GIFTED AMERICAN WOMEN

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27993, 13 June 1956, Page 2

GIFTED AMERICAN WOMEN

WORK FOR STRING QUARTET

Although she works a 40-hour week as an administrative and publicity officer for the LaSalle String Quartet, which is at present in Christchurch, Mrs Evi Levin, wife of Mr Walter Levin, teaches French, German, Italian and Spanish tor several hours each week at a girls’ private school in Cincinnati!. She also teaches adults out of school hours.

Mrs Levin said that in Cincinnatti, where, the quartet had its headquarters, there were many culturallyminded people who enjoyed going to Europe for the music festivals nela mere each year, and they found a Knowledge of French of great help when travelling.

In 1954 the quartet made a concert tour of Europe and’ played at one of the festivals, said Mrs Levin. Last year she and her husband were in Salzburg for the festival, which features opera, chamber and concert music. They were at Baden Baden for the festival of the International Society of Contemporary Music, which each year holds its festival in a different city. This year the festival will be in Norway. They also attended the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, where the music was mainly chamber, orchestral, and vocal.

Mrs Neora Kamnitzer, wife of Mr Peter Kamnitzer, also has interests apart from her music. She is a physician at the General Hospital in Cin-■. cinnatti, but she observes professional ■ reLicence about her medical work. I

The quartet, shared its present seven months’ tour in May, and gave its first concert in Honolulu. Mrs Levin described as “marvellous’’ the reception given the quartet in Honolulu, and as “more marvellous” the Suya concert. In New Zealand they will give 20 concerts. The tour will end in December.

During the second half of the tour. • in Europe. Mr Jack Kirstein, a mem- | ber of the quartet, will be joined by i his wife, a gifted young pianist. Because of her commitments in America she was unable to accompany the ; quartet on the first half of the trip As she practised about .eight hours a ! day she did not have much time for j interests outside music, said Mrs Le- : vin. Asked if any of the women accompanying their husbands had families. Mrs Levin said ‘‘no.”

Mrs Levin is an American, and first met members of the quartet in 1948. Asked how she acquired a knowledge of so many languages, she said she had travelled in many countries ever since she was a baby.