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Page Four, PHOENIXMarathon Shows%u00ab / %u2022 Mcaaemy iranryBY MICHAEL ALLENThe Baroque Marathon at theAcademy of Music on March 31was testimony to how alive andvital an institution the Academycan be %u2014 even when its walls areringing with Eighteenth Centurymusic.Four and a half hours of musicpresented by the BrooklynPhilharmonia Orchestra and a hostof other performers, guidedmusically and verbally by Conductor-Soloist Lucas Foss,represented a veritable one-nightmusic appreciation course in theBaroque period.And the people poured in. Coffeeand danish (and real drinks too) inthe lobby, the crowds rolled in andout of the Music Hall during thefirst half of the program, buildingall the while as group after grouptrooped onto the stage to make itsoffering.Gabrieli, Scarlatti, Laso, Purcell, Teleman, the music began toroll.At the 6:00 start, there werehundreds of people in their seats.During the first two hours, theMusic Hall filled, and dozens ofpeople stood in the rear of the hall.The New Age Brass Ensemble,Gregg Smith Singers, the ConcordString Quartet, and New YorkKantorei provided the tour.The Concord String Quartetcame on stage at about 6:40 to do aseries of Purcell Fantasies. But,hark, aren%u2019t there only four to aquartet? Those sitting closeenough to the stage, recognized theface of Conductor Foss, sitting inas a fifth member of the Quartet,but not watching his music, rathersurveying the house.My favorites among the first-halfperformances: the ScarlattiSonata in D Minor, performed byFrances Cole on the Harpsichord;and a soprano duet by Lois Boveand Neva Pilgrim of Couperin%u2019s%u201cLamentations of Jeremiah,%u201daccompanied by Jean Fischer onthe Harpsichord and NormanFischer on Cello.114 HENRY St.MOOKIYN HBOHTSGmM$t RESERVATIONS:624-3164Mon.-Sat. 5-9:30pm Sun. l-8:30pmJoin Us For OurGRAND RE-OPENINGThursday April 5, 5pmBring your favorite wine(no liquor license)finest French & Continental cuisine144 Atlantic Ave.hrs. 11am to 11pm 625-7888625-0883 open %u2019HI 12p.m.RESTAURANT&COCKTAIL LOUNGESteaks-Chops-Seafood515 ATLANTIC AVENUE(corner of 3rd Ave.)Lukas Foss conducted the Brooklyn Philharmonia, asAs if planned, when the crowdbuilt to capacity, the action shiftedto the larger Opera House. Onstage awaited the PhilharmoniaOrchestra and a combined choruscomposed of members of the NewYork Choral Society and theBrooklyn Philharmonia ChoralSociety. The big action was tobegin. A powerful Handel Anthemfrom %u201cZadok the Priest,%u201d a HandelConcerto Grosso in F and someother assorted pieces were enjoyable.But the treat of the evening camewhen the chairs were moved back,the piano top was raised, andConductor Foss moved to thekeyboard. J. S. Bach, Concerto inD Minor. The sounds were wonderful, and the sight mysterious.At times, bne hand on the keyboard%u2014 piano sounds heard %u2014 but theother snaking through the air,leading on the rest of the orchestra.Foss was spectacular. Theaudience went wild. It was 10 p.m.But everybody stayed in theirseats. A well-filled Opera House,two hours into a single sitting (fourhours by this time for those whohad arrived at 6) but aside fromhe played the piano solo in Bach%u2019s Concerto in D Minor.(Henry j . bcorcia photo)some rustling, there were fewexits. Everybody wanted to hearthe finale %u2014 a performance of theseldom-heard Vivaldi %u201cGloria.%u201dAll the choral groups combined,soloists Pilgrim, Bove and mezzosoprano Sofia Steffan, plus theorchestra produced the emotionalsounds that capped the evening.Applause at the end was sustained,almost in the wishful hope thatthere might be an encore. (Afterall, where was a great Vivaldiconcerto, or a bit from the Handel%u201cWater Music?%u201d). But it was over:4'/a hours, and everybody I sawwas good for more.Some random thoughts about theevening: The chatty Foss dialoguebrought an intimacy to the processthat should have been carriedthrough the whole program insteadof the last half only. It%u2019s a shamethe Academy has no organ of itsown; it was sorely missed in a tourof the Baroque. I was disappointedto see close-up the condition of theMusic Hall at the Academy. Let%u2019shope it gets a refurbishing soon.There is something compellingabout the Marathon process, andwe%u2019re surprised it hasn%u2019t beenTH ISyeA R ?i1 hen visit A\\k. 5 0 UVLAKJ:147 /v\\owTfl&U%u00a3. StSpanish Restaurant121 Atlantic Ave.6 2 5 -8 5 3 9Authentic CuisineFrom Spainfeaturing:\Sat. A Sun., Noon-4 P.M.OPEN LUNCH AND DINNER SEVEN DAJS240 Dekalb Ave. 783-9239Serving Only Seafoodfor Meat Boycott Week'O O O r 'O 0 0 0 0 O 0 n 0 O 0 0 0 r iO 0 0 0 (l0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Q 0 0 0 0 C ^TWO STEPS DOWND D C T A T TTD A \\ T Ti x j L i U i r A u i v n i N iLUNCHEON & DINNEROpen M on.-Fri. 1T:30-K)pmLet us cater your partysiumimmm'mmm' - etummemSSbetter received until now. Perhapsit%u2019s the natural distain of theserious music administrators andcritics for anything that tends to%u201cpopularize%u201d music; many of them(and too many serve on the boardsof orchestras) tend to equatecrowds with vulgarity. Theseason%u2019s first Marathon at the endof 1972 was for Modern Music; theturnout was sparce. Perhaps thecrowds on Saturday proved that atleast Brooklyn is a good 18thCentury town.There will be an opportunity forus all to move forward in time(musically) when the Philharmonia presents its RomanticMarathon Saturday, April 28, atthe Academy. Times: 6-10:30 p.m.ThreatTo BSSeriesBY ANTHONY COLEMANThe Boston Symphony performed the second of this year%u2019sthree concert series at theBrooklyn Academy of Music lastThursday. The orchestra%u2019s annualBrooklyn trip, an 85-year tradition,always brings out a welcoming andappreciative crowd, and lastweek%u2019s audience was no exception.In recent years, however, theBrooklyn Institute of Arts andSciences, the sponsoringorganization, has had to facefunding crisis and threats of theseries ending. Though grants forthe 1972 performances camethrough at the very last moment,next year%u2019s schedule has been cutto one presentation, and as anannouncer during Thursday%u2019sintermission noted, that singleperformance was in jeopardy as isthe continuation of the series after1973. The New York State Councilon the Arts has advised that further support of the Boston concertsis dependent upon increasedfinancial support from theBrooklyn community, a campaignwhich has been started by tlx:sponsors.The program on Thursdayopened with American composerSamuel Barber%u2019s Overture to %u201cTheSchool for Scandal,%u201d composed in1932. This was a pleasant piece ofmusic, and though it seemed1 Continued on Page 13O P E N 7 D A Y S si