Evening star., 1947-09-21
BoyConductor
ASKED to Direct
In Kansas Citv
By Elena de Sovn

Reports OF a new musical sensa-
ton. Pierino GAMBIA, youthful or
chestra conductor, stirred consider
able interest in music circles last
season. and Efrem Kurtz, musical
director Of the Kansas City Philhar-
monic Orchestra, has announced
that he has cabled the 10-year -old
GAMBIA, inviting him to conduct one
of the orchestra's Sunday concerts
this season. Well known for the in
terest he shows in talented children,
Mr.. Kurtz followed the boys career
since his debut in Italy two years
ago. He communicated with him in
Rome recently after seeing him in
THE Great Dawn" current italian
movie on the screen in New York.
Acclaimed in Paris last season
after conducting one Of the "Con-
certs Lamoureux, the young maestro
Is said to be developed musically far
beyond his age. He has q prodigious
memory and an amazing sense of
pitch which enables him to identify
the exact tonality of any metallic
noise. Otherwise, GAMBIA is a nor
NAL boy, who loves games and likes
to have good time. He Is fond of
playing with children Of his own age
and to ride in an American jeep.
Such Talent Is Rare.
Prodigy conductors are rare and
far between. While there is an
abundance of child pianists and vio-
linists, only few young conductors
seem to have left an impression in
the last two or three generations.
Those known are: Anatole Fistoulari.
now director of the London Philhar-
monic, who began his career at the
age of 7; Lorin Mazzel, pianist and
yiolinist, q conductor-d -debutant at 8:
Will Fererro. child Of great prom
ise when 6, but Of whom nothing has
been heard since. and Margarita
Heifetz.
Margarita, now in her gath year,
made her debut also at the age Of 8.
In 1888, when she was Q, she con-
Quoted in Moscow q 200-piece or
chestra in a dozen works. Among
these were Beethoven's Fifth Sym
phony" and Rimsky- -Korsakov's
"Scheherazade" She was also a
leading participant In a festival,
celebrating Borodin's Tooth birth
anniversary in Leningrad in the
same year. In addition to conduct
ing an orchestral program, she
played some OF Borodin's compost
tions on the piano However, not
unlike Ferrero, Margarita dropped
from sight.
Discovered by Accident.
Young Gamba's talent was dis
covered accidentally. Given piano
lessons at the age of with the
object Of accompanying his father,
an amateur violinist, he displayed
an uncanny sense for music. One
day. doing work on Massenet's
Cleopatra" father GAMBIA showed
his son the piano score. He sur
prised him by humming the opera
through at sight and by helping to
arrange an orchestration, which
proved to be correct. A former
operatic conductor, Romeo Arduini,
was Immediately engaged as a
teacher and now devotes his entire
lime to the boy. working with him
daily two or three hours. After q
year and half OF lessons, Pierino
is said to know already 80 scores,
which he conducts from memory.
While en- tour through France
and Switzerland, perched high on a
platform in front of the orchestra,
the young conductor taps baton on
heel to call the musicians to atten-
ton. At rehearsals, when something
displeases him, he stops the orches-
ira and huns the phrase the way he
wants 1t to sound. His teacher,
seated on the stage during rehears-
ais, mods approval, emphasizes when
necessary and translates into French
Gamba's italian.
From hearsay, the most astonish-
ing feature of the boys performance
is the emotional appeal Of the music
he coaxes authoritatively from his
musicians. If this is true, he is
already in an exclusive bracket, for
conductors, great or mediocre, are
appraised in the light of leadership
and powers Of recreating. For the
present, only time can prove the
keenness Of Gamba's Judgment, his
sense for style and the extent of
his understanding and perception.