<<  -- 17 --  Bill Newman    AFTER ANTAL DORÁTI

Antal Doráti conceived his final book, For inner and outer peace, after being approached by the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, winners of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. The project would parallel a Concert Tour for Peace, during which he would perform Beethoven's Missa Solemnis four times during one week in West Berlin, Moscow, Dresden and London with an eminent team of soloists, members of thirty-nine orchestras from East and West, and the University of Maryland Chorus from the USA. The Berlin performance on 3 July is available on BIS-CD-406/407.

Beethoven's words: prayer for inner and outer peace appear on his score, and shortly before his death Doráti wrote in the epilog of his book: 'this was the greatest event of my professional life, and one of the greatest happenings in my whole personal existence.' The final paragraph reads:

And so I shall also make this event the conclusion of these meditations. May I take my leave by simply quoting, very humbly, very devotedly, the other sentence that Beethoven wrote into the score of that great work -- one of the deepest wells of the human soul -- it is on the front page, and I write it at the end, like an 'Amen'

'From the heart. May it go again to hearts'

October 20th, 1988.

CD Reviews

Mozart: The Complete Piano Trios -- Divertimento in B flat, KV254, Trios in C, KV548, G, KV564, E, KV542, G, KV496, E flat, KV498, B flat, KV502. Arion Trio with Antony Morf, clarinet, Claudio Veress, viola. BIS-CD-513/514. These are perfectly styled Mozart performances from The Three Friends -- Alpenheim, Ozim and Grimmer. KV498 is for clarinet, viola and piano, and demonstrates the ideal balance of three performers in sympathetic sound.

Schubert: The Complete Chamber Music for Piano and Strings -- The Trout Quintet, Duo in A for violin and piano, Sonata in B flat for Piano Trio, Piano Trios 1 and 2; Notturno in E flat for Piano Trio, Fantasia in C, Sonatinas in D, A and G minor, Rondo in B minor -- all for violin and piano, Sonata in A minor for arpeggione (cello) and piano; Adagio and Rondo Concertante in F for piano, violin, viola and cello. Arion Trio with Claudio Veress, viola, Andreas Cincera double-bass. BIS-CD-521/524. The extreme beauty and clarity of these performances lies in their correct pacing, nuance and poetry. The famous Fantasia in C major is remarkable for its opening piano trills and pianissimo violin entry, while the popular Arpegionne Sonata is brim-full with Viennese delights.

Mendelssohn: Complete Songs without Words, Andante con variazoni in E flat, Andante cantabile e presto agitato in B, Variations in B flat. Ilse von Alpenheim, piano. Philips 438 709-2 (2 discs) These delightful performances have no rivalry from Ginette Doyen, Rena Kyriakou, Walter Gieseking or Murray Perahia. Apart from the highly stylized treatment of Mendelssohn's '48', there are the added incentives of the three rarities containing the composer's inventiveness in variation writing. Excellent sound.

Doráti: Sette pezzi per orchestra (1961), Night Music for solo flute and small orchestra (1968), American Serenade for string orchestra (circa 1941). Sharon Bezaly, flute, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra/Moshe Atzmon. BIS-CD-1099. Three works by the Maestro spanning a twenty year period. The seven pieces show his powers of orchestration in an array of mood paintings. Night Music is concertante in style, reflective in its connotations -- Recitativo, Arioso, Capriccio, Scherzo and Postludio, all creating visionary impressions in nocturnal flights and fancies. The last, and earliest -- American Serenade -- leads up to its creator's Dallas years, and his affection for the music of America's great composer : Aaron Copland. The lightly scored spiritual and dance is Copland with a touch of caviar, maybe, but the music also reflects Doráti's relief at escaping war-scarred Europe as well. Moshe Atzmon has already a firm reputation in colourful, post-romantic music.