Alon ossip biography of donald

The Truth About a Legend

by Leonard Bernstein

One day in 1962, I received a call from Glenn in Toronto. He was to play Brahms' D Minor Concerto with me and the New York Philharmonic the following week in Carnegie Hall. He said, "Oh boy, have I got some surprises for you; I have made such discoveries about this piece." I thought, "Well, wonderful." Any discovery of Glenn's was welcomed by me because I worshipped the way he played: I admired his intellectual approach, his "guts" approach, his complete dedication to whatever he was doing, his constant inquiry into a new angle or a new possibility of the truth of a score. That's why he made so many experimental changes of tempi. He would play the same Mozart sonata-movement adagio one time and presto the next, when actually it's supposed to be neither. He was not trying to attract attention, but looking for the truth. I loved that in him.

A week before he was to come to New York, he made that call to announce that he had some really new ideas about the Brahms, and to prepare me for them. I said, "Along what order? You're not making a big cut? You're not taking a huge repeat that Brahms didn't write?" Because he had made it sound so extraordinary I didn't know what to expect. He said, "No, it's just a matter of tempo here and there, but I just want to warn you because you might be a little shocked." I told him nothing he could do would shock me because I knew him too well by now, and I was almost unshockable.

He arrived and set forth three unbelievable tempi for the three movements. In the first place, they were so slow that the first movement alone took about as much time as it should take to play the whole concerto. It was all in six—the whole first movement had to be beaten in six. There was no sense of alla breve, which, of course, is the point of the movement—or, rather, there was no sense of that fine line between 6/4 in two and 6/4 in six. It's a kind of tightrope which you walk so that at any

GILLIAN KLAWANSKY

“Brandon was like any young kid – full of life,” says his brother Anton Ossip, who’s now the CEO of Discovery Insure. “He had a great sense of humour and was very sporty, a very well-rounded, well-liked, popular person. He was just a happy, young Jewish boy.”

While in his grade 9 year at KDVP, Brandon passed away in a car accident in April 1997.

“He was eight years younger than me,” says Anton. “There were three siblings in the family, myself, my sister and him. It’s a very hard thing to deal with for any family. Different people deal with it in different ways.”

The Ossips battled to process Brandon’s death and barely spoke about it. “My family went through some horrific times in the same year,” says Anton. “We lost my mother just six months after Brandon’s death, so it was really rough.”

In 1997, the year Brandon died, KDVP planted a tree in his memory and initiated an annual all-rounder trophy award in his name.

“The tree was planted outside the school hall about a week after his death,” says Anton. “It’s now enormous. I’m grateful for all King David has done. It was such a shock at the time that it was hard for us as a family to do anything – it was just too hard to deal with.

“I’ve always wanted to do something, though and it’s weird that it took 20 years to happen. Better late than never.”

Also looking for a way to honour his memory 20 years after his death, Brandon’s closest friends decided to rejuvenate the area around the tree at KDVP.

“They came together from around the world and decided to make it a nice place for the kids to use,” explains Anton. “So, they added a bench and a water fountain there and paved around the area. The school held a ceremony to open it a few months ago.”

At the ceremony, whi

Canadian politician (born 1966)

Belinda Caroline StronachPC (born 2 May, 1966) is a Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist, and former Member of Parliament (MP) from 2004 to 2008. Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the floor to join the Liberals. From May 17, 2005, to February 6, 2006, Stronach was the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal in the government of Paul Martin. After leaving politics, she served as the executive vice-chair of Magna International, Canada's largest automotive parts manufacturer, until December 31, 2010.

Stronach is the chair, chief executive officer and president of The Stronach Group and the founder and chair of The Belinda Stronach Foundation, a Canadian charitable organization. She also co-founded Acasta Enterprises and served as its director until 2017, when she resigned from the board.

In the early 2000s, Stronach was highlighted by the World Economic Forum and by media