Newsday (Nassau Edition) from Hempstead, New York • 131

1 If (in association with the Island Concert Hall) is a concert next Friday evening with Stokowski and the American Symphony at Post College in Brookville Pianist Jorge Bo-let will be the soloist The concert is one of four joint ventures with the Island Concert Hall at Post William Steinberg and the Pittsburgh Symphony Nov 13 Max Rudolf and the Boston Symphony Dec 4 and Rostropovich Dec 19 complete the series The cellist will be making his first American appearance since (he Russian government banned all of his tours last year in apparent reprisal for his supirort of Nobel Prize winning author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in the face of government criticism The City Ballet stars among them Edward Villella and Violette Verdy will be seen Oct 17 at Maria Regina High School in a program produced by the Eglevsky Bailey Company of Long Island The Hudson Valley Philharmonic directed by Clauds Monleux will provide accompaniment Other arts programs under county auspices include a day-long vocal and choral workshop for students teachers and music fans at Hof-stra University Oct 30 The program will feature an evening concert by the National Chorale Two additional dance programs are scheduled for the fall and winter a Nov 21 workshop at Holy Trinity High School featuring the Joffrey second company and an in-school lecture-demonstration by the Nassau County Dance Ensemble Further information about all county-sponsored events may be obtained by calling the cultural office at 535-4044 I space now occupied by the Forum The old City Center theater on West 55th Street would be razed and in its place a skyscraper would be erected containing a 3000-seat theater to be operated by City Center commercial shops and offices This building would give the city $1000000 a year in taxes The City Council deferred action at the time because of objections by Minority Leader Eldon Clingan (L-Manhattan) that members of the Rockefeller family own property on West 55th Street adjacent to City Center and would benefit financially from a new office building Ironically although objections were the basis for second public hearing by the finance committee they were barely discussed Most of the discussion centered on the contemplated renovation of file Beaumont Dore Schary chairman of the ad hoc committee said his group was "irrevocably opposed to the destruction of the Forum the most beautiful small theater in America" He and Clive Barnes dance and drama critic of the New York Times who also spoke in opposition to the plan argued that the Langlois collection and the three film theaters could be housed elsewhere Barnes asserting that the primary questions were aesthetic rather than financial said renovation of the Beaumont would destroy the possibility that the building could be used for rotating repertory operation as well as the chance for the Repertory Theater to become in time national theater II Coming to Nassau: Top starsm and a first Soviet cellist Mstislav Rostropovich conductor Leopold Stokowski the Pittsburgh and Boston Symphonies and stars of the New York City Ballet are among the leading artists to be featured cm various programs to be presented this season by Nassau Office of Cultural Development The cultural office which in prior years has languished in near obscurity due primarily to insufficient funds appears to be asserting more influence in local cultural affairs First in a series of county-sponsored events City Center loses Beaumont shirmish By Allan Wallach Newsday National Entertainment Editor Another skirmish in the long-running Battle of the Beaumont was fought at City Hall yesterday and when the smoke had cleared the proposed City Center takeover of the theater building at Lincoln Center was in serious doubt for the first time since the battle was joined Until yesterday the opposition to a poaal that would give die New York City Center operating control of the Vivian Beaumont Theater relocating the widely admired Forum Theater in the process was voiced by members of the theatrical community who were not directly involved in the controversy But at a public hearing of the City finance committee Jules Irving artistic director of the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center the resident company harshly attacked the plan publicly for the first time Irving labeled "a big the contention that the Repertory Theater would go out of business without the City Center takeover Repertory Theater is and has been through 40 productions alive and Irving declared citing its 35000 subscribers near-capacity audiences and a drop in the average annual deficit to $517000 last season from the previous $750000 He said the Repertory Theater had rejected the City Center takeover in May was told by Lincoln Center that the plan would be accepted by Lincoln Center regardless of the Repertory stand Indeed we were told point-blank to agree to the plan or get out of the Beaumont" The board and management agreed he said only because "we all felt it better for the theater to survive than to close its doors" Last month Irving indicated reluctant acquiescence telling a meeting of the Drama Desk Tm delighted the building is off my back The Repertory Theater is now burdened by the responsibility for the Beaumont even during the summer when it is dark But Irving had questioned the need to move the 299-seat Forum from its present basement location in the Beaumont complex to a back-stage area behind the 1084-seat Beaumont TTiBfttcr After sharp attack yesterday Richard Clurman chairman of City Center told the finance committee Tm delighted that they need our help We will turn our attention elsewhere" Asked by telephone later if this meant the City Center plan was dead Clurman said think a good plan if needed If not needed no point in pursuing it" He said the plan would still be available "if they come back and say they really want it" The meeting ended with Councilman Mario Merola (D-Bronx) the finance committee chairman giving an ad hoc Committee to Save the Theater at Lincoln Center 60 days in which to come up with a progress report indicating alternatives to the City Center takeover Merola said later that the matter would remain dormant until the committee reports back At a meeting on Sept 23 the City Council appeared on the verge of approving the proposal that the city acquire the Beaumont for a token $1 spend $5182000 to renovate the building and turn it over to the nonprofit City Center In the contemplated renovation the City Center would put three small film theaters a screening room and the Henri Langlois film collection in the basement Concert subscriptions Subscriptions are still available for tlie new season of the Greater New Hyde Park Community Concert Association which opens Oct 23 with Ruth to the Dance" program Subsequent dates include the Turnau Opera Bo home" Dec 11 pianist Lee Evans and his trio Jan 15 and the Beaux Arts Trio Feb 12 Further information may be obtained by calling 352-2348 or by writing the association at 30 Kalda Ave New Hyde Park NY AP Wlnmhno Conductor Stokowski left and cellist Rostropouisch: Auspicious programs for LI V- Friday October 8 1971 11 A i i.