You scramble.

That's what the BBC National Orchestra of Wales did recently when officials called Fresno Philharmonic music director Theodore Kuchar in a panic and told him conductor Walter Weller was ill. They wanted to keep the program as printed and asked Kuchar to conduct Josef Suk’s Asrael Symphony at that weekend's concerts. A broadcast recording of the symphony, which Kuchar had conducted in Prague only a few months before, had circulated through Europe and caught the attention of the Welsh orchestra. He was the only one who could do it, they said.

(By the way, a healthy Kuchar is in Fresno this weekend for the final concert of the Philharmonic's 2007-08 season, which you can read about in Friday's 7 section.)

Kuchar was committed to a gig with his Janacek Philharmonic Ostrava in the Czech Republic, but he talked to his manager and arranged for someone to cover him so he'd have the opportunity to help out with this little-played piece. The Fresno Philharmonic press office reports:

Commenting on the request for the Suk Symphony, Kuchar relates, “It was unusual in that the work is not well-known outside of the Czech Republic, and yet it is regarded as an icon of Czech 20th-century musical culture. The first three movements were composed by Suk in 1906 in response to the death of his teacher, friend, and father-in-law, Antonin Dvorak. Two more movements were then composed as a requiem to Suk’s wife, Otilka, who died unexpectedly a few months later. The symphony is subtitled Asrael after the Angel of Death, who attends the souls of the departed. It’s a lengthy, 70-minute symphony, very powerful, and has its own interesting story.”

Kuchar said that when he was preparing the work this past winter with his Czech orchestra, the musicians expressed grave concern. “It seems,” Kuchar said, “that the last three times the work was performed in the Czech Republic, the conductors in each instance died shortly afterwards. Obviously, I was a bit nervous, but I figured if the Boston Red Sox could overcome the jinx of Babe Ruth, then I could do the same with the Asrael Symphony! As one can see, I not only remain in one piece, but I got to perform the piece again!”

The acclaim for Kuchar’s last-minute heroics and performance in Wales echoed his previous success with the Suk symphony in Prague. “It made a terrific impression,” he said, “because the BBC Orchestra is now juggling their schedule and negotiating with my manager so that I can conduct three weeks of concerts with them next season!”