THE MICHIGAN DAILY Organizations Will Contribute To Four-Day Musical Period Chicago Symphony Here For 31st Visit The Chicage Syi". phony Orchestra will play in five of the six ,Festival oncert& CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA otes On hopin oncert By BARBARA BEACH Fused in the brilliant artistry of two famous personalities, the Con- certo in F Minor will, by the sheer beauty of its melody, make the Sat- urday afternoon concert the most memorable in the series for many lis- teners. It is Frederic Chopin at his best: still filled with youth and exuber- ance, fancying himself in love, he had yet to encounter the break in health and the tragic association with George Sand that together, produced in his music that sadness and almost insane despondency for which it is known. Expresses Emotional Heights A man of exquisite sensibilities, Chopin in his music expresses the very heights of human emotion, and even transcends that which is human - reaching an almost impersonal per- fection of art. The inspiration for the second movement, drawn from Chopin's love for Constantina Gla- dowska is perhaps a mere nucleus around which he builds his sphere of imaginative feeling. The chief characteristic of the Con- certo is this lovely flowing melody, embellished with runs and arpeggios that delight and surprise. Chopin's artistry is clearly apparent in the skill with which the melody, ever changing in intricate patterns, is su- perimposed upon the background of+ the regular rhythm. His ability to+ handle rhythms with such superb, artistry will recall the fact that Cho-i pin was among the first to apply the to trace the lucid drifts of the1 as it emerges, an expressiont mantic feeling. Lhevinne isi nixed as one of the greatest intepreters of Copin H theme of ro-' recog-; living withigninterpetes fonswho ays accustomed to see Chopin transmitted 'through hair and finger-tips' will be pleasantly surprised to see this artist sitting quietly before the piano, and. with poise. Lhevinne is an impressive per- former. Grey, bushy hair and strong features, he can make his huge hands span four notes over an octave, a useful performance in the rendition of Chpin, whose intricate variations demand such things (although, strangely enough, Chopin's own hands, were unusually small). Life Is Fascinating His own life. is a fascinating story. Born in Moscow of a poor musician who played in the Moscow Opera, he received his musical training at the Moscow Imperial Conservatory under Safanoff, one of the most famous teachers at the time. Only 18- years old, Lhevinne won the Rubenstein. Award, an international prize highly coveted. When he was 30 years old, coming to the United States for his first con- cert tour, he was informed that, for lack of funds, all of his concerts save the Carnegie Hall performance had been cancelled. Undaunted, he played" there Rubenstein's Fifth Concerto (the orchestra under the direction of his former teacher, Safanoff) with (Continued on Page 3) JOSEF LHEVINNE folk dance rhythms (the polka, the mazurka, and the polonaise, to-serious musical effort.' The real spark of Chopin's genius' will be apparent, not in the orchestra- tions, but in the piano music itself. While his piano remains essentially romantic in form, the orchestral score is developed along the lines of the contrapuntal school; one realizes that Chopin had studied the old masters, such as Bach, who is an outstanding representative of the school. You may expect Joseph Lhevinne 'Boris Godunof' Will Be Heard Saturday Night Final "Concert Of Festival To Be Famous Russian Opera ByMoussorg ky "Boris Godunof" the stupendous Russian opera by Moussorgsky, will be heard in Ann Arbor for a second time, at the Saturday night May Festival concert, in Hill Auditorium. Tt was heard in Ann Arbor four years ago, and made a profound impres- sion, echoes of which have reached around the world. As on that occa- sion, it will be given in the original English version. The historical facts behind the story of "Boris Godunof" are as fol- lows: Isac Ivan, the Terrible, had two sons: Feodor, who ascended the throne, and his brother Dimitri,, who was in exile at Uglitch. Dimitri was found murdered near the