Despite how ideal such a situation may seem, the two conductors failed to get along as well as the company had hoped. Mahler became very upset upon Toscanini being given the opportunity to direct Wagner’ s, Tristan und Isolde, feeling as though this was strictly German territory( Fielder, 2003). Initially, Mahler won the battle, however, Toscanini may have won the war as he directed the 1909 production. Mahler’ s increasingly poor health began to affect his work as he drifted further and further away from the company having felt insulted as a German( Fielder, 2003). Mahler’ s ties were permanently severed with the Met upon his death in 1911 at the young age of fifty( Fielder, 2003). Toscanini would continue to have a momentous career at the Met, lasting roughly eight years( Fielder, 2003). Notorious for having a fiery temper, Toscanini managed to never let it get in the way of his performances, nor the professionalism he hoped to exude in the company( Fielder, 2003). Toscanini had numerous mixups with Gatti over creative control and budget interworking that likely prompted his departure at the start of World War I.
The war itself made numerous aspects of day-to-day performances excruciatingly difficult, however, Gatti was able to navigate the company through harsh waters by portraying great flexibility in budgeting and casting during a time of international havoc( Fielder, 2003). Additionally, it finally seemed as though the importance of status and wealth were gradually falling further down the house’ s list of priorities, particularly under the direction of board president, Otto Kahn( Fielder, 2003). Fielder writes:
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