Salzburg, 1945

For four magic years, 1934-38, Salzburg was Europe's place-to-go in August. Since 1842, the city's Austrian Burgers had honored Native Son Mozart with a summer music festival, and since 1900 it had attracted music lovers. Then, in 1934, Arturo Toscanini moved to Salzburg, and thousands came by train and plane to see and hear him. After Anschluss and the departure of Fascist-hater Toscanini, Germany's Wilhelm Furtwangler took over and the festivals became Nazi celebrations.

Last week the Salzburg Festival was on again--under the wary eye of the American Military Government. White-helmet-ed MPs directed generals' limousines through cobbled streets. Inside the Festspielhaus some 50 hand-picked Austrians in dowdy evening clothes, were carefully segregated from U.S. soldiers who filled two-thirds of the auditorium. The concert began with s balcony speech by General Mark Clark. Then the Mozarteum Orchestra, including 27 musicians ousted by the Nazis, played Mozart, Lehar and Johann Strauss.

The schedule for the 25 remaining performances promised none of the oldtime greats -- like Bruno Walter, Lotte Lehmann, Max Reinhardt and Adolf Busch. Instead there would be Czech conductor Felix Prohaska; Rosl Schwaiger, s promising and pretty young blond Salzburg soprano; and Pfc. Gilbert Winkler, a 20-year-old calvary rifleman from New Jersey with piano talent. The only opera on this year's program is Mozart's II Seraglio; it is the only one that the Salzburgers could fit out fit a complete set of scenery.

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