Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1979. július-december (33. évfolyam, 27-49. szám)
1979-08-30 / 32. szám
Thursday, Aug. 30. 1979. BARTOk“TREASURE TROVE”ON NEW RECOR(ÍÍNqS EUGENE ROSNER Skillfully played by pianist Dezső Ranki, are the new Telefunken recordings of Bartok’s “For Children”, which is not for children only; and “Mikrokosmos” which New York Times music critic, John Rockwell comments that “...anyone who has learned to play the piano using Bela Bartok’s music for children or other neophytes realizes how distinctive it is. Bartók is well-known as a great master of 20th century music and as an ethnomusicologist. But he was also a great pianist and a great pedagogue, and what’s so remarkable about his pedagogical music is the way all the facets of his musical personality are combined in them. “The deservedly best-known of these pieces are to be found in the six-book collection entitled ‘Mikrokosmos’. Bartók composed this music between 1926 and 1939 and, in the course of it, he moves steadily from little studies of genuinely childlike simplicity to fiendish virtuosity, conveying nearly every possible technical problem of pianoplaying and musicianship as he does so... “Mikrokosmos is hardly the only extant example of Bartok’s pedagogical music. Perhaps the most important other instance is a collection published first in 1908 and revised in 1945, the year of the composer’s death. It’s called “For Children”, and consists of some 80 small pieces that a reasonably adept child could play. Here again the music is folksong settings, and in 1908 the collection represented not only a treasure-trove of then unknown Hungarian and Slovak folk melodies, but also a fascinating preview of Bartok’s own future compositional idiom. “...Dez& Ranki’s, a young Hungarian pianist, on the Telefunken label are both scores’ only modern versions. Fortunately, they’re first-rate. Mr. Ránki plays with both understanding and skill, and the recorded sound is very natural.” Bartók: For Children, Telefunken 6.35338 (two. disks/: Mikrokosmos, Telefunken 6.35369 /three disks/. Antifascist Hero- Fighter for Peace and Justice 1907- 1979 The progressive Hungarian-American community and the peace movement in the United States suffered a grievous loss: Eugene Rosner, a steadfast, true friend of our press, died on June 13th. He was bom on Januarv 13, 1907. His father was a mechanic in one of Budapest’s largest factories; his mother was a seamstress. Like so many millions of other workingclass families, his, too, suffered immensely during the years of the First World War. To lessen the financial burden of his parents, he left home at the age 12, the year of the first Hungarian Workers’ republic. Rosner wandered up and down the war-tom country. The experiences he encountered aroused in him a resentment and hatred of the oppressors of the people - an emotion which lived within him throughout his life. When his family, in search of jobs, moved to the port citv of Fiume, he rejoined them and there finished his elementary schooling. Subsequently, he attempted to emigrate to the United States, but got only as far as Milan, Italy. There he found employment, and joined the Italian labor movement, Informers at the giant gramaphone corporation where he worked and was active in the political left were responsible for the arrest by the fascist police of Rosner and his associates. He was tried and sentenced to five years in prison. In 1935, he was granted amnesty. No sooner did he leave prison, then he joined the underground movement against the fascist dictatorship. His assignment was to organize an underground radio station from which appeals could be broadcast to the workers of Italy for the observance of May Day, the internationally recognized labor holiday. In 1939 Rosner was again arrested for anti-Mussolini activity, and sent to the maximum security concentration camp on Ponza Island. There he made the acquaintance of other heroes of the resistance movement, Terracini, Socimarra, and others who have major roles in the political life of present-day Italy. After his release from Ponza Island, Rosner, with the help of the resistance movement, fled to France, then to Cuba. By that time, his reputation as a dauntless anti-fascist had reached the US. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the then president Franklin Roosevelt, personally intervened to gain Rosner’s admittance to the United States. In 1941, during World War II, he volunteered to join the U.S. Army and in 1944 he participated in the Normandie invasion. As the assault boat to which he was assigned approached Omaha Beach, in France, it was torpedoed and sunk by nazi artillery. After 12 gruelling hours in the water, he was rescued. In December of the same year, he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. For his heroism, Rosner was awarded the Bronze Medal. After World War II, Rosner became a staunch supporter of the American Peace and Civil Rights movements, regularly donating the services of his modest print shop in New Jersey. As noted at the recent commemorative meeting sponsored by the New Jersey branch of SANE, Rosner’s passing is a profound loss to his family, to friends and to the causes for which he fought all life. But we may all be sustained by the knowledge that he fruits of his gCod work will live on. International Year of the Child 1979 This day-nursery, accomodating 50 children, was built mostly through voluntary work in Pest County. In addition to playing, singing and dancing, the daily activities of the children include instruction in the mother tongue, study of nature, the environment, as well as physical, education. AN INVITATION TO THE READERS OF HERITAGE The Editorial Board of Heritage and of the Hungarian Word, also the Hungarian Culture Club of New York invite you to attend a CULTURAL PROGRAM AND DINNER SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21st, 1 PM at the St.George Parish House, 207 E 16 St. New York,NY. /near Third Ave./ Delicious Hungarian meal wil I be served. Tickets can be obtained for $ 6.- by calling /21 2/ 254-0397 or preferably by mailing your check to the offices of Heritage, 130 E 16 St. New York,NY 10003.-AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZÓ— 8
