<<  -- 16 --  Bill Newman    AFTER ANTAL DORÁTI

'First of all, we performed the Veress piece, then a Mozart Concerto; later, Toni's own Concerto. I always had a free choice, and we decided whether what I suggested performing fitted in with the rest of his programme. There was always that "harmonious twosome" attitude in our thoughts and plannings.' Did you perform the two Mendelssohn Concerti at any stage? 'No. Sadly I missed out. I had the music with me, studied it, but never got around to performing them.'

Your love of chamber music started early on? 'Apart from my piano studies with her, my teacher had the very bright idea of sending me to a class of violinists, so that I could get to know their repertoire. I really did learn. Then I went to Salzburg where my next teacher sent me to Enrico Mainardi's cello class. I was one of their accompanists for a while and worked amongst others with people like Siegfried Palm and Mirko Dorner. And I did play with string quartets. Do you remember the old Koeckert Quartet?' Yes, I first heard them in the 1950s at the Edinburgh Festival, while they were recording Beethoven for Deutsche Grammophon.

'They were the first Quartet I played the Brahms with. Brahms's Piano Quintet is very close to my heart. At Toni's 90th Anniversary -- he, of course was no longer here -- we played a concert at Berne with the Aria Quartet. They played his String Quartet in the first half, and we performed the Brahms in the second.

'I mentioned I played with Szeryng for a while. It was rather difficult because of his nature, but it was beautiful playing. Then, there was Rafael Druian for a short time. Then Max Rostal for several years (including the complete Beethoven Sonatas).

'We played for Max Rostal's 70th Birthday. Ozim, of course was his favourite pupil, so there we were -- The Three Friends, performing together. Max said; "Why don't you make this a Trio?" Why not! That was how we started! I enjoyed it all very much. And the music. There is such a lot of it.'

Your duties as a loving wife to Toni -- as housewife, partner, catering for all his needs, travelling with him, looking after him generally ... how much did this limit your music-making? 'Well ... when I look back, and I know what we did, and what I did, and where we were ... I tell you, frankly, I don't know how I did it. On three occasions I was on the verge of exhaustion, but, on the other hand, our relationship was so strong that he gave me extra energy.

'It was quite difficult for me to practise, give concerts. We had flats everywhere, because he tended to gain weight when we ate in restaurants, which was no good for him. I was very delicate in my diet, and that was not good for me. So, when we were longer in a place than one week, I obtained an apartment. In Washington, we had one with a kitchen; in London -- various places where I could practise and keep house. Stockholm, the same. A conductor usually doesn't do one night stands, and a stopover concert became a most strenuous involvement of packing, practising, travelling and playing the next night. Tours were very wearing.'

But he made it up to you eventually with his love and devotion. What was the peak musical event during your life together? 'Hard to say, but there were so many occasions where he just followed me naturally when we made music together, with no words spoken. And he was asked by an interviewer, just ten days before he died, "Maestro, what do you consider your homeland?" After a short break, he replied: "Wherever my wife is ..."; what a legacy for me.'

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