Outing in Houston

Concertgoers the world over have heard the Kurtz brothers--but rarely together. Conductor Efrem, 51, has always shied away from family favoritism in picking his soloists. Cellist Edmund, 43, a front-rank virtuoso, has always agreed, but he adds, "Brothers can come together occasionally to have a little musical outing." Up to last week, they had had only three such outings in 25 years: in Stuttgart, Berlin and Kansas City, Mo. Houston, where Efrem has led the symphony since 1948, was treated to the fourth.

Midway through the zipping Khachaturian Cello Concerto, which Edmund Kurtz introduced in the U.S. (TIME, March 15, 1948), sharp-eyed Houstonians caught Efrem beaming down at his brother with almost fatherly pride. At the end, Edmund rose and grasped his brother's hand. Efrem bussed him warmly on the cheek. The gesture may have been a little European for Texans, but they seemed to understand and applauded roundly.

Born in Russia, where his grandfather had been a bandmaster to Czar Nicholas I, Efrem, along with an older brother, Arved, escaped to Riga, after the Bolshevik Revolution. Edmund soon joined them. All three brothers finished their musical training in Berlin, then went separate ways. Efrem got his big chance to conduct with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1921; Edmund made his concert debut in Rome in 1924. After nine years in Stuttgart, and another nine conducting the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo orchestra on international tours, Efrem settled down in the U.S., built up the Kansas City Philharmonic for five years before moving on to Houston. Edmund made his U.S. debut as a virtuoso in 1945. Meanwhile, their eldest brother, Arved, had become an educator; he now heads the New York College of Music.

None of the Kurtzes will take any credit for the musical development of the others. But Cellist Edmund thinks he owes a lot to example: "You know how it is--you want to do what your brothers are doing."

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