A narration to an Easter symphony, which offended many Jewish patrons at its first performance by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, has been resolved in negotiations with the orchestra management, it was disclosed today.
The symphony was entitled “The Way of the Cross,” an original work by Camil Van Hulse. Many Jewish patrons were so offended by the dialogue in the narration which accompanied the performance, that they left during or after intermission, Many complaints were received by the Anti-Defamation League-Community Relations Committee of the Tucson Jewish Community Council, according to its chairman, Stanley Feldman.
“Following a meeting of our committee with officers and board members of the Tucson Symphony, the controversy has been resolved, ” he added. Eugene Steinhaimer, president-elect of the orchestra, said in a letter to the Community Council that the meeting was “an outstanding example of good community relations in a possibly disturbing situation.” He said that the issue involved “an inadvertent error in a few of the words” used in the concert.
Frederick Balasz, the symphony director, said the objectionable wording was “thoroughly unintentional” and had been corrected immediately by the composer “long before any complaints came to his attention.” William Gordon, president of the JCC, said the Jewish organization was “pleased with the most happy resolution of a sensitive matter.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
