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A Big Zero

How did this famous actor get his name?

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Q:I'm a fan of Zero Mostel, but I
never understood how he got such
an odd first name. Can Tell Me Why
clue me in?
A: Born in Brooklyn in 1915,
the actor and comedian was
named Samuel Joel Mostel at
birth. But he was called "Zero"
from a young age — because of
poor grades he received at school.
Somehow, though, Mostel
managed to make it not only
through high school but City Col-
lege of New York, after which he
started a career as an art
teacher. He then branched into
theater, finding great success as
a comedian (usually playing vil-
lains) in Hollywood. All that fell
apart in the 1950s when he was
among the many blacklisted by
Sen. Joe McCarthy. Later, Mos-
tel revived his career somewhat,
appearing in films and plays in-
cluding Fiddler on the Roof and
A Funny Thing Happened on the
Way to the Forum.

Q: I already know about Bernstein,
Bloch, Copland, Meyerbeer, Mil-
haud, Offenbach, Rubinstein and
Schoenberg, even Arthur Fiedler,
Serge Koussevitsky, Eugene Or-
mandy and Andre Kostelanetz, not
to mention Mahler and Mendelssohn
(even though the former converted
to Christianity, as did Mendelssohn's
parents). But could Tell Me Why
please tell me the names of some
more obscure, but fascinating Jews
in contemporary classical music?
A: Classical music is one of
Tell Me Why's favorite subjects
— especially when it involves
greats like Prokofiev, Vaughn
Williams, Shostakovich and
Barry Manilow — ha! just
wanted to see if you're really
reading! — and not those bor-
ing guys like Bach.
Here are some figures I
think you'll find interesting:
Modest Altschuler, a na-
tive of Russia, had the honor of
conducting the world pre-
mieres of two pieces by one of
the most unusual characters
in classical music history:
Alexander Scriabin. Altschuler
conducted Scriabin's "Poem
of Ecstasy" (1908) and
"Prometheus" (1915). The lat-
ter was among Scriabin's ef-
forts to produce a concert in
which all the senses were in-
volved; in this case, he insist-
ed that the performance
feature a huge screen onto
which was thrown streams of

different color as the music
played. (Later, Scriabin would
add fragrance to the experi-
ence, and even search for work-
ers to massage guests at his
concerts.)
Louis Applebaum was
born in Toronto. He was
founder of the Stratford Music
Festival in Ontario.
Arie Rafael was a famed
baritone whom composer Igor
Stravinsky selected to star in
the world premiere of his work
"The Rake's Progress."
Aaron Avshalomov, born
in 1894 in Siberia, spent more
than 20 years in China. He
wrote a symphony and a piano
concerto, and two operas about
life in China, both of which
were performed there.
Felix Blumenfeld, born in
1863 in Russia, conducted the
world premiere of Rimsky-Ko-
rsakov's "The Legend of the In-
visible City of Kitezh." He later

Orchestra of Manchester.
Yitzhak Edel, born in 1896,

taught music in the Warsaw or-
phanage headed by Janusz Ko-

rczak. Korczak, a popular writer,
was offered the chance to sur-
vive, but chose to accompany the
orphans to the Nazi death camps
rather than abandon them. Edel
moved to Palestine where he
worked as a music teacher.
Max Friedlander, born in
1852, was an instructor at Berlin
University who discovered more
than 100 lost songs by Schubert.
Osip Gabrielovich, born in
St. Petersburg in 1878, became
conductor of the Detroit Sym-
phony Orchestra in 1918. He
wed Clara Clemens, daughter
of author Mark Twain.
Rudolph Karl, born in
Pilsen, Czechoslovakia in 1880,
was the last person to study
under Dvorak. He later taught
in Prague before he was ar-
rested by the Nazis and sent to

CD CD

CC

An emotive Leonard Bernstein — just one of the fascinating Jewish figures
from classical music.

became director of the Kiev
Conservatory.
Jacob Blumenthal, born
in 1829, served as pianist for
Queen Victoria.
Theo Buchwald, was born
in 1902 in Vienna, then left for
Peru in 1935; he founded the
country's National Symphony
Orchestra.
Walter Burle Marx, born
in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was a con-
ductor, composer and founder
of the Philharmonic Orchestra
of Rio de Janeiro.
Sir Frederic Cowen was
born in 1852 in Jamaica, but
spent most of his life in Britain.
Knighted in 1911, he was a
composer and conductor who,
by age 13, already was con-
ducting the London Philhar-
monic Society and the Halle

Theresienstadt, where he died
in 1945.
Mikhail Medvedev, born
in 1852, was the son of a rabbi
whose early supporters in-
cluded writer Shalom Ale-
ichem. Tchaikovsky selected
Medvedev for the role of
Unsky in the world premiere
of "Eugene Onegin" in 1879.
Maximilian Ossejevich
was born in Vilna in 1883. He
was professor of composition
at St. Petersburg Conservato-
ry, where his students includ-
ed Dmitri Shostakovich.
Ossejevich first studied under
Rimsky-Korsakov, whose
daughter he later married. (In-
terestingly, Rimsky-Korsakov's
son also married a Jew — com-
poser Julia Lazarevna Weis-
senberg,)