end of the reign of Feod'ar, and' when Boris as- cended the throne on the death of Feodo=, it was rumored that he (Boris) had been responsible for the death of Dimitri. Boris Reign Trubled The reign of Boris was short and troubled. Led by a pretender, who passed himself as the murdered Dimitri, who had been brought back to life by a miracle, the people re- volted against Boris at the time of his death.. This is the skeleton of the plot, drawn from history and elaborated into dramatic proportions by the poet-dramatist Pushkin and readapted by the composer when he utilized these incidents for his opera. These are in all five versions of Moussorgsky's "Boris." The first written in 1868-69 was rejected by the managment of the Imperial The- atres on the ground that it was too unlike the opera as they knew it. Moussorgsky then made alterations and additions and the work was ac- cepted for production (1872-3). It was not given in its entirety, but the success of its extracts induced the music publishers, Bessel and Com- pany, to publish the vocal score in 1874. Score Long Neglected From 1881 to 1896, the score lay neglected. Then Rimsky Korsakoff made his first and later in 1908, his second distorted versions of the orig- inal. Moussorgsky, born among the country folk, ever sympathetic to their position with respect to imperi- alism, pictures their blind obedience, their awsome power and finally their surging revolution. Perhaps all this was a prophecy of the events of 1918, in which case, there is an explana- tion for the removal of the opera from the repertoire in Russia under the Tsars and the, great popularity of the work in the last decade. The music of Moussorgsky is over- flowing with vitality and reckless in its daring. It is music born of the earth, free from decadence of any kind, unfettered and incomparably stimulating. Opera Called Incomparable There is nothing, it is said, in the whole field of opera that can com- pare for dramatic intensity, and thrilling grandeur, with the great agitation scenes of the populace in Revolution; nor with the scene in which the criminal neuropathic Czar Boris is driven into madness by the ghost of his murdered victim. In the Rimsky Korsakoff versions, usually heard, much of the primor- dial power and wild splendor of the original orchestral score has been destroyed and lost, through a mis- directed attempt to "refine" some of Moussorgsky's crudity. These crudi- ties, however, appeal particularly to our age, and music lovers will wel- come the opportunity to hear this great work in its thrilling, torrential and colorful original P rogram Shows Musical Ability Oyf Many Stars MAYFESTIVAL NOTICE- THE PRICES of Season Tickets (six concerts) have been reduced $1.00 each, to new low levels of $2.00, $3.00, and $4.00 for holders of "Festival" Coupons (an average of from 33c to 67c per concert), and $5.00, $6.00,f and $7.00 for others. Orders filed and filled in sequence. ARTISTS GROUPS MARY MOORE . . . . . . . . . Soprano THE UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION HELEN JEPSON . . . . . . . Soprano EARL V. MOORE MYRTLE LEONARD . COntralto = Musical Director RUTH POSSELT . . . Violinist WILBUR EVANS.........BaritoneTHE CHICAGO SYMPHONY MAXIM PANTELEIFF . . . Baritone ORCHESTRA GIOVANNI MARTINELLi . . . Tenor JOSEF LHEVINNE . Pianist FREDERICK STOCK PAUL ALTHOUSE . . Tenor ERIC DELAMARTAR ETHYL HAYDEN . . .... Soprano Conductors THEODORE WEIB . . Baritone YOUNG PEOPLE'S FESTIVAL PAUL LEYSSAC . .Narrator CHORUS MABEL Ross RHEAD ..... Pianist JUVA HIGBEE, Conductor E. WILLIAM DOTY .... Organist WORKS BORIS GODUNOF in English . . . Moussorgsky 1Ti\ 1'^ A iTT mT-T Vt fJ Helen Jepson To Sing First Performance 1935 Festival At In (Continued From Page 1) Bach. Giovanni Martinelli will con- tinue with Aria from "Simon Bocca- negra" by Verdi, and Aria from "La Juive" by Halevy. Next will be "Suite for Orchestra, Op. 19" by Dohnanyi, a fantasy, "Circus Days" Op. 18 by Taylor, and Aria from "Andrea Che- nier" by Giordano. The second matinee of the Festival will be given on Saturday afternoon with Josef Lhevine, pianist presenting the program. He will play a varied program including the works of the wTM11 - iraUnImz - r t