Arthur Gold; Pianist Helped Popularize Contemporary Music

Arthur Gold, 72, with Robert Fizdale half of the piano duo that helped the public develop an interest in contemporary music. From 1944, when they made their debut at New York City’s Town Hall after graduating from Juilliard, until 1982 when Fizdale’s health forced their retirement, they introduced and performed the works of John Cage, Paul Bowles, Alexeif Haieff, Darius Milhaud and others. They commissioned Samuel Barber’s “Souvenirs” and works by Virgil Thomson, Francis Poulenc and others. Gold and Fizdale became fixtures on the European and U.S. concert circuits in the 1950s and ‘60s and recorded regularly for Columbia. They also teamed to write a book on arts patron Misia Sert and “The Gold and Fizdale Cookbook.” A biography of Sarah Bernhardt is awaiting publication. In New York City on Wednesday of lung cancer.