Musical Magic

Saturday, February 9, 2024, was the latest date for a presentation of the series New York Philharmonic Young Peoples Concerts with musical direction by Leonard Bernstein. This series is brought to you by the Cibola Arts Council every Friday at 4 P.M. That Bernstein is the musical director should tell you immediately that the performance is something special.

You will soon understand why Bernstein’s enthusiasm for the young artists is justified. This particular performance was number 4 in the series and was held on January 12, 1963 in the Philharmonic Hall in Lincoln Center, New York. The four pianists, Joan Weiner, 14 years old, Claudia Hoca, 12 years old, Pamela Paul, 13 years old, and Andre Watts, 16 years old performed Mozart’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A major and Liszt’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in E-flat major.

The first young pianist was Joan Weiner of Falls Church, Virginia who played the opening movement of the Mozart Concerto, allegro. There also were three assistant conductors for this afternoon’s performance. Conducting the orchestra for Miss Weiner was Yuri Krasnopolsky.

Mr. Bernstein felt a special connection to the assistant conductors, having been one himself at the beginning of his career. It is the job of the assistant conductor to assist at rehearsals and to fill in for the conductor if he gets sick or for some other reason isn’t able to perform. Three new assistant conductors are added to the Philharmonic Orchestra each year.

Weiner’s career has included performances as a soloist with other orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Berlin Philharmonic. She has also conducted workshops and masterclasses for aspiring pianists and has made several recordings.

Performing the second movement of Mozart’s Concerto andante, was Claudia Hoca of Buffalo, New York. She was born in Austria where her mother was a schoolteacher, and her father was a professor. Assistant Conductor to Miss Hoca’s performance was Zoltan Rozsnyai, also Austrian and Hungarian. Hoca graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she knew another pianist, Andre Watts and she earned her Master’s degree at State University of New York at Buffalo. Following her education she won praise winning prizes at the Chopin Young Pianist Competition and the Washington International Bach Competition. Like Weiner, she has performed with noted orchestras: New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York.

Hoca suffered severe injuries in a car accident in 2013 which caused her to cancel an engagement and to persevere through years of recovery. She is now performing again at the peak of her skills.

The third and final movement of Mozart’s Concerto was performed presto by Pamela Mia Paul with assistant conductor Serge Fournier. Ms. Paul continued her career as a performer and also became a successful teacher. Her students have also gained successful careers in teaching and have won competitions.

During her international career she played piano with some of the world’s greatest orchestras in the United States, Europe, The People’s Republic of China, South Korea, and Turkey, only a few. The Robert Beaser’s Piano Concerto was commissioned by her and written for Ms. Paul who played for its premier with the St. Louis Symphony conducted by Leonard Slatkin. The concerto was also played in Europe by the Monte Carlo Philharmonic conducted by Richard Dufallo, and the American Composers Orchestra with Dennis Russell Davies conducting.

Ms. Paul currently teaches at the University of North Texas College of Music as the Regents Professor of Piano.

The final performance was by Andre Watts playing the Liszt Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major and conducted by the maestro, Leonard Bernstein. It’s no wonder the pianist played Franz Liszt, as he was a major influence on the young artist. Mr. Bernstein elected to personally conduct for the pianist after an impressive audition.

Watt’s mother, an amateur pianist, encouraged her son to study and practice, and Bernstein, by Watt’s admission, practically handed him a career at age 16, following the Young Peoples Concert. “Mr. Watts was then living in relative obscurity in Philadelphia, practicing on a beat-up piano with 26 missing strings. But he emerged from his performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 a bona fide star.” The New York Times, July 14, 2023.

“’My greatest satisfaction is performing,” Mr. Watts told The New York Times in 1971, when he was 25. “’The ego is a big part of it, but far from all. Performing is my way of being part of humanity — of sharing… There’s something beautiful,” he added, “about having an entire audience hanging on a single note.’” The New York Times, July 14, 2023 Andre Watts passed away July 12, 2023 at age 77.

It seems that recognition by Leonard Bernstein was the kiss of success.