Evening star., 1962-05-21

c, Op. Sc. Beethoven.
Yesterday afternoon at Con-
stitution Hall WashingtonianS
got q small sampling Of the
kind Of music-making that
goes on during the summer
months in Marlboro, and if the
concerto was a characteristic
one, the tiny Vermont town
must be as close to a music
lovers heaven as it is possible
to find on earth.
Rudolf Serkin, great pianist
and a great teacher, is Marl-
boro's guiding spirit. Under his
aegis, professionals gather in
the off-season for a busman's
holiday, studying and practic-
ing chamber music.
Mr.. Serkin calls his domain
the Marlboro Music School, but
there is no real separation be-
tween faculty and student body
no maSter-pupil relationship
there. Marlboro is q school
only In the sense that its per-
formers learn from each other
during the process Of making
music.
And yet there is a typical
Marlboro hallmark. When you
hear these people, it is impos-
Sible not to be aware Of that
combination of selflesS devo-
ton to music and deep pene-
tration into the very heart OF
a work which marks the unique
art of Mr.. Serkin.
Leads With Violin
Conducting the Marlboro
Orchestra with tremendous
verve and intensity was Alex
ander Schneider, best known
locally as q member Of the
Budapest String Quartet. Mr..
Schneider leads with fiddle and
bow in hand, and prefers to sit
Every now and then, he joins
his players in phrase which
particularly moves him, OF
rises from his seat momen-
tarily to accent something. II
is all very informal and very
engaging but don't be fooled
by apprenticeship. Schneider
is a very brilliant conductor.
Informality, by the way. also
is typically Marlboro. Mr.
Schneider's sudden dash from
stage to dressing room to re-
trieve his forgotten score Of the
Mozart Concertone while the
two soloists stood calmly wait
ing, and Mr.. Serkin's casual
personal moving Of the Stein
way grand to q different spot
were two lighter examples.
The concert was designed to
display the talents Of q num-
ber Of outstanding young In
strumentalists, only one OF
whom, violinist Jaime Laredo
was well known to Washington
audiences.
The afternoon began with 9
little-known concerto by An
tonic Vivaldi which exhibited
to fine advantage the big, lus-
ciouS tone and exquisite mu-
steamship Of Arnold Steinhardt
assistant concertmaster Of the
Cleveland Orchestra and erst-
while winner of the Leventritt
Award, as well as the grace and
fire Of Michael Trees violin.
Son Resembles Serkin
Then came the familiar Mo-
zart E flat two-piano concerto
with Mr.. Serkin at one piano
and his 14-year-old son Peter
at the other. The resemblance
was uncanny. The master was
unmistakable in the way in
which the father lovingly
shaped the phrase to accom-
modate the son, it is true, but
young Peter is surely a remark
able talent.
After the interhmission, the
Messrs. Laredo and Tree were
heard in the virtually unknown
but completely captivating Mo-
zart c major Concertone, with
some beautiful assistance from
oboist Leonard Arner and Gel
list David Soyer.
The concluding work brought
together Rudolf Serkin, Jaime
Laredo and Leslie Parnas as
soloists in the Beethoven Triple
Concerto. Mr.. Parnas is fresh
from the Tchaikovsky Compe-
tition in Moscow, where he
took second prize In his divi-
sion, thus adding another laurel
to the Casals Prize which he
had previously won. He is a
magnificent cellist, with a tre-
mendous technique and a lovely
singing A-string.
The orchestra itself? I spot
ted world-renowned virtuosos
fiddling away in the last stands
and when jaime Laredo fin
ished his first solo stint, he re-
turned to the second violin Sec
ton.
Yes-the orchestra was that
good. The audience, which gave
everyone a standing ovation al
EESlElElEElTITlElElEl