Jewry's Role in
Human Affairs

MASTERS OF COMPOSITION - I
At the close of this century we might look back with pride on the
achievements of Jewish composers in all musical forms. The great majority
were either American by birth or naturalized citizens, and it was they who
became a dominant force in classical, stage and popular music of these
times.
Swiss-born Ernest Bloch was the first and most compelling
composer of modern Jewish national music. Darius Milhaud, a
Frenchman, was one of the century's most prolific neoclassicists and wrote
startling new polytonal music. Arnold Schoenberg perfected the 12-tone
scale for organizing composition and revolutionized music within a fresh
and novel classical framework.
Leading figures in the popular genre include Jerome Kern who
single-handedly invented the modern American musical, and Irving Berlin
who laid early groundwork for the idiom of popular song. Among other
unforgettable creators of arresting and melodious symphonic works and
scores for the theater and ballet were:
AARON COPLAND
(1900-90) b. Brooklyn, NY While in his
twenties, the disciple of the famed Parisian music
teacher, Nadia Boulanger, at first shocked
American audiences with his early compositions:
the brash modernism of the Symphony for Organ
and Orchestra and the aggressive jazz phrasings
in his splendid Piano Concerto. But by the mid-
1930s, Copland turned from jagged rhythms and
complex dissonance to a simpler, more lyrical style which often drew
American folksong into his best works.
By then, Copland had been installed by Serge KOussevitzky, his
music's ardent champion and director of the Berkshire Music Center, as
head of its composition department--a post he held for 25 years. During
and after these productive years, he developed the rousing "Copland sound"
injected into a half-dozen film scores, piano and chamber music pieces, and
into three outstanding ballets: Billy the Kid (1938), Rodeo (1942) and
Appalachian Spring (1944).
Copland wrote, taught and lectured widely as well, becoming a
leading propagator of modern American compositions often premiered at
music festivals, and a generous advisor to young musicians. The articulate
and urbane gentleman also extensively conducted his own and others'
works with major orchestras in America and abroad. His collected honors
included several Guggenheim fellowships, a 1945 Pulitzer Prize and the
Medal of Freedom from a grateful nation.

LEONARD BERNSTEIN
(1918-90) b. Lawrence, MA It was not by chance
that Bernstein enjoyed a deep, lifelong friendship
with Aaron Copland, and frequently conducted his
contemporary's works with particular empathy and
4rs
sensitivity. Both were avid exponents of the
modern American repertory and were of equal
status as maestros with worldwide respect. He too
had
been mentored by Serge Koussevitzky who
\)
recognized his talent and made him his assistant in 1942.
Bernstein was in time aptly regarded as the renaissance man of
music, a dominant personality on the musical scene who also ranked high
as a gifted pianist, inspirational teacher, robust lecturer, television
commentator and author of five books. His career as a composer of both
serious and popular music produced three major symphonies, chamber and
choral pieces, and such works as the one-act opera Trouble in Tahiti, the
operetta Candide, the musical On the Town and the ballet Fancy Free.
With his frequent collaborator, choreographer Jerome Robbins, Bernstein
scored their award-winning masterwork West Side Story which sealed his
international reputation.
As a conductor with mass appeal for his unabashed enthusiasm and
aesthetic excellence, Bernstein made guest appearances with leading U.S.
and European orchestras, and was named the Conductor Laureate for Life
of the New York Philharmonic.
- Saul Stadtmauer

8/20
1999

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10 Detroit Jewish News

Aftermath Of Violence

FEAR AND COMFORT from page

7

An unidentified Los Angeles police
officer welcomes Steve Haim and his
-1-year-old daughter Asheley on Monday
as they walk into the North Valley Jewish
Community Center where a white
supremacist last week shot and wounded
five people, including three children.

"There's no way ... to be 100 percent
safe anymore," said Betsy Marantz, an
Atlanta educator. "We're as safe as we
can be. You can be paranoid but I
),
choose not to be.
Geoff Frisch, .a father of two, said
he didn't see any way to control the
"gazillion" guns that are in private
hands in America, and so community
institutions will have to take appro-
priate safety measures.
"What's coming to light is that these
hate groups are communicating with
each other," he said. "These things are
random, not a concerted attack like
Nazism was in Germany. But you still
have more people than we would care
to think about who don't like us and
are armed and are probably crazy.

3 )

Guarding School Doors

With classes resuming soon, day
school officials in Detroit said they
have taken the necessary security pre-
cautions to minimize the chances of a
Granada Hills-like shooting.
At Akiva Hebrew Day School, for
example, Rabbi Karmi Gross noted
that the outside doors are locked dur-
ing the day and visitors must be
buzzed in at the office. The
Southfield school has just relocated to
the former Beth Achim synagogue
and, he said, we moved the entrance
so the people in the office can see
who's coming in. We have also
arranged to totally enclose our play
area. We also have arrangements to
contact help faster than 911."
At Hillel Day School of Metropoli-

tan Detroit, Scott Cranis noted that
the Farmington Hills school keeps its
building under camera surveillance and
works with several private security
companies. We do like to keep a low
profile, but we define that as no sign at
the front of the building, not in terms
of withdrawing from the community."
Fran Pearlman, the education
director for Temple Israel, was adamant
that security, precautions are appropri-
ate. But, she continued, We cannot
allow this kind of insanity to control
our lives.
"We do have a sign out front
that says Temple Israel," she said.
"That's not going to change."

Back In Business

The North Valley Jewish Community
Center reopened Monday with nearly
full attendance. One hundred and
twenty-eight out of 130 campers and
37 out of 40 preschoolers showed up at
the center and were greeted with wel-
coming banners, a media throng, and
heavy police and private security.
Inside the building, a magician, a
clown and a disc jockey entertained
participants in the center's preschool,
camp and senior citizen programs. In
the lobby, bullet holes had been
patched over, walls repainted and new
carpeting and walls installed.
"The community center is back on
its feet," said Jeffrey Rouss, executive
vice president of the Jewish
Community Centers of Greater Los
Angeles. "We want to demonstrate to
ourselves that evil will not stop us."
Among those returning were three
of the wounded, Joshua Stepakoff
and James Zidell, both 6, and recep-
tionist Isabelle Shalometh, 68. The
most seriously wounded, 5-year-old
Benjamin Kadish, remained in serious
but stable condition in a hospital. On
Sunday, he was removed from a respi-
rator and began breathing on his own
for the first time since the shooting.
On Sunday, more than 1,000 peo-
ple of all faiths and colors rallied in
Los Angeles against hate crimes, hear-
ing Attorney General Janet Reno and
California Gov. Gray Davis promise
to work for justice in the shooting.
Davis, who last month signed laws
restricting gun purchases and tighten- ci\/
ing a ban on assault weapons, pledged
to extend technical and financial aid
to improve security at child care cen-
ters and houses of worship.
His talk was repeatedly interrupted
by heckling from Iry Rubin, head of
the Jewish Defense League. He and
another man handed out leaflets,

