VOA标准英语2014--Aging New York Piano Virtuoso Looks Back

 

Aging New York Piano Virtuoso¹ Looks Back

NEW YORK —

The peaceful atmosphere in the Upper West Side apartment where 92-year-old Walter Hautzig plays his piano amid family photographs and framed honors is many worlds away from the pre-war Vienna where he grew up.  In 1938, when Hautzig was a 16-year-old prodigy², the Nazis⁴ took power in Austria.

Hautzig says Jews were routinely beaten in the streets. Their businesses were closed.

“That was the Austria I grew up in. You can’t imagine,” he said with a grimace⁵.

Music was the boy’s only refuge.  After authorities closed the state music academy he attended, Hautzig made a forbidden visit there, only to find the place filled with German soldiers. Their rifles covered the pianos.

And then a miracle happened.

Hautzig learned that the director of the Jerusalem Conservatory⁶ of Music was coming to Vienna to hold auditions⁷ for new students. Not knowing where they were to be held, Hautzig arrived at the man’s hotel at eight in the morning and waited. The director arrived at two in the afternoon, only to offer his regrets and leave to hail a taxi.  

Desperate, Hautzig made his move. 

“I jumped into the taxi ahead of him,” he recalled, “and said ‘I’m going with you!’ That took a lot of chutzpah. We got to an apartment and there was a piano.  The director pointed⁸ to it and said ‘Play! Spiel!’ And I sat down and I played. When I finished, he said ‘I’ll bring you to Jerusalem under any circumstances.’”  

From Nazi³-Occupied Vienna to Palestine, then New York

With further chutzpah and some luck, Hautzig obtained an ultra-rare exit visa and left for Palestine, leaving his family behind. His parents later managed to get out of Austria too. His mother joined his sister in New York the very day Hitler invaded Poland. Another sister escaped on skis into Switzerland.

Hautzig flourished at the music conservatory in Palestine, but after a year-and-a-half, went to join his family in New York.

“New York at that time was full of refugees like me.  They were at the opera and they were in the orchestras, and they became the conductors of major orchestras," he said. "They brought a lot with them,” including the Romantic musical traditions of the Old World.

Hautzig particularly remembers an elderly habitué of the Jewish cafeterias. Max Graf had been an important critic in Vienna before the Nazis. 

Graf regaled the younger man with stories about Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), whom he had known as a youth, and Richard Strauss (1864-1949), the composer of “The Blue Danube” and many celebrated⁹ waltzes. He also spoke¹⁰ of the time he accompanied Strauss to a meeting with Hindemith, the avant-garde composer. 

“And Strauss said to Paul Hindemith ‘Why do you write atonal¹¹ music? You don’t have to do that. After all you have talent!’” recalled Hautzig with a laugh.

Hautzig’s own talent was widely admired at his New York debut¹² at Town Hall in 1943. He began to tour America, including the racially-segregated South. What he saw disturbed him.

“When I saw "colored” washrooms and that blacks had to sit at the back of the bus, I said to my hosts, ‘You are the same as Nazis!’  And they resented it and gave me all kinds of reasons. It was horrible! Oh, I got into a lot of trouble.”

A king’s handshake and a lover’s look

In 1947, during his first concert tour in Europe, Hautzig played a concert in Norway to benefit Nazi war victims. After the final concert, the King of Norway invited him and a few other artists in Hautzig's entourage to come see him at the palace.  Hautzig was honored, and wanted to get the protocol¹³ right.

“So I called the embassy to ask ‘How do I talk to a king?’ ‘Well’ they said, ‘you must remember two things: you never shake hands and you never sit down.’ I come in [to the King’s presence]. There stands King Haakon with his outstretched hand, saying ‘How do you do?’ and pushes me into a chair," he said. "And I laughed. And I told him [what I’d been told], and he laughed too.”

Hautzig met Esther, his future wife of 59 years, on the sea voyage home.  She was 16 years old, and seasick¹⁴. For him, it was love at first sight. Her moment came later, during their courtship in New York. 

“I played for her the G Minor¹⁵ Ballade of Chopin and she said, ‘Anybody who plays like that has to be good,’” recalled Hautzig, on the verge¹⁶ of tears.     

Hautzig quickly became an international star, touring in distinctly non-Westernized locales as diverse as Kabul, Dhaka, Indonesia, Colombia and Suriname, often under the sponsorship of the U.S. State Department. He had unshakeable faith in the music’s universal appeal, saying “Beethoven and Chopin are as good for the Asians as for the Europeans as for the Jews as for the Gentiles.”

