Tag #127845 - Interview #89861 (Dan Mizrahy)

So I had to start all over again! In those wretched times, not having an employment meant that you were a tramp, which was a legal offence. Theoretically speaking, any man who was fit to work but who wasn’t employed could be seized in the street and sent to whatever workplace the authorities wanted. We heard a rumor about a cooperative association, ‘Munca si arta’ [‘Work and Art’], specialized in tailoring, which was about to found an orchestra! We all rushed in to catch a position there. I went to their address and I learnt that the rumor was true. They were indeed forming an orchestra, and it looked rather strange: ‘classical’ instrumentalists together with instrumentalists specialized in light music. Many strings, few winds. A band like Mantovani, which was a famous band at the time, larded with wind instrumentalists. I was told the pianist’s position had already been given to Miani Negreanu and that the only one available for me was ‘2nd accordionist.’ I remember the violinists Lucian Savin, Rhea Silvia Starck, and Mircea Negrescu – they had all been leaders of the symphonic orchestra of the Romanian Radio Company; I remember Mendi Rodan, the ‘aces’ of light music – Alphredo Thomas and Joe Reininger, conductor Edgar Cosma, who was now a corepetitor, and, finally, composers Fritz Wanek and Arminiu Cassvan, who now copied notes. Prestigious names covered the violas and cellos department. The ‘scope’ of this ensemble was to work with the ‘Electrecord’ Recording Company. Composer Richard Bartzer was appointed to be our conductor. He was very polite – too polite, I would say. He was actually embarrassed because he got to conduct so many musical personalities whose tragedy he knew. He was also a true professional and was very demanding. The material profits from the recording sessions were practically nil. Our ‘fee’ was 3 lei per minute of recording, which meant that a ‘long’ piece got us 15-20 lei per person… But the important thing is that we all had cooperative member certificates and we had regained a certain social status.