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So I had been rehabilitated as a teacher, but I was still forbidden to play as a soloist. The first one who was willing to take the bull by the horns was conductor Henry Selbing, manager and prime conductor of the State Philharmonic in Sibiu at the time. He called me and, at my request, sent me a written invitation informing me I was scheduled to play Bach’s Concerto in F minor and Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ as a soloist of his philharmonic on Wednesday, 22nd February 1961 at 8pm. This invitation was an act of great courage. At the end of 1958 the Ministry of Culture had sent a memo with the list of ‘banned’ conductors and soloists to all the philharmonics, and it was still valid.
Armed with the written invitation I went to the Music Department of the Ministry of Culture. The newly appointed manager was Comrade Mauriciu Vescan, whose ‘maiden name’ was Wechsler. An accordionist by trade and a major union activist at the beginning of the communist era, he had climbed the political hierarchy to become a manager in a ministry. He held me the ‘standard’ speech about ‘war and peace,’ ‘capitalism and socialism,’ ‘patriotism and cosmopolitanism,’ and many other slogans used and proliferated by the Party activists of the time. After I let him recite his ‘poem,’ I replied, within the limits of decency and politeness. My position was slightly different from the one I had had during previous audiences. I had been ‘rehabilitated,’ and by the ‘Party’ itself too. I told him that, since the application for emigration was not a crime, there was no reason for him to address me as a felon. Besides, more than one year before, I had withdrawn my application and I had resumed my teaching career. The fact that the philharmonics began to invite me as a soloist again proved that my activity in this field was valued and even necessary to the fulfillment of the concert quotas. He continued to groan and mumble. Eventually, he muttered something like ‘Well, let them have you then. But I, for one, would never invite you!
Armed with the written invitation I went to the Music Department of the Ministry of Culture. The newly appointed manager was Comrade Mauriciu Vescan, whose ‘maiden name’ was Wechsler. An accordionist by trade and a major union activist at the beginning of the communist era, he had climbed the political hierarchy to become a manager in a ministry. He held me the ‘standard’ speech about ‘war and peace,’ ‘capitalism and socialism,’ ‘patriotism and cosmopolitanism,’ and many other slogans used and proliferated by the Party activists of the time. After I let him recite his ‘poem,’ I replied, within the limits of decency and politeness. My position was slightly different from the one I had had during previous audiences. I had been ‘rehabilitated,’ and by the ‘Party’ itself too. I told him that, since the application for emigration was not a crime, there was no reason for him to address me as a felon. Besides, more than one year before, I had withdrawn my application and I had resumed my teaching career. The fact that the philharmonics began to invite me as a soloist again proved that my activity in this field was valued and even necessary to the fulfillment of the concert quotas. He continued to groan and mumble. Eventually, he muttered something like ‘Well, let them have you then. But I, for one, would never invite you!
Period
Year
1961
Location
Romania
Interview
Dan Mizrahy