Viva Vienna!
Noted concert series returns with the help of 'Friends'
BY MARY KUNZ GOLDMAN
October 02, 2009
In addition to the Buffalo Philharmonic’s opening gala, this weekend brings another opening concert worth celebrating.
Sunday afternoon, the Friends of Vienna will resume, with a performance by the Amberg Quartet.
Last season, it looked as if the Friends of Vienna would be no more.
In July, The Buffalo News reported that for the first time in the concerts’ 32-year history, the Friends of Vienna was without a leader.
Paul Guenther, who had been serving as president, was stepping down, and he was unable to find anyone to succeed him.
It seemed a shame to end a tradition that had proven almost as resilient as its founder, the Viennese-born Edith Horowitz, an
opera singer and Holocaust survivor. The Friends of Vienna had offered a venue for soloists, singers and chamber music players
that was unique in the Buffalo area.
Happily, the story in The News prompted several generous people to come forward. Guenther, 85, after consideration, decided to
hand the reins over to Mary Kay Atlas, a teacher in the Buffalo Public Schools.
“She sounded as if she had a firm grip on things,” he says. “We had a meeting and she carefully took notes.
By the second meeting, she had her board put together.”
Atlas is 43, and between her job, her husband and a tireless 3-year-old, she already lives a full life.
But she shares Guenther’s passion for the Friends of Vienna and what the series stands for.
Like Horowitz, Atlas is a classically trained singer.
Also like Horowitz, she has an affection for certain Germanic traditions and would like to see them flourish in Buffalo.
Atlas spent a short time living in Munich, and the experience affected her deeply. “In Germany, on Sunday afternoons, people go out walking.
They’re part of a group,” she muses. She adds that she would like to see something like that here.
“I also sang in the choir of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Buffalo,” she says. “The alto section was full of these German ladies.
I had this idea they were like keepers of the music, because of the way they participated in the music program at Holy Trinity.
We had a lot of volunteers, and they were there for love of music and love of God. Because they were so dedicated, for someone like me,
who was studying to be an opera singer, that was something to be a part of.”
Through the choir, Atlas became acquainted with the Friends of Vienna. “I thought it was pretty high-quality programming,” she says.
Sunday’s inaugural Friends of Vienna concert features a performance by the Amberg Quartet. Comprising the group are Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
principal clarinetist John Fullam as well as BPO flutist Betsy Reeds, oboist Paul Schlossman and pianist Persis Vehar.
The quartet is called the Amberg after Danish composer Johan Amberg, who wrote a suite in 1923 for that particular combination of instruments.
The Amberg suite is on Sunday’s program, as is music by German compose Robert Schumann. Also on tap is music by Vehar, who is composer in residence
at Canisius College.
The new concerts will be held at the traditional location, the Unity Church on Delaware Avenue.
“I want to do what works, keep it going,” Atlas says. “We just want people to feel comfortable that the Friends of Vienna will continue and we
are going to follow in the footsteps of what our predecessors have laid down.
“We’re not here because we have any glorified image of ourselves. We’re here to maintain and keep something alive.”
PREVIEW
WHO: The Friends of Vienna, presenting the Amberg Quartet
WHEN: 3:30 p. m. Sunday
WHERE: The Unity Church, 1243 Delaware Ave.
ADMISSION: $8 general, $6 students INFO: 838-3730
mkunz@buffnews.com
© 2009 The Buffalo News
Return to the Friends of Vienna main page
Mary Kay Atlas is the new
president of Friends of Vienna.
Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News
News Classical Music Critic