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Literary
May 29, 1938
Imperial Valley Press
El Centro, Imperial County, California
What is this article about?
Biographical narrative of Werner Janssen, son of a Danish immigrant, who overcame repeated job losses and family opposition to pursue music, working menial jobs to fund college, eventually conducting Sibelius in Finland to great acclaim and earning $1000 per night.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
The Shuberts, the theatrical producers, fired him. Said they wanted a good man.
He got a job in a church. The church fired him. Said he didn't understand sacred music.
And so it went, job after job. Even the National Broadcasting Company fired him. Said he didn't quite get into the swing of things.
His name is Werner Janssen. He is the son of a man who came from Denmark and established a restaurant on Broadway. It had a famous sign which said, "Janssen Wants to See You."
Young Werner Janssen loved music more than anything else in the world, and he was determined not to give up. His father wanted him to go into the restaurant business with him, but Werner said it was music or nothing. There was a family disagreement and the son was kicked out again.
He wanted to go to college, but he didn't have any money. But he took care of that. He got a job waiting on the table and washing dishes. As he washed dishes, he thought of himself leading a great orchestra. One day he picked up a long cook spoon and was leading the orchestra of his imagination when the boss came in. Fired again.
The boss said he didn't want people in his kitchen who had crazy ideas.
He got another job washing dishes. Also he played at the motion picture theatre. The rest of the time he studied. Now and then he slept.
But he did put himself through college, and never once, under any circumstances did he give up the idea of being a conductor.
He worked hard. There were no spare moments for him. Time that was not spent on music was spent searching for opportunity to present his music. Finally, calls began to come in. Cleveland wanted him to direct, so did Detroit. Then came a call from Rome: then Berlin.
He wanted to direct the works of the great Jean Sibelius in Finland where Sibelius lived. At last an invitation came from Helsingfors.
Days and days of rehearsal. He did not know the language, but he did know music, and he made his Helsingfors audience feel what he felt. Then came the night! Sibelius was there, and the greatest of the great of Finland. The audience went wild with applause, and shouted his name with that of Sibelius.
When it was all over and he left the opera house, crowds were waiting to see him. His automobile — where was it? Finally he found it covered with flowers! When he at last drove away, the people stood shouting his name and throwing more flowers after him.
He forgot about the many times he had been fired.
He now gets a thousand dollars a night.
He got a job in a church. The church fired him. Said he didn't understand sacred music.
And so it went, job after job. Even the National Broadcasting Company fired him. Said he didn't quite get into the swing of things.
His name is Werner Janssen. He is the son of a man who came from Denmark and established a restaurant on Broadway. It had a famous sign which said, "Janssen Wants to See You."
Young Werner Janssen loved music more than anything else in the world, and he was determined not to give up. His father wanted him to go into the restaurant business with him, but Werner said it was music or nothing. There was a family disagreement and the son was kicked out again.
He wanted to go to college, but he didn't have any money. But he took care of that. He got a job waiting on the table and washing dishes. As he washed dishes, he thought of himself leading a great orchestra. One day he picked up a long cook spoon and was leading the orchestra of his imagination when the boss came in. Fired again.
The boss said he didn't want people in his kitchen who had crazy ideas.
He got another job washing dishes. Also he played at the motion picture theatre. The rest of the time he studied. Now and then he slept.
But he did put himself through college, and never once, under any circumstances did he give up the idea of being a conductor.
He worked hard. There were no spare moments for him. Time that was not spent on music was spent searching for opportunity to present his music. Finally, calls began to come in. Cleveland wanted him to direct, so did Detroit. Then came a call from Rome: then Berlin.
He wanted to direct the works of the great Jean Sibelius in Finland where Sibelius lived. At last an invitation came from Helsingfors.
Days and days of rehearsal. He did not know the language, but he did know music, and he made his Helsingfors audience feel what he felt. Then came the night! Sibelius was there, and the greatest of the great of Finland. The audience went wild with applause, and shouted his name with that of Sibelius.
When it was all over and he left the opera house, crowds were waiting to see him. His automobile — where was it? Finally he found it covered with flowers! When he at last drove away, the people stood shouting his name and throwing more flowers after him.
He forgot about the many times he had been fired.
He now gets a thousand dollars a night.
What sub-type of article is it?
Prose Fiction
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Werner Janssen
Conductor
Perseverance
Music
Sibelius
Finland
Literary Details
Key Lines
He Forgot About The Many Times He Had Been Fired.
He Now Gets A Thousand Dollars A Night.