MUSIC SUPPLEMENT terian and Episcopal churches banded together under the fairly pretentious name of the Choral Union. Pres. Sink's Message They met for their own pleasure Anfih me~nto 'v niPf v JOSE ITURBI ,. ,,* The 60th Annual Choral Union Concert Series will present 10 im- portant attractions. Lawrence Tib- bett, Kirsten Flagstad, Josef Ilof- mann, Jose Iturbi, Gregor Piati- gorsky, and Yehudi Menuhin will be heard in recitals. Four out- staiding ensemble groups will participate. The Cleveland Sym- phonyOrchestra will be heard un- der the baton of Artur Rodzinski, and the Boston Symphony Or- chestra under Serge Koussevitzky. The Roth String Quartet of Buda- pest will come to Ann Arbor for a second time, and the Budapest -University Chorus under Vitkor Vaszy will make its University debut. The University Musical Society takes grateful pride in announc- Ing this annual series, which for three score years has continued without interruption. This satis- faction, However, is tempered with sadness, for there will be absent from the audiences one who was familiarly known to thusands of concert patrons, Levi D. Wines, who passed away on Aug. 9 at the age of 8. Mr. Wines became a member of the Univer- sity Choral 'Union in January, 1880; and since that time had been active in the development of Ann Arbor's musical activities. Until 1924 he sang in the Chorus and to the time of his death served as treasurer. It was he who during all these years carried the respon- sibility of placing in the hands of participating performers, just be- fore each concert, the honorari- ums for their services. Truly his long period of nearly 60 years of service has worthily exemplified the legend of the University Mu- sical Society: "Ars longa vita brevis." The University M1usical Society is deeply appreciative of the loyal- ty and continuous support of the .music-loving public and con- fidential trusts that this year's of- ferings will be graciously and en- thusiastically received. CHARLES A. SINK President, University Musical Society Featured Vocalist Professional Doctor Dr. F. C. Farago, soloist with the Budapest University Chorus, is a man of extraordinary versatility: A sur- geon by °profession, he joined the Chorus to gratify his love of art, and although he has often sung in concert and on the radio, and has had many offers to sing in opera, he prefers to continue as baritone soloist with the Chorus. He was born in Budapest 33 years ago, the son of an important offi- cial in the ministry of education. At the age of four his musical talent was unmistakable, but his parents wished him to enter the medical career. He did so, but secretly kept up his musi- cal and vocal education. Upon com- aa vegaVo ive concerts1 n me, various churches. Their membership record was not impressive, but evi- dently their musical skill was, for the University took notice of them and offered University Hall for the concerts. Tried Bigger Things With their new and comparatively impressive surroundings, they began to attempt more elaborate choral ar- rangements, with their own members as soloists. Perhaps some of the rem- iniscences you have heard from the old grads on their musical prowess had their origin in these early solos. Our budding little organization, how- ever, was not long content with its. town (and occasionally student) solo- ists, and began to get. even fancier notions. Began Branching Out The group began to branch out more and more until, in 1894, they did an unprecedented thing and invited the Boston Festival Orchestra to come and accompany them. The custom had been growing of having the last con- cert of the season the most elaborate one, for which the members had all season to practice, and this big con- cert, usually held in May, occasion- ally attracted out-of-town guests and was the highlight of the musical sea- son. The early Management was evi- dently as canny as any modern musi- cal impressario, and after thinking over the group's budget, decided that, as long as they were paying travelling expenses for so large a group as the Boston Orchestra, they might as well get their money's worth, so they in- vited them for two days. At this first May Festival, they had a Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and evening concert. The ticket sale from other towns was so great that special trains were arranged to bring in concert-goers for the Saturday concerts. Success From Start Even with its first little difficul- ties the Festival was a great success and was the predecessor of the great four-day festival now held yearly in Hill Auditorium. The Boston Festival Orchestra returned to Ann Arbor for 10 successive years. Emil Mollenauer was the conductor. The Chicago Sym- phony, under Frederick Stock, ap- peared at the May Festival for 31 years, until 1936, when Leopold Stow- kowski brought his 100-piece Phila- delphia Orchestra. The Philadelphia entourage, under Eugene Ormandy, returned in 1937 and has been re-engaged for the com- ing season. At the Festival, a dozen or more renowned soloists are