Janos Starker, the great Hungarian cellist, struck a memorable blow for a precious freedom now under assault — smoking. Last year, he traveled to Columbia, S.C., to conduct a master class at the university there and play the Elgar Concerto with the South Carolina Philharmonic. Because the concert hall is a “smoke-free” building, the brass informed him that he would not be permitted to smoke, even in his private dressing room. Starker, taken aback, appealed for reconsideration, requesting that he be notified as to the final decision as soon as possible, even if it was in the middle of rehearsal. Indeed, it was during rehearsal that he was summoned backstage: No, he would not be allowed to smoke, even in his private room; regulations forbade. The cellist returned to the stage, and addressed the orchestra, saying roughly this: “I have lived through fascism; I have lived through communism. But I cannot abide the petty tyranny into which this country is falling, and neither should you.” With that, he collected his instrument, packed, and left town. There was a pall for a minute or two. Then a clarinetist began to play ” Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.”
