Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Obituaries

George Barati

Maestro George Barati of Soquel, international conductor, composer and instructor with the Los Gatos- Saratoga Department of Community Education and Recreation, died June 22 of head injuries sustained during a June 11 fall. He was 83.

Born April 3, 1913 in Gyor, Hungary, Barati came to the United States in 1938, when he was invited to form a strings department and play in a string quartet at Princeton University. Among his quartet compeers at the time was physicist Albert Einstein.

Discharged in San Francisco after service in the U.S. Army during the 1940s, Barati settled in Berkeley with wife Ruth, then moved to Honolulu, where the family spent about 18 years. Barati was gone much of the time, serving as a guest conductor with hundreds of symphonies on five continents.

While in Hawaii, Barati conducted the Honolulu Symphony and Opera. The Baratis also became friendly with author James Michener, who wrote the script for Barati's opera Noelani, which has never been performed.

In the 1970s, the family relocated to Saratoga, where for 10 years Barati was director of the Montalvo Center for the Arts. After moving to Soquel 17 years ago, the Baratis continued to be active locally through the Los Gatos-Saratoga Department of Community Education and Recreation--he taught various music history and appreciation classes and she teaches yoga.

Among the celebrities with whom Barati rubbed elbows over the years are comedian Jack Benny and musicians Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, Van Cliburn, Arnold Schoenberg and former Los Gatan Yehudi Menuhin.

"In the music world, there was almost no one we didn't know," recalls Ruth. "When we entertained them in our home, it felt natural. People used to ask us if we took any pictures. I'd say, 'Do you take pictures when you friends come over for dinner?' "

"[George] was a vibrant, robust, elegant man. He was my best friend as well as my husband," she says. Apparently his and her students felt the same, as there were always people visiting Barati in the hospital and "guessing what I needed before I asked for it," Ruth says.

Robert Sayre of Saratoga, a student of Barati's and longtime family friend, recalls the maestro as a warm and dignified man who had a mind like a walking history book.

"Everyone who took his classes loved him. He was very popular, and many people came back," Sayre says. "His aura, magnitude and presence was that of a great teacher. You could listen to him and be inspired, even if you didn't know much about music."

Barati's music lives on in his CDs and tapes, including the yet-to-be-released CD Chant of Darkness, a symphony recorded in Prague which he wrote in memory of his daughter Lorna, who died of cancer.

Survivors include wife Ruth of Soquel; son Stephen George Barati of Texas; daughter and son-in-law Donna and Keven Guillory of Berkeley; and granddaughters Maiya and Jasmine Guillory.

Memorial services are scheduled for Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. at the First Congregational Church in Santa Cruz. Donations may be made to the Lorna Barati Music Therapy Fund, in care of Cindy Perlis, Art for Recovery Director, Mt. Zion Hospital, 1600 Divisadero, San Francisco, 94120.

Anthony Anzalone

N. Anthony "Tony" Anzalone, longtime Los Gatan and owner of the Black Watch cocktail lounge downtown, died June 16 of congestive heart failure. He was 72.

Born March 24, 1924 in Omaha, Neb., to Sicilian immigrants, Anzalone settled in Los Gatos following service in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Solomon "Doc" Leider, then-owner of La Rinconada Country Club, hired Anzalone as a groundskeeper. Anzalone soon became club manager; he would later come to assist Leider in managing other country-club ventures, including the Pajaro Country Club in Watsonville and the Almaden Country Club.

After serving as manager of the former Lyndon Hotel in Los Gatos, Anzalone and Bill Leonard, son of hotel owner Willis "Tiny" Leonard, opened the Black Watch in March 1959. According to son Brad, his father had considered several names for the bar and liked the pub-like atmosphere lent by the name "The Black Watch"--after the famous Scottish regiment formed in the 18th century.

From 1972 to 1985, Anzalone's son Greg managed the bar; under his influence the business became more youth-oriented and enjoyed the label "the kamikaze capital of the world" for its infamous drinks. Greg's brother Brad took over management in 1985, although Anzalone always had a hand in running the business.

Anzalone was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in late 1992, the same year in which son Greg died of a heart attack. Told he had less than a year to live, Anzalone turned the Black Watch over to sons Brad and Steve, who, together with manager Robert Killion, continue to run the bar today.

"He always took care of everyone. He was always on the lookout for his friends; he wasn't just looking to make a buck," said Brad Anzalone, adding that his father had even gotten troubled people to stop drinking--including a friend and patron who spoke at Anzalone's funeral and said "Thanks to Tony, I'm alive today."

Survivors include wife Nell of Los Gatos; son and daughter-in-law Brad and Suzeanne Anzalone of Los Gatos; son and daughter-in-law Steve and Kim Anzalone of Los Gatos; grandchildren Kristina, Kayla, Sarah, Christopher, Matthew and Jennifer; and great-grandson Shane.

Memorial services have been held, with inurnment at Los Gatos Memorial Park. Donations may be made to the American Heart Association, Santa Clara County Office, 1 Almaden Blvd., San Jose, 95113.

OBITUARY NOTICES

The Los Gatos Weekly-Times publishes obituaries as a community service. There is no charge for these stories, but we do require that information about the deceased be provided to us on our official Obituary Notice form. The forms are available at the Weekly-Times office, 245 Almendra Ave., Los Gatos.