heard, including opera stars, concert singers1 and instrumentalists. Stanley Was Director' The University Choral Union con- tinued under the direction of Dr. Al- bert Stanley, musical director until 1921. Earl V. Moore then took over the conductorship and still continues in the same capacity. As the chorus gradually undertook more difficult scores, the concerts during the year also changed in har- ater. With the amount of rehearsal necessary for the large choral works. Iturbi's Genius Brou'ht Fame I Early Years Directed Piano Faculty At Geneva Conservatory Before Coming Here At an age when most children mess the piano keys up with their, jam- laden fingers, Jose Iturbi was a recog- nized concert pianist, giving perform- ances before amazed and excited Spanish audiences. At seven, this precocious genius was attending the. local conservatory, studying and giv- ing lessons to pupils three and four° times his age. The people of Valencia, where he was born, made up a purse to send the wonder youth to Paris. These were extremely hard days for Iturbi. He studied at the Conservatory all day, played in the cafes of the Boulevards at night to earn money for board and room. But, these efforts were amply rewarded, for, at 17, he was grad- uated with the highest honors. It was during a lean period at the beginning of his career that Iturbi, under a nom de plume, was playing in the cafe of a fashionable hotel in Zurich. The telephone rang. A call for Jose Iturbi. The young pianist confessed his identity, answered. The director of the 'Conservatory of Ge- neva spoke. It was a pleasure, he said, to offer him the position of head of the piano faculty, a post once held by Liszt. Iturbi stayed in Switzer- land 'itwo years, then left to embark on the life he had chosen, that of a virtuoso. That was the real be- ginning of a concert career which was to catapult him into internation- al fame. The Spanish pianist arrived in this country for the first time in October, 1929, sailed for Europe in January, 1930. In these several months he had. made his name a household word in musical America. Returning for his second American tour, the following Musical Prodigies From Foreign Lands Gained Lasting Fame In U.S. Yehudi Meuhin, born in New York, was raised in San Francisco from the age of nine months. At three he was given a tiny violin; at four a child's size instrument was placed in his hands and he began lessons on it first with Sigmund Anker, then with Louis Persinger. At seven Yehudi made his first big public appearance as solo- ist with the San Francisco Orchestra. In the following year he gave a re- cital at the Manhattan Opera House, New York, and after a year of further study sailed with his parents for study in Europe with Georges Enesco and Adolph Busch. After achieving instant success at his Paris debut with the Lamoureux Orchestra, Yehudi re- turned to his native land for the sen- sational debut with the New York Symphony Orchestra, Nov. 25, 1927, playing the Beethoven Concerto. Another outstanding event in Ye- hudi's early days was his appearance in the Berlin Philharmonic Hall play- ing the three B's (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms) Concertos in one orchestral appearance with Bruno Walter con- ducting the Symphony Orchestra. This great historical event was re- peated later that month in both Paris and Dresden. Throughout his formative years, Yehudi had the rare privilege of study and discussion with such friends as Arturo Toscanini, Bruno Walter, Sam Franko and Sir Edward Elgar. For the past two years he has been in re- tirement, studying and perfecting his technique. His present engagements include appearances in the leading cities of America, the British Isles and Continental Europe. A Quartet of Naturalized Americans All four members of the renowned Roth String Quartet are Hungarians hailing from Budapest, now natural- ized American citizens. Each studied for a period at the famous Buda- pest Academy of Music; three of them have been pupils of Jeno Hubay and the fourth of the celebrated peda- gogue Schiffer, assistant of David Popper. Feri Roth, founder and first violin, was born in 1899, and before organiz- ing the Quartet, held the post of first concertmaster of the Grosse Volksoper in Berlin. Jenn Antal, second violin, born in 1900, was a concert artist. Ferenc Molnar, viola, born in 1895, was a professor of music in Budapect. Janos Scholz, cello, was born in 1903 of a family for generations associated with the musical life of the capital, and himself was a noted chamber music player before joining the Roth Quartet. Each member of the group was thus a solo artist of distinction before the Quartet was organized in 1926. In that year it made its first outstanding suc- cess in Paris, where its debut concert was so enthusiastically received that it was forced to give 18 more concerts the same season in the French capital. Two years later, it made its American debut at the Pittsfield Chamber Mu- sic Festival under the auspices of Mrs. Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, and since then its popularity has been parallel on both sides of the Atlantic. It has been especially popular at American universities, having played at more than 50 in the past decade. It recently gave its 600th concert at England's-Oxford University. "Playing for college audiences isi t -(' LAWRENCE TIBBETT Tibbett's Life Hard Struggle UntilSuccess He Credits Love Of Music As Well As Ability For Surmounting Obstacles The school of life has been a hard one for Lawrence Tibbett, yet it has been his best and most valuable teacher. The most famous American baritone has not allowed his tremen- dous successes to blot out the mem- ory of the many years of hardship and privation and is always ready with sympathy and encouragement for those treading the tortuous path that was once his. "I was lucky to be born with a good voice," confesses Tibbett, "but that, alone wasn't enough to carry me through. Added to the voice, thank God, was a passionate love of music, and my enthusiasm, instead of wan- ing with accomplishment, increased year by year. "At times I crawled on bloody hands and knees toward my goal; I slaved, I sacrificed, I fgught and died a hundred deaths. But for that I de- serve not one cheer. Hundreds of thousands of men have struggled harder than I to achieve an ambition and every one of them has suffered more than I. These were just a few of my ex- periences: Doing whatever my voice could find to do, in church choirs, light opera, and moving picture the- atres; of being near to eviction be- cause I could not meet the rent; then, there was that most crucial time of all, when I borrowed on my life in- surance, all that I had, that I might go to New York and get the final studies I needed to put me on a high- er plane. That was a crisis of harrow- ing uncertainty. "Hard struggles and experience al- ways leave their mark on a man's mind. He thinks more deeply; he has broader views; he has a stronger fel- low feeling for humanity. These are the things that experince and struggle brought me." tained at the theatre ticket office." The New York public, stimulated by a good deal of advance ballyhoo, bought every seat and standing room. What they saw was a stocky little Polish boy with pink skin, a turned- up nose and complete self-possession. He stepped out upon the huge stage before the orchestra of 100 musicians, took his place at the contrastingly enormous piano, struck the first notes of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1, and musical history was made. Little Josef was then 10 years old. Kirsten Flagstad Returns; Iturbi, Hofmann, Ment And Piatigorsky To Play; Boston Symphony, Roth Quartet, Budapest Chorus Comning Lawrence Tibbett To Open Series In Recital Oct. 22 Cleveland Orchestra Nex American solo artist scheduled to ap- pear in the series. The Cleveland Orchestra, with Ar- tur Rodzinski conducting, will play here Nov. 7. For almost 20 years the Cleveland Orchestra has experienced a steady growth in reputation, and is ranked among the foremost organiza- tions of its kind. Mr. Rodzinski has served as guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic Symphony Or- chestra and of many other renowned orchestras in America. For 10 weeks last season he conducted the NBC or- chestra. Iturbi Is Third Artist Jose Iturbi, world-famed Spanish\ pianist, will present tne third concert Nov. 22. Trained at the Valencia and Paris Conservatories in his youth, he has won fame as both a conductor and pianist. He has played in Ann Arbor >n two previous occasions, and two years ago served as guest conductor at one of the May Festival concerts. Kirsten Flagstad, spectacular Wag- nerian soprgno discovered two years ago at Bayreuth by Gatti-Cassazza, and who has been a feature attraction at the Metropolitan Opera ever since, comes here Nov. 30. So great is her popularity she has even been credited with being the saviour of the Met itself. Her concert appearances have been equally successful, and she capti- vated Ann Arbor audiences on her two previous appearances here. The Boston Symphony Orchestra, with Serge Koussevitzky conducting, will play the last concert of 1938 Dec. 7. This distinguished orchestra, now in its fifty-eighth year, tours rather infrequently, but has been in Ann Arbor many times before, most re- cently in 1936. Maestro Koussevitzky has directed the BostonSymphony for 10 years, and during that time has improved its personnel and broad- ened its repertory to a substantial degree. It has become especially not- ed for its renditions of contemporary masterpieces. Hofmann Comes Jan. 10 Josef Hofmann, who last season celebrated his golden jubilee in Ameri- ca, will appear here as the second pianist in the series and the first artist of the new year, Jan. 10, 1939. Mr. Hofmann first appeared in Ameri- ca Nov. 29, 1887, at the age of 10, at the Metropolitan Opera House, following a sensational tour of Eur- ope. His debut was immediately hailed by the New York press, and the prodi- gy grew up to be one of the recognized geniuses of the musical