Ulanowsky and some among his colleagues did what they could to educate and elevate the public perception of the role of the accompanist from that of merely an obliging background provider for the soloist. Naturally, there were those among music lovers, as I occasionally later encountered them, who fully appreciated the intimate collaborative relationship between artists needed to produce great performance. As one told me, "I would get tickets if your father was playing, because I assumed that anyone he would be accompanying must be pretty good!" In his day, however, it too often remained the case that even renowned accompanists o f his caliber received a perfunctory mention at the very end of a review, even when the artists they accompanied gave them something closer to equal billing in the program.

From recently rediscovered envelopes stuffed full of reviews and mementos from Ulanowsky's career, I offer a few examples here, with a little chuckle here and there that I think my father might share with us.

Troy, NY, April 30, 1943

"Miss Brown's accompanist Paul Ulanowsky, was all that a skilled accompanist should be -- a fine musician, whose performance at no time intruded upon that of the artist, but always subtly complemented it, so that their performances were as one."

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Canada, November 7, 1960

"We had just on a third of the set [of Hugo Wolf songs] last night...from the baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau with veteran Paul Ulanowsky at the piano, adding up to one of the finest and most moving evenings of music experienced in many years."

"And Mr. Ulanowsky's piano parts were just what we have always imagined Wolf's ought to be. On his own evidence he composed "poems for voice and piano", not songs with piano accompaniment. And voice and piano here were absolutely equalized, nuance for nuance, motive for motive, line for line. A truly wonderful job."

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Jordan Hall, Boston [Date?]

"Finally, we must respectfully hint to the management that it is inexcusable not to print the name of the accompanist on the program. Last night this was the more shameful in that he was a very good one."

(Unfortunately, the reviewer also failed to get the name, which is nowhere to be found in the review!)

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Jordan Hall, Boston, Jan. 1938

"...Lambros Demetrios Callimahos, flutist, played a very rewarding program...

"...a graceful and thoroughly melodious bit of writing, in which Mssrs. Callimahos and Ulanowsky played as one man."

"It is seldom that so well balanced a performance of this particular combination is heard."

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Town Hall, New York, (Date?)

"The initial Schubert group culminated with 'Der Erlkoenig.' "

"Much of the success of this song was due to the splendid accompaniment of Paul Ulanowsky, whose support throughout the program was of a superior order."

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