Family Party

The conductor, seated at the Baldwin in Manhattan's Carnegie Hall, looked at the greying, dignified man on his left and the professional fellow in horn-rimmed glasses on his right, both seated at Stein-ways. Then Leonard Bernstein launched his assembled forces into Bach's Concerto in C for Three Pianos. A part of last week's special Bach Christmas program by the New York Philharmonic, the concerto was ably executed, drew enthusiastic applause and an extra bow by the performers. The odd thing about the performance: Bernstein's fellow pianists had never before played for such an audience. They were David M. Keiser, board chairman of the Cuban-American Sugar Co. and president of the New York Philharmonic, and Carlos Moseley, the orchestra's associate manager and press chief.

Why had Bernstein put such distinguished nonprofessionals on his program? "Christmas family spirit," said Lenny. Each man had the background to make the party a serious success. Manager Moseley studied piano under famed Teacher Olga Samaroff, was a fellow student of Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood in 1941. Later, Moseley spent five years (1950-55) as director of the School of Music at the University of Oklahoma. Sugar Baron Keiser, Harvard '27, won a Juilliard scholarship after graduation, studied piano under Ernest Hutcheson before he took over the family business (Cuban-American Sugar Co.). Keiser still gives concerts near his home in Connecticut. After ripping through his last cadenza with a touch of a smile on his face, Keiser came offstage last week saying, "What fun. What fun." Said Santa Bernstein: "I wish more musicians were as reliable."

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