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JOHN
TERAUDS A press of a Queen St. W. doorbell and quick climb up a flight of stairs began a time-travel adventure deep into the 19th century Saturday night. We, the workaholic denizens of the 21st-century, know the salon as a temple to tresses and tonsure. But it has a longer, older history as a meeting place of like-minded artists, intellectuals and bon-vivants. From 17th-century France to 19th-century Germany and Russia, the upper classes distracted and edified themselves with readings, concerts and lively debate within the safe and comfortable confines of a well-appointed drawing room - by invitation only, of course. So imagine the wonder of stumbling across a real salon in Toronto this past weekend. The stumble came in the form of an e-mail invitation to the first in a series of three "Queen Street Concerts" organized by music agent Marilyn Gilbert and artist/art-supply dealer Ben Woolfitt, and hosted by Woolfitt in his loft home (the next event is April 26). The star of the evening was Roman Zaslavsky, a young Russian-born, Frankfurt-based classical pianist whose name has not yet crossed the Atlantic. A phone call to Gilbert revealed that the loft could seat 100 and that, once the costs were covered, the proceeds from the $28 tickets would go toward funding the arts program at the nearby Dewson Street Junior Public School. Woolfitt's paintings would be on view and on sale. And the invitation also promised hot hors d'oeuvres. About 50 people showed up in Woolfitt's splendid space. "Now this is what a loft is supposed to be like," one guest murmured. As they arrived, visitors wandered around the large open room - anchored by a 7-foot grand piano in one corner and a billiard table in another - looking at the art and chatting. The tenor of greetings and conversations suggested that many knew one or both of the organizers and had come out of friendly support as much as curiosity. It turned out that Gilbert is the Dewson Street school's community representative on the parent committee. Even though her own children are grown, she says she feels strongly about the fate of arts programs faced with relentless budget cutting — especially in an inner-city neighbourhood where many children grow up in families with limited means. "Every
year I just want to write a cheque, but I'm not rich," she said.
After a talk one day with friend and neighbour Woolfitt, the duo decided
to try a concert series. Woolfitt - who doesn't play - had bought
a gorgeous-looking 1891 German Bechstein piano from a tenant's estate
a year ago with dreams of future There is a precedent for this sort of thing. "Many managers in Europe have their own concert series in their towns," Gilbert etrument's uneven tuning, lack of resonance from the bass strings and obvious clicks and clacks from the keyboard action, his performance was marvellous. Johannes
Brahms' three Op. 117 Intermezzi opened the program. Zaslavsky gave
them an intensity that never forgot to highlight Brahms' clever and
discreet Suitably
focused, Zaslavsky attacked the vast, technically demanding Symphonic
Etudes, Op. 13 by Robert Schumann, expertly plumbing the explosive The artist cleansed the palate with "El Albaicín" from Isaac Albeniz' Iberia suite. His iron-fist-in-velvet-glove interpretation left this listener wanting more of this under-appreciated Spanish composer's music. In
abrupt mood switches, Zaslavsky delivered limpid versions of two Claude
Debussy chestnuts from Estampes - "La soirée dans Grenade"
and "Jardins sous This was the pianist's first visit to Canada. "I arrived here and didn't really know what to expect," he said after the performance. Even though the small crowd and the condition of the piano were surprises, he said he enjoyed the performance. "It's a pleasure playing in such an intimate setting. You can get your audience reaction right away." He went on to mention how, "In the time of Schumann and Chopin, this is how people would have heard the music." Just
like at a real salon. 
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