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Y, OCT. 3, 1937
Cigna
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One hears from time to time such " G1I " It U__£4 U
exaggerated stories of the care viol-
mists and pianists lavish one their "Yes, it is quite true that I did not
hands, for how many thousands of have a single vocal lesson before I
dollars they are insured, of all the made my operatic debut."
things they can and cannot do on
account of their hands, that it is Gina Cigna, sensational new dra-
refreshing when such a world famous matic soprano of the Metropolitan
artist as Fritz Kreisler dispels all the Opera Association, thus smilingly
illusions with one fine gesture. corroborated a rumor that New York
"I am always being asked if I am musical connoisseurs have found
not afraid for my hands," Mr. Kreis-
ler said smiling. "I have never both- hard to believe. It seemed incredible
ered myself about them. During my that a complete novice should walk
whole life, I've never treated them the boards of the famous La Scala in
as if they were anything special. I Milan, especially under the baton of
amian aefatalist, andehavehneitherth
am aleisure nor desire to fritter away time. the great Toscanini. It was he who
It's the same way with my violins., engaged her.
I won't let them be a burden and a "You see," she said in explanation,
care to me. The thief who wants "my parents thought it would be a
to steal one of them would not bene- waste of time for me to train my
fit much by it. If he tried to dispose voice. I 'was studying piano at the
of it, it would be immediately recog- Paris Conservatoire, and every one
nized. expected I would become a concert

1,

THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA-Now in its seventeenth season owes its origin to the long cooperation of a group of music-loving, public-spirited
people with Adella Prentiss Hughes, who for twenty years had been presenting orchestra, artists, choruses and opera to Cleveland audiences and
had inspired them to found The Musical Arts Association three years bef ore the orchestra came into existence.

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First Organ Recital
Scheduled For Oet. 6
Palmer Christian, University or-
ganist, will play the first concert of
this year's series of organ recitals at
4:15 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 6, in Hill
Auditorium. There is no admission
charge for this concert.
The program will include the fol-
lowing selections: "Air Majesteux,"I
by Rameau; "Lento," by Gluck;
"Choral in B Minor," by Franck;
"Prelude to 'The Blessed Damozel,"
by Debussy-Christian; "Scherzetto,"
by Vierne; "Improvisation," by Karg-
Elert; "Toccata," by Andriesson.
Other concerts in the series will
take place Wednesday, Oct. 13, when
Marcel Dupre, French organist, will
appear as guest soloist. Tickets of
admission for this concert can be
obtained at the office of the School
of Music.
Mr. Christian will continue the
series on Wednesday, Oct. 20, and a
week later on Oct. 27. Both concerts
will be at 4:15 p.m. E. William Doty
will conclude the series on Nov. 10.
BRAINS MAKE MUSICAL TALENT
Musical technique, says Fritz
Kreissler, is not a matter of muscular
development, but of mental control.
He backs up this statement by adding
that he has often memorized a con-
certo on a train, and played it to an
audience, with little or no prelimin-
ary practice.,

pianist.
Indeed she was doing so well as a
student of this instrument that she
was awarded the gold medal by the
Committee of Judges of the Conserv-
atoire. So it is hardly surprising that
Madame and General Cigna, her par-
ents, thought it would be a waste of
effort for their daughter to start
training along another and entirely
new line.
Lessons or no lessons, Gina Cigna
was determined to sing. She decided
to teach herself. Month after month
she gave up every little luxury and
often sacrificed necessities to buy
records made by well-known operatic
stars. She would play these over
and over, hour after hour, listening
to every note and painstakingly try-
ing to reproduce it herself.
"The records of Battistini and Tet-
razzini were particularly my inspira-
tion," she said. "I studied them hard
and conscientiously, just by ear, and
I tried to sing the way those two
great artists did. Fortunately my
throat structure was such that I did
not seem to have much trouble get-
ting the proper vocal effects."
Every franc she could scrape to-
gether that did not go into records
went to buy opera tickets in the top-
most gallery of the Opera Comique
and Grand Opera of Paris.
It was only after her debut that
she received her first vocal train-
ing. Madame Rouss, who was re-
garded as the greatest Norma of her
time in Italy, was assigned to coach
the young singer for her first pei-
formance of this role, and Madame
Storchio coached her for Traviata.

I

THE ROTH QUARTET OF BUDAPEST- " ... Composed of four you.ng Hungarian virtuosi, who possess anJ
extraordinary unity of mind and temperament . .. Feri Roth, founder and first violinist, was first concert-
master of the Grosse Volksoper in Berlin ... Since th eir initial appearance in Paris in 1926 they have given
more than 700 performances.
Our Emily Post Sets Concert Styles

The problem of what to wear to
the Choral Union Concerts is a ques-
tion which may be puzzling many+
students new to campus. However,j
the solution is quite simple.
The degree of formality depends
entirely upon the number which one
finds on one's ticket. That is, in the

front center section on une first floor,
formal attire is practically necessary,
while those who find themselves in
the top row of the second balcony will
feel more at ease in an ordinary
street-length dress.
By the time the first concert rolls
around, cool weather will have arriv-

ed in Ann Arbor in earnest. For those
fortunate enough to have the "best
seats in the house" long, formal
wraps will be in vogue. The brocade
coats, long or short, in colors ranging
from ivory to black, will be just the
thing for *hat lohg trek down the
aisle to a seat in the fifth row.

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1937

1 938


I

NION

ONCERTS

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The 59th Annual Choral Union Season promises to be one of
the finest in the history of these annual concerts. Such a superb


collection of artists in one season is ar
missed.
Rachmaninoff, Pianist
The Cleveland Orchestra
ARTUR RODZINSKI, Conductor
Richard Crooks, Tenor
Fritz Kreisler, Violinist
Boston Symphony Orchestra
SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, Conductor
Ruth Slenczynski, Pianist
Helsinki University Chorus
MARTTI TURUNEN, Conductor
Gina Cigna, Soprano
The Roth Quartet

zopport unity not to be
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19'
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8'
MONDAY, JANUARY 10
TUESDAY, JANUARY 18
FRIDAY, JANUARY 28
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17


Artur Rodzinski


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