he wants, and he is right
in his efforts; but he doesn't know how to educate the public.
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