Panel text reads:
Dr. Jalowetz
Quick wit, discerning eyes. The first day in class, we were taken with him, his tousled hair, white crumpled linen jacket and bow tie. Nervous, warm— the students were drawn to Heinrich Jalowetz. No, he was not an enigma.
But, with many sides. Calm authority on the "old," fierce defender of the "new." Dr. Jalowetz was a stabilizing prophet of modernity. Skeptical and all-embracing. A man, rich in time. Highly individual without trying to be. He convinced, not sermonized. When performing operas on the piano, powerful gestures (and something like Toscanini's eloquent growls). You felt he was conducting a full orchestra. His instrument was the viola.
Events familiar now. Born in 1882, in Brno, Moravia, Czechoslovakia. His musical career geographically extensive. In 1938, he'd come to Black Mountain College, thanks to the Hitler scourge. The background was formidable, down to (then) most "everyday" contacts. In a stray snapshot, the young Jalowetz and wife, Johanna—a remarkable lady on her own—in the Austrian Alps, with Sigmund Freud on a family picnic. Close associate of Arnold Schoenberg, assistant conductor to Gustav Mahler, friend of Alban Berg and Webern. His students were moving in deep, cultural waters. We were among the first music students. Leslie played trombone and was appointed bass solo (using trombone), doing Zarastro's great aria from THE MAGIC FLUTE.
One of the gifts of Jalowetz was a genuine accessibility. He took to Black Mountain College's "moral principles in education" (participatory democracy) like a fish to water.
On this were friendships built. But we never called him the familiarizing "Jalo," as a number of students did
Though Dr. Jalowetz and Mrs. Jalowetz were more sophisticated and dear than many of our close friends and relatives. One afternoon, Leslie (from long back, an accomplished jazz buff) invited Jalowetz to his studio to listen to his new Billie Holiday record, Strange Fruit. Jalowetz listened, half-narrowed eyes. At the end, in a low voice: "Ia! That's original."
It's hard these days to describe anything so honest and positive. Dr. Jalowetz had a doctorate in philosophy, as well as music. Among philosophers he sometimes mentioned were Martin Buber and Nietzsche, hard bitten idealists, too. Like them, he was determined and unassuming. No historical irony escaped him.
(Leslie Katz and Jane Mayhall’s introductory memories…)
Dr. Jalowetz
Quick wit, discerning eyes. The first day in class, we were taken with him, his tousled hair, white crumpled linen jacket and bow tie. Nervous, warm— the students were drawn to Heinrich Jalowetz. No, he was not an enigma.
But, with many sides. Calm authority on the "old," fierce defender of the "new." Dr. Jalowetz was a stabilizing prophet of modernity. Skeptical and all-embracing. A man, rich in time. Highly individual without trying to be. He convinced, not sermonized. When performing operas on the piano, powerful gestures (and something like Toscanini's eloquent growls). You felt he was conducting a full orchestra. His instrument was the viola.
Events familiar now. Born in 1882, in Brno, Moravia, Czechoslovakia. His musical career geographically extensive. In 1938, he'd come to Black Mountain College, thanks to the Hitler scourge. The background was formidable, down to (then) most "everyday" contacts. In a stray snapshot, the young Jalowetz and wife, Johanna—a remarkable lady on her own—in the Austrian Alps, with Sigmund Freud on a family picnic. Close associate of Arnold Schoenberg, assistant conductor to Gustav Mahler, friend of Alban Berg and Webern. His students were moving in deep, cultural waters. We were among the first music students. Leslie played trombone and was appointed bass solo (using trombone), doing Zarastro's great aria from THE MAGIC FLUTE.
One of the gifts of Jalowetz was a genuine accessibility. He took to Black Mountain College's "moral principles in education" (participatory democracy) like a fish to water.
On this were friendships built. But we never called him the familiarizing "Jalo," as a number of students did
Though Dr. Jalowetz and Mrs. Jalowetz were more sophisticated and dear than many of our close friends and relatives. One afternoon, Leslie (from long back, an accomplished jazz buff) invited Jalowetz to his studio to listen to his new Billie Holiday record, Strange Fruit. Jalowetz listened, half-narrowed eyes. At the end, in a low voice: "Ia! That's original."
It's hard these days to describe anything so honest and positive. Dr. Jalowetz had a doctorate in philosophy, as well as music. Among philosophers he sometimes mentioned were Martin Buber and Nietzsche, hard bitten idealists, too. Like them, he was determined and unassuming. No historical irony escaped him.
(Leslie Katz and Jane Mayhall’s introductory memories…)
Artwork: 1995.48.1
Dr. Jalowetz
This work was created for the 1995 exhibition Remembering Black Mountain College curated by Mary Emma Harris in conjunction with Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center and the BMC alumni reunion organized by Mary Holden Thompson, founding director of BMCM+AC.
24 x 18 inches
In copyright
Gift of Leslie Katz and Jane Mayhall
Leslie Katz and Jane Mayhall, Dr. Jalowetz, 1995. Printed paper on foam board. Collection of Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. Gift of the artist.
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