Basic HTML Version
GATES OF HELL
Continued
picture we painted of the great cultural
center, that von Karajan became con–
vinced. He studied his calendar , trying
lo shift dates. But when he was avail–
able, the orchestra was not, and when
the orchestra had time, he did not.
Regretfully, he informed us that it would
be impossible for him lo come .
" Maestro," 1asked, " in your opinion ,
who is second to you in the world as a
maestro?"
" There is no question ," he replied at
once. "Second tome is Giulini ."
" Oh," 1 said, glancing at Mr. Arm–
strong. "ls that right?" 1 had never
heard of Giulini and neither, 1 was
certain, had Mr. Armstrong.
" Absolutely, " von Karajan was say–
ing, "He is a great artist."
Tentatively, 1 asked: "And where is
he?" Von Karajan told us: " He has just
taken up the baton of the Vienna Sym–
phony Orchestra. Makes no difference.
You get Giulini. He is the greatest
maestro in the world, except for me."
We made several telephone calls,
learned Giulini was in París and flew
there. By that time, we had filled in the
gaps in our knowledge , learning that
Cario Maria Giulini , then 59 years old,
had made his debut as a conductor in
1944
and had won considerable renown
in the musical world, especially in ltaly
and England. In Paris, we called his
representative, explained our mission ,
and he agreed to meet with us at the St.
Regis, a small but exclusive residential
hotel not lar from where we were
staying.
Almos! from the moment we met in
the hotel's salon, we knew our search
had ended. He was a beautiful man
physically, with sweet, sensitive fea–
tures. And we learned very quickly that
he was beautiful within as well . He was a
deeply religious man who saw in Herbert
Armstrong all that the things ot the spirit
represen! to him; and Mr. Armstrong
saw in Giulini all that he wanted to see in
the person who would grace the audito–
rium, which would be a house of God.
Still , the opening minutes of our con–
versation were a virtual replay of the von
Karajan interview. When we explained
38
what we wanted, Giulini too thought we
were a couple of crazy people! Who
would book an orchestra to play in a
nonexistent hall? When he voiced his
misgivings, Mr. Armstrong assured him:
" Believe me, the building will be
fi nished. "
" What about the acoustics?" Giulini
insisted. Understandably, he was con–
cerned about being the first conductor
to play in an untested hall that just might
turn out lo be an acoustical disaster.
" They will be perfect, " said Mr. Arm–
strong, smiling benevolently at the
maestro.
" But how do you know?"
" 1don'! know. But they will be per–
fect. "
Guilini asked no more questions . He
agreed to come.
The evening of April
7, 1974,
was
one of the most brilliant in the memories
of concertgoers in the West , if not the
entire nation. The Auditorium was
ready, and it
was
perfect, though only
three days before it stood in a waste–
land of dirt and stones. By opening
night, alter tireless work by gardeners,
the landscaping had been completed.
Maestro Giulini could scarcely believe
it; he called it a miracle, and in a very
real sense it was. Because Mr. Arm–
strong's faith was perfect, the building
was completed and it was right. Every–
thing carne together with faultless preci–
sion, as he had known all along.
In Matthew
17:20
we find this great
passage: " lf ye have faith as a grain of
mustard seed, ye shall say unto this
mountain, Remove hence lo yonder
place; and it shall remove. . .. " " Arm–
strong's Folly" became the wonder of
the concert world because God had so
willed it; Mr. Armstrong had an abiding
belief that the mountain would be
moved. o
Bible prophecy made plain!
Prophetic symbols
revealed.
Mysterious prophecies in the Book of Revela·
t ion revea led at last. Catastrophic events
soon to bring the end of this age. Here's a
free booklet that explains where we are in
prophecy and what you need to do about it.
Request your copy today.
What will happen
next ?
The story flow of
Revelation.
The k ey t o un·
derstanding Bible
prophecy.
Send me the FREE BOOKLET today
so 1can understand The Book of Revelation–
Unvei/ed at Last!
NAME
PLEASE PRINT
ADORESS
Use /he rep/y card in this issue or maílthis coupon to our
l
address nearest you. (See inside front cover.)
PCOX
L---l.._______
_..:.¡._________________
_J