Eleanor Roosevelt reassures¹⁷ the maestro’s wife

On one tour of Japan, Hautzig performed 30 concerts in 27 days.  That feat¹⁸ caught the attention of former First Lady and humanitarian¹⁹ Eleanor Roosevelt. She invited him to perform at a home for delinquent²⁰ boys she supported and then to come with his wife to her home for the weekend.

Hautzig was utterly²¹ charmed by Mrs. Roosevelt’s warmth and lack of affectation.  

“And when we said goodbye, I said Mrs. R. - everybody called her Mrs. R. -  I have fallen in love with you! And I’m telling you this in front of my wife.’ And in her high voice, she took Esther by the hand and said ‘My dear, let me tell you that this time, you really have nothing to worry about!’” Mrs. Roosevelt was then in her seventies, and Mrs. Hautzig was in her 30s.

In 1979, when U.S. President Jimmy Carter wanted to warm relations with China, he honored Hautzig by inviting²² him to tour the country as the first U.S. cultural ambassador there.  Twenty or so years later, Hautzig gave a special concert for Mr. Carter and his wife Rosalynn.

“At the end of it, when I said goodbye I said ‘Mr. President, we are both young. I want to pray for you for the next 20 years, and then we’ll ask for more!’ He patted me on the back and said ‘God bless you.’"

Hautzig taught piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore for 27 years.  He is cautious in his assessment²³ of the rising generation of professional musicians.

“They play very loud and very fast and sometimes not very expressively²⁴. They are perfectly²⁵ efficient and so on, but there is something missing [below the surface] with some of them.”

But after a thoughtful pause and a sigh, he adds, with a half-smile “We’ll see what happens. They are good. But we were not bad either!”

"Practice Makes Perfect"

Walter Hautzig practices and prepares for a benefit concert at Lincoln Center:

1 virtuoso   

n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家，行家里手

参考例句：

• He was gaining a reputation as a remarkable virtuoso.作为一位技艺非凡的大师，他声誉日隆。
• His father was a virtuoso horn player who belonged to the court orchestra.他的父亲是宫廷乐队中一个技巧精湛的圆号演奏家。

2 prodigy   

n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆

参考例句：

• She was a child prodigy on the violin.她是神童小提琴手。
• He was always a Negro prodigy who played barbarously and wonderfully.他始终是一个黑人的奇才，这种奇才弹奏起来粗野而惊人。

3 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

4 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 grimace   

v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭

参考例句：

• The boy stole a look at his father with grimace.那男孩扮着鬼脸偷看了他父亲一眼。
• Thomas made a grimace after he had tasted the wine.托马斯尝了那葡萄酒后做了个鬼脸。

6 conservatory   

n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的

参考例句：

• At the conservatory,he learned how to score a musical composition.在音乐学校里，他学会了怎样谱曲。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants.这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

7 auditions   

n.（对拟做演员、歌手、乐师等人的）试听，试音( audition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Find modeling auditions, casting calls& acting auditions, all in one place. 找一个立体感试听，铸造呼叫和表演试听一体的地方。 来自互联网
• We are now about to start auditions to find a touring guitarist. 我们现在准备找一个新的吉他手。 来自互联网

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 atonal   

adj.无调的

参考例句：

• The majority always turn an unfavorable attitude towards atonal composition.大多数人对无调性作品的态度往往是不能接受的。
• People did not accept atonal music at that time.那时，人们还不接受无调性音乐。

12 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

13 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

14 seasick   

adj.晕船的

参考例句：

• When I get seasick,I throw up my food.我一晕船就呕吐。
• He got seasick during the voyage.在航行中他晕船。

15 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

16 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

17 reassures   

v.消除恐惧或疑虑，恢复信心( reassure的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A significant benefit of Undo is purely psychological: It reassures users. 撤销的一个很大好处纯粹是心理上的，它让用户宽心。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Direct eye contact reassures the person that you are confident and honest. 直接的目光接触让人相信你的自信和诚实。 来自口语例句

18 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

19 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

20 delinquent   

adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者

参考例句：

• Most delinquent children have deprived backgrounds.多数少年犯都有未受教育的背景。
• He is delinquent in paying his rent.他拖欠房租。

21 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

22 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

23 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

24 expressively   

ad.表示(某事物)地；表达地

参考例句：

• She gave the order to the waiter, using her hands very expressively. 她意味深长地用双手把订单递给了服务员。
• Corleone gestured expressively, submissively, with his hands. "That is all I want." 说到这里，考利昂老头子激动而谦恭地表示：“这就是我的全部要求。” 来自教父部分

25 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。