Mr. Galimir was constantly forgetting my hometown. He knew it was somewhere in the South, which was like a foreign country to a New Yorker. Of course, New York was once a foreign country to him, but musicians tend to adopt New York as their home quite readily. To remind the readers, I’m from Lexington, Kentucky.
Once I came into a lesson wearing a T-shirt reading, “Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Lexington, Kentucky”. Does that tell you anything about my sense of style back then? He took a long look, squinting and reading, finally repeating, “Lexington–Kentucky. Must not be a very good bookseller.”
Near the end of my second year with Mr. Galimir, we worked on Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy. It is fraught with technical challenges, and takes a while to become comfortable to the hand. I had not reached that point during one lesson, and he made it his mission to stop me every time I played a note out of tune. For those of you who have never had this experience with someone who has discriminating ears, I recommend it. You will never want to play another out-of-tune note again.
One passage required him to stop me after nearly every note. Finally he threw up his hands and said, “You know, Mr. Nathan. You could go back to Alabama…and you would be a big success!” This last was delivered in a deep, almost growling voice, with both fists raised over his head. Then the arms dropped to his lap. “But not in New York.”