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by Thomas J. Anderson It is hard to imagine a more var ied program than that performed last weekend by the Atlanta Sym phony Orchestra. With Robert Shaw conducting, the symphony was joined by violinist Henryk Szeryng, a Polish native now a citi zen of Mexico, who is considered to be one of the world’s great mas ters of his instrument. Nothing he did on this concert conflicts with such a lofty assessment. Performing two works of enor mous contrast, Szeryng demon strated a level of artistry that comes only with the maturity and exper ience which he possesses. He opened the concert with J.S. Bach’s Concerto No. 2 in E, pro grammed as a part of the sym phony’s celebration of the 300th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Accompanied by only a small orchestra of strings and harpsi chord, Szeryng demonstrated a to tal control of the technical demands of the work allowing him to deal with the music behind the notes. Particularly in the slow second movement was he successful in producing a sensitive yet precise performance. Unfortunately, there were fre quent quivers of tempo in the or chestra that kept the performance Symphony Notes from ever really coming together in the first and last movements. In the first movement, sluggishness in running 16th notes in the low strings and soggy 8th notes near the end of the movement were troubling. In the fast third move ment, the tempo was quite unstable through the many “tutti” sections, but the intervening solo playing displayed a restrained brilliance that was most impressive. After the warrnup provided by the Bach, Szeryng returned for a more substantial work, at least in terms of length and size of the or chestra, the Concerto No. 2 of the Polish composer Karol Szyma nowski. This is a work with which Szeryng feels a particular affinity for nationalistic reasons, and it certainly places substantial tech nical and musical demands on the soloist and orchestra alike. How ever, despite an impressive per formance by the soloist and more than adequate support from the orchestra, the performance did not result in much of a musical event. In such a case, the blame must be placed on the composition itself, and after due consideration I have decided that, in my opinion, this is just not much of a piece. Its heavy nationalism would certainly make it a vehicle of much nostalgia for those with ties to Poland, and it does have many nice sections in it; to these ears, however, its absence of coherence and organization makes it come off like a too-long rhapsody. In contrast, after intermission the orchestra turned its attention to what many consider not only Beethoven’s best symphony but perhaps the best example by any composer of this central type of composition. Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, although in the past often neglected in favor of the other four odd-numbered works, is in many ways a pivotal work in the history of music and, not always the case for historically significant works, enjoyable to a wide range of listeners. A detailed discussion of this work and its performance would fill this page, so summarizing generalities must suffice. There were some rough spots mainly growing out of tempo selec tions. In the first movement, the re curring rhythmic motif lost some of its clarity in the low strings, in the third movement one accom panying figure in the bassoon was consistently sluggish, and the woodwind phrasing in the slower contrasting sections was clipped and rushed; and in the finale the tempo was perhaps too fast to achieve the cross accents that should give a brusque, peasant- Councilman Lewis addresses common dream of blacks, Jews Blacks and Jews share a com mon dream, Atlanta City Council man John Lewis told top leaders of B’nai B’rith District Five. “Both groups want to eliminate racism and anti-Semitism and to build (what he calls) a ‘beloved commu nity,”’ Lewis said. The city councilman was the fea tured speaker on Black/Jewish re lations at the District Five mid winter Board of Governors meet ing recently at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. “The ‘beloved community,”’ ac cording to Lewis, “is a worldwide community of loving and compas sionate individuals seeking to era dicate the twin evils of racism and anti-Semitism but which is also re sponsive to the needs of all indivi duals ” “For in the final analysis,” Lewis emphasized, “it is the common bond of human aspiration that binds us.” Lewis was bom the son of a share cropper in 1940 in rural southeast Alabama. He received degrees in religion and philosophy from the American Baptist Theological Seminary and Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn. He has been a leader and parti cipant in the Civil Rights Move ment beginning in Nashville when he organized sit-ins at lunch coun ters and restaurants. He was also selected as an original participant of the Freedom Ride in 1961 where he suffered violent abuse. The Freedom Rides led to the desegre gation of public transportation facilities nationwide. Lewis’s appearance was sched- City Councilman John Lewis (center) with B’nai B’rith GRAN leaders (from left) Bernard Kornmehl, vice chairman for International Issues; Steve Levetan, chairman of the Georgia B’nai B’rith GRAN; Dr. Stanley Levin, district GRAN chairman from Virginia; and Michael Fridovich, vice chairman for Domestic Issues from Atlanta. conjunction with B’nai B’rith Wo- uled by B’nai B’rith’s local Grass Roots Action Network (GRAN). GRAN activists are B’nai B’rith members knowledgeable on issues important to the Jewish commu nity, and who wish to communi cate B’nai B’rith International’s views on a variety of topics and policies. Georgia’s GRAN committee, in men and B’nai B’rith, will soon sponsor a year-long series of sem inars entitled “The Great Balancing Act: Adapting to the Eighties.” The kickoff for the programs will be held in early February on “Black/ Jewish Relations.” The cortimunity is invited to attend. The Paul and Leslie Bclz Mem orial Torah Retreat which is held annually in Gatlinburg, Tenn., will be held from Dec. 20-23 at the Parkview Hotel (formerly the Sheraton). The retreat is being sponsored by the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations in conjunction with the Yeshiva of the South and the Memphis Hebrew Academy. dance feel. All of this, however, was far out weighed by positive features of the performance. The solo playing of the principal woodwind players was most impressive, particularly that of oboist Jonathan Dlouhy. It becomes quickly apparent why this work is considered such a major opus in the oboe’s orchestral rep ertoire, and Dlouhy’s superb hand ling of the demands placed upon him was exemplary both in terms of technique and musicianship. Special mention must also be made of the fine playing of the horn sec tion. The ususally brilliant section playing in the strings added the final ingredient to make this a truly exciting and impressive performance. Rie6y 255-5249 & Bitsy 252-7663 j l*% OFF PANTED iNViTATIONS Torah Retreat in Gatlinburg : THE ONE STOP PARTY SHOP FEATURING: Party Supplies and Bulk Paper Goods Party Invitations & Decorations (Paper & Plastic) Table Covers • Plates • Cups • Napkins • Cutlery Bar and Bat Mitzvah Balloon Bouquets (Latex & Mylar) We Imprint • ‘Napkins ‘Stationery ‘Invitations Parties, Weddings, Showers, Luncheons FREE WITH THIS AD: One Roll of Hanuka Gift Wrap Paper NO PURCHASE NECESSARY OPEN MON.-FRI 10.00-6:00 SAT. 10:00-4:00 The epaper Affair i(641-1189) OLD LAKE PLACE, 10479 ALPHARETTA ST. - ROSWELL : The theme of the retreat will be “Arevut—Obligations and Re sponsibilities to God, Our. Fellow Man and the Jewish Community as a Whole.” The cost of the retreat is 5150 for adults, 575 for children 12 and un der, and 590 for high school stu dents. Reservations can be made by calling the Yeshiva office, (901) 767-4140. WEEKLY QUOTE FROM LESTER S BOOK “If you are afraid of losing a relationship you cannot give or get the full potential of that relationship. ” Lester teaches a course in communications and relation ships at Emory Evening School and the AJCC. Lester Pazol 19 YEARS HeNNESSY r (pacMhc CALL FOR A TEST DRIVE JAGUAR 261-5700 PAGE 23 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 7, 1984