1928 — 2003
Music was LaMarchina's life
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Robert LaMarchina could hear the music in his head. Every single note.
Advertiser library photo • 1971
It would flow through his mind with all the force and nuance of a symphony orchestra following every wave of his conductor's baton. From his youngest days as the son of a cellist, until Tuesday afternoon when LaMarchina died in his sleep in Honolulu, music was his life.
Robert LaMarchina, who conducted the Honolulu Symphony from 1967 to 1978, began his career at an early age.
LaMarchina, who led the Honolulu Symphony as conductor from 1967 to 1978, was 75. He had suffered from congestive heart failure.
"He was a giant of a musician," said Beebe Freitas, associate artistic director for Hawai'i Opera Theatre and a pianist who performed with LaMarchina. "He was one of the greatest cellists I have ever known. As a soloist, he was absolutely compelling."
She called him an "innate musician."
"It was his alter ego," she said. "It was as natural to him as speaking."
LaMarchina was born in New York City in 1928. He began studying the cello at age 7 and became a child prodigy, learning from masters at Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and in Paris before World War II. He was 8 when he made his first appearance, as a solo cellist with the St. Louis Symphony.
At 15, he was hired by Arturo Toscanini to perform with the NBC Symphony Orchestra.
LaMarchina went on to play with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and in Tokyo after he joined the Army in 1950. His first appearance as a conductor came in 1951 when he led the Fujiwara Opera company's production of "Madame Butterfly."
He became musical director of the Honolulu Symphony in May 1967 amid much excitement. With his brooding good looks and style, he quickly became a favorite of symphony regulars.
Marilynne LaMarchina, his wife for the past 23 years, said the cellist and conductor knew he had a gift.
When he would prepare for a performance, "he went to another dimension," she said.
"When he would study an opera or conduct something, he would put the score down and I wouldn't see or hear him for days," Marilynne LaMarchina said. "It was all in his head. He never played it on the piano or played a record."
After he left the Honolulu Symphony, LaMarchina taught music at Indiana University, traveled internationally with the Ambassadors of Opera and conducted operas on the West Coast, she said.
He also gave cello lessons up until his death.
On Tuesday, LaMarchina woke up feeling ill and disoriented, his widow said. He rested much of the day. "I kept going in to check on him and he was sleeping and I thought that was good, he needed to rest," she said.
About 5 p.m. she went to water their garden. "I picked him a big red rose because he loved those," she said. "I was going to fix him dinner but I went to check on him and he wasn't breathing."
She called for paramedics, summoned a neighbor and gave him mouth-to-mouth. But it was too late. The music had stopped.
Services are pending at Borthwick Mortuary.
Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.
