Specials: The Art of Televising the Arts

It was a week when most of the specials, for a change, deserved the title of special. CBS led the parade with S. Hurok Presents—Part II, and the indefatigable impresario produced a musical program of a quality that television has not achieved in years. Pianist Artur Rubinstein performed Beethoven's Concerto in G Major, Violinist David Oistrakh played Bach's Concerto in A Minor, and the Bolshoi Ballet danced a segment of Act II of Giselle. Throughout the 90-minute show, both music and ballet were presented on their own terms—without the usual TV camera...