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Alan King becomes a man at his bar
mitzvah (1941).
For American Jews who found
themselves in cities without a rabbi,
without a kosher butcher shop, with-
out a synagogue to connect them
with the greater Jewish community,
Jewish life depended on the desire to
be Jewish, and family became the dri-
ving force that kept the flames of tra-
dition lit.
Bill Mazer, like many Jews, sees
this particularly Jewish way of under-
standing life as "a destiny ... handed
down [from] one generation to
another."
The program, produced by
WLIW21 New York as a followup
to its 1997 PBS special "A Laugh,
A Tear, A Mitzvah," illuminates
many aspects of the Jewish-
American legacy: the humor that
reflects the Jewish mind, the music
that reveals the depths of the Jewish
soul and what author Erica Jong
describes as "the joyousness of our
heritage."
But being Jewish in America also
presents choices and opportunities
not accounted for in the traditional
foundations of Judaism. "Another
ANOTHER MITZVAH
"To be a Jewish person is to be
loyal to centuries of tradition. To be a
Jewish person in America is to main-
tain that tradition in a different
Promised Land," say the producers of
"Another Mitzvah," airing on WTVS-
Channel 56 at 1:30 p.m. Sunday,
May 31, as part of Detroit Public
Television's 1998 summer pledge
drive.
Using film footage, family photos
and the history of individual experi-
ences, the program explores the tradi-
tions of Jewish culture and the myri-
ad ways Jewish Americans embrace
them.
Actor/entertainer Alan King,
singer/impressionist Marilyn
Michaels, author Erica Jong, sports
broadcaster Bill Mazer, political
satirist/artist Geoffrey Moss and
many others share their stories in an
exploration of the achievements and
challenges faced by 20th-century
American Jews.
5/29
1998
90
du Reviews.
Above: Marilyn Michaels embraces the
musical tradition of her mother,
Cantoress Fraydele Oysher, circa 1970.
Right: Bar mitzvah ceremony, New
York, 1988. Family plays an integral
role in the observance ofiewish tradi-
tion.
Mitzvah" explores how American Jews
bring the culture of their ancestors
into modern times, including the
changing and varied roles of women
in Jewish life and the need for parents
to instill a Jewish sense of the world
in their children.
Detroit Public Television airs
'Another Mitzvah" 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 31, on WTVS-
Channel 56.
WORDS AND MUSIC
In a note at the end of Memoirs by
Sir Georg Solti (Knopf; $25.95), the
family of the late maestro states:
"Our beloved Gyrui and Papa
died, unexpectedly, in the south of
France, on Friday, September 5,
1997. Only hours before, he had
completed corrections to this
book."
It could be contended that with
Solti's death, the world lost the last
of the "great maestros," but in his
memoirs, there has been no effort
by Sold to be encyclopedic about
his life.
Nor is this is a work of scholar-
ship. If such a work about Solti is to
come, that will be a project for some
scholar/writer in the future, and sure-
ly the thrust of such _work will be
the impact his career as an opera and
symphony orchestra conductor has
had on the international world of
music.
This book is divided into the fol-
lowing chapters: "Budapest,"
"Zurich," "Munich," "Frankfort,"
"London," "Chicago," "The World."
And there is a final chapter: "Music,
First and Last."
Anyone who knows anything
about the career of Sir Georg Solti
will at once recognize the significance
of these chapter headings. These were
the cities in which he lived out his
career, and the final chapter speaks of
what meant most to him.
It was in Budapest, his native city,
that he learned his trade as a musi-
cian. He graduated in 1931 at age
19 from the prestigious Liszt
Academy with degrees in piano and
composition.
The young Solti knew quite early
on that he wanted to be a conductor.
He got his first (nonpaying) job at
Allami Operahaz (National Opera
House) as a repetiteur, or coach,
although he realized that as a Jew
(even in pre-Hitler days, even when
Hungary was an independent nation),
he would never be allowed to conduct
an opera there.
Solti always did what he thought
*E- would be best for himself.
Therefore, it was not always best
for his parents, or his sister, or his
wife, or his children. But it was
LE best for his career.
And writing now, at the end of
his life, he questions some of these
u
ยง "opportunities" he took and, in a
f- way, makes an apology to and
seeks understanding from those he
loved, both living and dead.
Solti lived during the golden
age of conductors. But he never
let their values dictate the way he
believed music should be per-
formed. He had his own vision
about that, and one gets the feel-
ing from his writing that he
always followed his own muse as
he sought to realize that vision.
Perhaps the most touching part
of the book is when the maestro
/-/