arts & entertainment Cellist Frederick Zlotkin will perform conducted by his brother, DSO Music Director Leonard Slatkin at Orchestra Hall. Frederick Zlotkin regularly performs at annual remembrances of 9-11 victims at Ground Zero. Suzanne Chessler Contributing Writer F amily history — with a large measure of Hollywood glitz — energizes preparations for an essentially classical concert featur- ing cellist Frederick Zlotkin and Music Director Leonard Slatkin with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Zlotkin, the younger brother of Slatkin, changed his last name years ago to keep in line with the Russian spelling found through an interest in genealogical research. The original idea was to track down more family history, perhaps con- nected to music. The brothers, sons of violinist and con- ductor Felix Slatkin and cellist Eleanor Aller Slatkin, grew up surrounded by music and celebrities associated with their parents' projects for stage, films and recordings. The Detroit concert, scheduled May 3-4 and 6 at Orchestra Hall in the Max M. Fisher Music Center, reflects childhood experiences in their California home. Also spotlighted will be Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy, acting concertmaster of the DSO, on violin, and Cameron Smith, a Farmington Hills native who made his DSO debut at age 19, on piano. While the concert's title work, Modeste Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, was inspired by a display of Viktor Hartmann paintings, the other concert selections relate to motion pictures: Erich Korngold's Cello Concerto, heard in the 1946 film Deception with Bette Davis and Paul Henreid (who also portrayed anti-Nazi leader Victor Laszlo in 1942's Casablanca); Paul Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice, used in the 1940 Walt Disney animation Fantasia; and Richard Wagner/Franz Waxman's Tristan and Isolde Fantasy, played in the 1946 movie Humoresque. Korngold's Cello Concerto was premiered by Zlotkin's mother when she was preg- nant with him. She dubbed the music for the film soundtrack as the cello strings were "played" by Henried, coached in his faked technique by her father and Zlotkin's grandfather, cellist Gregory Aller. "I think my brother has done an interest- ing job of integrating the idea of pictures into this concert:' says Zlotkin, 65, antici- pating his Detroit debut and recalling his background during a phone interview from his New Jersey home. "I had known about the motion picture Deception for many years before I got around to performing the Korngold piece. Although my mom had passed away by that time, I listened to and studied her perfor- mances, which I consider to be second to none for this concerto. "Korngold and Waxman were Jewish movie composers who came to this coun- try from Europe and settled in California. Recording soundtracks for motion pictures was a huge part of their musical lives, and their interests remind me of my family's involvement with music" Zlotkin, a fourth-generation cellist on his mother's side whose solo engagements reach from the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande to the St. Louis Symphony, has worked with the New York City Ballet for some 35 years, has recorded for motion pictures and numerous contemporary artists, and has been on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, Queens College and Hoff-Barthelson Music School. "My parents formed the Hollywood String Quartet, which was in existence for about 13 years:' Zlotkin recalls about his early introduction to professional musi- cians outside his family. "The quartet rehearsed regularly in our home, and I can remember times when Leonard and I creeped to the edge of our staircase so we could listen and get a peek during practice, which often was at night because there was studio work during the day" Zlotkin recalls that his early instincts moved him in the direction of the violin, which his brother favored and was learning through lessons from their dad. The younger son's preference changed during a rehearsal break of the quartet. After asking if he could pluck the differ- ent strings, Zlotkin immediately became captivated by the resonance of the cello and soon began lessons with his grandfather. "My parents nurtured my interest;' says Zlotkin, who recalls frequent visits from Frank Sinatra, a longtime professional colleague and personal friend of his folks. Cellist Eleanor Aller Slatkin and violinist Felix Slatkin with their children, Leonard, left, and Frederick, circa 1951 Frederick Zlotkin and his mother, Eleanor Slatkin, foreground, perform Concerto for 2 Cellos, which Leonard Slatkin wrote for the St. Louis Symphony, circa 1979 "I can remember practicing the cello four hours a day" Zlotkin, who has performed Kol Nidre at Temple Emanu-El in New York City for the past 30 years, decided to move east when he was 20. He studied at the Manhattan School of Music and moved on to the Juilliard School, where he earned his doc- torate. "Very early on, I started working," he says. "I was principal cellist for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and then got the post of principal cellist for the ballet company. "I like working with the dance troupe, and it's a responsibility that affords me lots of freedom to do other musical activi- ties." Those activities are as diverse as par- ticipation in the somber annual remem- brances of 9-11 victims at Ground Zero and appearances with the band in comical segments of Saturday Night Live. Zlotkin, the only present-day cellist who performs Bach's Six Suites for Solo Cello with full ornamentation, also is a member of the Lyric Piano Quartet. The chamber music group includes vio- linist Glenn Dicterow, a friend since child- hood as the two joined together in a youth ensemble coached by Felix Slatkin. Zlotkin, married to school administra- tor Virginia Cowen and the father of two, doesn't restrict his musical focus to cello. He has studied double bass, flute and French horn and now is taking piano les- sons. Other participatory interests, besides a continuing exploration of genealogy, involve ham radio, bridge, crossword puzzles, marathons, boxing and cooking, the last also enjoyed by his brother. More related to music and family is a new interest being pursued independently by both men. Each is writing a memoir. "We're very close, and Leonard likes my change of name says Zlotkin, whose other links to Michigan involve recording tracks for Aretha Franklin and Madonna. "He had established his reputation with the name `Slatkin' and thought it would confuse people if he changed it. "Still, when Leonard and I work togeth- er, its totally a professional relationship. I sit down with him as I would any conduc- tor and go over the part I will be playing. He'll make some suggestions, and I'll make some suggestions. "In the movie Deception, only six min- utes of the Korngold concerto is heard, but our version will not be the same. The ver- sion we're going to play is 12 minutes, and the sounds of the concerto have moments that are sublime." 0 Frederick Zlotkin will perform with the DSO May 3-4 and 6 at Orchestra Hall in Detroit. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 10:45 a.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $15. (313) 576-5100; www. dso.org. April 26 • 2012 55