A Young Nigerian's Homage To Herbert von Karajan in 1990

AfriClassical recently posted a link to the text of an interview with Herbert von Karajan in the magazine Stereo Review in 1963.  Dr. Fred Onovwerosuoke, Founder/Director of the St. LouisAfrican Chorus, tells us of his admiration for the conductor, who passed away on July 16, 1989,and whose life he commemorated in a poem:

Maestro Karajan was a unique persona, with very interesting views that perhaps were never fully expressed publicly.  I cherish one particular brief but enriching meeting with him back stage at London's Royal Albert Hall.  He had motioned for this young black man (certainly audacious moi) to come.  After he shook my hand, he murmured witha twinkle "I know you have a question..." I don't know if I asked about Beethoven's 4th on the program or something else, but I remember
referencing one of his recordings of the Third Symphony and citing the late Maestro Adrian Bolt's interpretation of the same passage - the haunting horn-trio in the Scherzo.  To which Karajan replied, "young man, you should be a conductor."  I did return from my London steal-away back to Nigeria to continue my engineering degree.  I had no inkling then that 23 years later I'd be fortunate to be a humble surrogate to the Creative Spirits!  Adieu Maestro Herbert von Karajan!  The attached notes were from the German Embassy and the Austrian Embassy in response to my Karajan homage.  F.
Austrian Embassy, Lagos 19 March 1990
Dear Mr. Onovwerosuoke, The Austrian Embassy has the pleasure to thank you, on account of Mrs. Eliette von Karajan, for your Homage to Herbert von Karajan, which has been duly transmitted and received, and to forward to you as a tribute a book on Vienna, the capital of Austria. Yours sincerely, Klaus Derkowitsch, Chargé d'Affaires a.i.

Dear Mr. Onovwerosuoke,
Please find enclosed a letter of appreciation from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for your poem in memory of the former conductor Herbert von Karajan. Sincerely yours, (P. Mende)

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra 13^th March 1990
Dear Mr. Onovwerosuoke, With great surprise and joy have we received your poem and picture. We have fastened it to the wall of our meetingroom on a very prominent place. The whole orchestra but also the audience is thus able to view it. Thank you very much for your effort, kindness and enthusiasm. If you should come to Berlin we would be happy to have you as our guest at one of our concerts. In the meantime we send you greetings and best wishes for your well being. Yours sincerely, Hellmut Stern, Rudolf Matzel (members of the board)

Rudolph Dunbar Story Aired on BBC Radio 4

Rudolph Dunbar, the Black conductor and clarinettist from Guyana, was profiled at On An Overgrown Path on April 23, 2007, in a post entitled Berlin Philharmonic's first black conductor. The link was later published in the eNewsletter of the Myrtle Hart Society, which promotes composers and musicians of color. Response to the post was unusually heavy, according to Pliable, and it is now linked to Wikipedia. He adds:

Dunbar's inspirational story needs to reach a wider audience, so I was delighted to find BBC Radio 4 broadcasting the Strange Story of Rudolph Dunbar today (August 7 2007). Here is the BBC blurb:

Strange Story of Rudolph Dunbar
Tuesday 7 August 2007 11:30-12:00 (Radio 4 FM)
Wayne Marshall tells the story of Rudolph Dunbar.

Born into poverty in British Guiana, Dunbar became a well-known jazz and classical clarinettist as well as having a European career as a classical conductor.

Despite becoming the first black man to conduct at the Royal Albert Hall and having conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra just days after the end of the Second World War, Dunbar ended his life in obscurity in Britain, convinced that the BBC in particular had barred his way to greater things.

You can to listen to the BBC programme on demand until August 15 here. Following my article as you listen to the broadcast is really quite interesting.