Music: Second No

Last week the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra was still without a general musical director to succeed Arturo Toscanini, who retires after this season. The Orchestra’s first choice, Wilhelm Furtwängler, declined after liberals and Jews who suspect him of Nazi sympathies had raised a row (TIME, March 9 & 23). The second choice, whose name was revealed last week, would have been eminently satisfactory to anti-Nazis. Fritz Busch, onetime director of the Dresden Opera, lost his job in 1933 because of his liberal leanings. A onetime guest conductor in Manhattan (1926-27, 1928-29), he is a good friend of Toscanini, a brother of Violinist Adolf Busch. From Copenhagen last week Conductor Busch cabled his regrets because of radio contracts.