Psychological Moment

The U.S. has a soft spot in its heart for Russian musicians. Over the years it has made heroes of such men as Rachmaninoff, Horowitz, Heifetz and Stravinsky, and they in turn have made the U.S. their home. Today there is another generation of Russian virtuosos. The best of them, Violinist David Oistrakh, 47, and Pianist Emil Gilels, 38, have been sweeping through Europe in recent years, but no top Soviet artist has appeared in the U.S. since the end of World War II.

This cultural Iron Curtain has long piqued Frederick C. Schang Jr.. president of Columbia Artists Management Inc., who thought the Soviet stars would make a smash hit in the U.S. if they could only be coaxed away from home at the "psychological moment." In 1939 he dickered with Georgy N. Zarubin, Soviet Commissioner to the New York World's Fair, and signed up a team of seven musicians, including Oistrakh and Gilels. He even booked Carnegie Hall for six evenings. Then the U.S.S.R. signed its nonaggression pact with Nazi Germany, and the scheme went up in smoke.

Manager Schang bided his time while U.S.-Russian relations blew hot and blew cold until, about a year ago, the Soviets joined UNESCO. That, decided Schang, meant a major policy shift, and he promptly opened negotiations with the Soviet embassy in Washington to import Russian musicians. His cause was helped by the fact that the Soviet ambassador is the Georgy Zarubin of World's Fair days. It may also have been helped by the fact that Violinist Yehudi Menuhin met Oistrakh in London and began his own correspondence with the State Department in the hope of winning his colleague a visa to the U.S. When Schang asked about visas, he said, the State Department "encouraged" him. Last week, Pianist Gilels told the embassy he was willing to come. Schang took an option on Carnegie Hall for three dates late in September.

At week's end, Schang was confident that "Gilels is in the bag." Oistrakh may come next spring, if international tempos remain steady. By that time, Schang hopes to see some of his top clients--Conductors Dimitri Mitropoulos, Eugene Ormandy and Leopold Stokowski, Violinist Yehudi Menuhin, Bass Baritone George London--solidly booked for concerts in Russia.

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