world. To- day, at 60, he is still in his prime, and his devoted following throughout America grows larger every year. TherBudapest University Chorus, under the direction of Viktor Vaszy, will be heard here for the first time Jan. 25. Although well-known in Europe, and wit ha tradition dating back to the eighteenth century, this organization has only made one brief tour of America, in 1936. The group will be in this country five weeks this year. Thee chorus is composed of 40 male vocalists and its repertory consists chiefly of its native Hungar- ian folk sonngs. Menuhin Returns To Stage Yehudi Menuhin, violinist, who a decade ago startled New York with his debut as a child of 10, and who has just returned to the concert stage Lawrence Tibbett will provide the initial attraction when the 10-concert schedule of the Choral Union opens Oct. 22. The distinguished baritone will be making his first appearance in Ann Arbor since 1935. He will be followed during the year by five solo artists and four ensemble groups, one of the most impressive arrays of talent in the 60 years of the Choral Union's exist- ence. Mr. Tibbett, who has been termed "the most interesting artist before the public today," has gained fame not only in concert and opera-but in motion pictures and radio, until today he is perhaps the best known musical figure in America. He is the only native,& Program Of Concerts Lawrence Tibbet, baritone ... ... ................. Oct. 27 Cleveland Orchestra .... ..Nov. 7 Artur Rodzinski, Conductor Jose Iturbi, pianist ....... Nov. 22 Kirsten Flagstad, soprano . Nov. 30 Boston Symphony Orchestra. ....... . ...... ..D ec. Serge Koussevitzky, conductor 7 Josef Hofmann, pianist . . Jan. 10 Budapest University Chorus . . .............Jan. 25 Viktor Paszy, Conductor Yehudi Menuhin, violinist .Feb. 15 Gregor Piatigorsky, violoncellist ......... . ....Feb. 27 Roth String Quartet of Buda- pest..................March 9 Feri Roth, first violin Jeno Antal, second violin Ferenc Molnar, viola Janos Scholz, violoncellist Greatest Stars Dot 60-Year Concert History For 60 successive years the Choral Union has presented to Ann Arbor audiences the best obtainable in con- cert performers. The list of artists who have appeared locally reads like the roll of a musical who's-who. The past 10' years, for example have pre- sented the following stars: 1928 Rosa PonSelle, Galli-Curci, Vladi- mir Horowitz, Flonzaley, Quartet, Fritz Kreisler, Roland Hayes, Prague Teacher's Chorus, Rachmaninoff and Yelly D'Aranyi. 1929 Giovanni Martinelli, Detroit Sym- phony Orchestra, Paderewski, English Singers, Lener-Budapest String Quar- tet, Claudia Muzio, Jascha Heifetz, Vladimir Horowitz and Elisabeth Rethberg. 1930 Fritz Kreisler, Claire Clairbert, Al- exander Brailowsky, Don Cossack Russian Chorus, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Jose Iturbi, Albert Spauld- ing, Paul Robeson and Rachmanin- off. John McCormack, Boston Sym- phony Orchestra, Ossip Gabrilo- witsch, Revelers Quartet, Detroit Symphony, Don Cossackis, Yehudi Menuhin, Percy Grainger and Rosa Ponselle. 1932 Boston Symphony, Lawrence Tib- bett, Detroit Symphony, Efrem Zym- balist, Nathan Milstein, Myra Hess, Budapest String Quartet, Segrid Onegin, Vladimir Horowitz, and Pad- erewski. 1933 I October, he played 77 concerts from cost to coast. His third trans-con- tinental tour during 1931-32 dupli- cated and confirmed his first tri- umphs. Since then he has come back every season and has played more concerts in this country in the past nine years than any other pianist ex- cept Paderewski. E.. Pad rw ca a epreckwihawysgvsu All artists are nomads. The world an experience which always gives us is their home and music is an inter- nthrl. Feri Roth sy "Some natona laguae. ut turi hs Iof the members of our college audi- national language. But Iturbi has Iences are so well educated in music his preferences. For many yearshe e saesowl dcte.i ui has preaerpied-a-terre in yayershe that they are highly critical, and we, has had a ederrn nPatis and know that we must play even better recently the French Government dee- than our best for them. They do not orated him with the .Cross of thethaneothesotsereyadunt Chevalier of the Legion of Honor for have the polite reserve that adults his services in behalf of Gallic" music, sometimes do, and will not evade the issue if they don't like us. So we must In the summer he spends his holiday in Spain.mmwo hours fro Val ia make them like us. They'll always tell m pm. Two hours from Valencia usone way or another.'' he owns a large orange grove where us-Roth, Antal, Molnar and Scholz he lives for brief but happy weeks not only work together but play to- the life of a Spanish country gentle- gothonly work ther but pat- man. gether as well. They spend their vaca- Iturbi's spiritual home, however, is dions together and exhibit a camra- the United States. He is happy here, derie rare among those who must admires the tempo and spirit of the spend long hours of gruelling practice country, find sthe musical public the together. I