On January 16th, 1994, Marilyn Horne celebrated her sixtieth birthday, and I am sure that, if they had known about it, all the world would have joined the company and audience at the Carnegie Hall in singing ''Happy birthday to you''. The occasion, which attracted a capacity attendance despite ''the cutting chill of a bleak Manhattan afternoon'', was clearly warm-hearted and memorable: probably, indeed, unforgettable. It also had the purpose of launching the Marilyn Horne Foundation, intended to promote song recitals in the future. It was obviously a concert for recording: the announced line-up of artists was impressive and some guests (notably Ramey, Levine and ''Ol' man river'') were to arrive.
The programme, too, had its surprises as well as a sufficient provision of more regular fare. Yet I'm never quite sure that these things survive the moment itself. Listening at home, one enters into the spirit, up to a point, but it's mainly a theoretical kind of enjoyment (''I bet she put that over well'', ''You can tell they loved that'', and so forth). Musically, time and money could have been better spent. For those who were present, the memento will be cherishable except that one hears all the faults, the signs of age that never seemed evident at the time. The youngsters, Renee Fleming and Ruth Ann Swenson, sing well; the middle group (von Stade, Donath, Ramey) have plenty of life and some style about them; the veterans (Caballe was born, give or take a day or two, just when Horne was conceived—I wonder if anyone thought of that) bring a glow with them, especially when she of the happy birthday sings ''At the river''. The disc may come down from the shelves from time to time; and this review may (I hope) come out in time to wish a happy sixty-first on January 16th, 1995.'