THE MICHIGAN DAILY 'eam's 'o Fame Virovai, 18-Year-Old Violinist Has Never Had 'Stage Fright' o ven Briefly rt Sketches Of Bartlett rid Spouse, Robertson ell Of Early Success el Barlett was born and e.duca- i London. Early in, her career' on the Associated Board Schol-{ to the Royal Academy of where she studied with Fred- Moore and Tobias Matthay. ning to England, she made-her Ain London. Specializing in the ichord as well as the piano, Bartlett was highly successful r tour of England. also made a reutatiin forher- n chamber music, and besides et, quartet and trio work, was ated with John Barbirolli, the t conductor of the New York armonic-Symphony Orchestra, lb sonata recitals. When she 3arbirolli were still students to- t at the Academy, they gave a m recital which roved highly ssful. Playing Gets Attention Robertson was born in Inver- Scotland. When he was six, his ig attracted the attention of a ian who offered to give him free ri at the Leipzig Conservatoire. offer was accepted. Later he to Edinburgh University to pre- for his MA, and while there, med his piano work with Philip ead. He won the Bucher Schol- ) for music, and was preparing to Berlin to study with Car- when the war broke out. In- therefore, he came to Ldndon few months and soon joined ritish forces. served the entire course of the was twice wounded, and then eed to England to a hospital. .uthorities discovered his genius e piano, and persuaded him to he hospital concert party. Completes Scholarship er the war he completed his arship at the Royal Academy. s at the Academy that he met Bartlett, whom he soon .ed. tlett and Robertson were the two English artists to play for two pianos. They have played all over Europe and and South America. Last they played under Toscanini the 'British Brodacasting Com- Orchestra in London. aposers have realized the new that is open and many authors written especially for two s. Arnold Bax has already dedi- five such works to the two . . iliist Believes f In Planning Life Won First Prize In Contest For Musicians At Vienna; Studied Under Hubay Robert Virovai, 18-year-old Hun- garian violinist introduced to this country lalt season, is one of those individuals who doesn't know what it means to have "nerves." Certainly on the occasion of his debut with the New York Philharmonic, his calm seemed in no way ruffled. It was even learned that he rode to Carnegie Hall on the top of a bus, seemingly unperturbediby the thought of the packed auditorium that await- ed his coming. Graduates At 13 Virovai was born in the village of Daruvar, an ancient spa high in the Dinaric Alps, not far from the shores of the Adriatic. He was only thirteen when he was graduated from the Conservatory of Music in. Buda pest. A scholarship enabled him to continue his studies under the composer and violinist, the late Prof. Jeno Hubay. In 1937, at the International Con- test for violinists held. in Vienna, Virovai won the first prize. It was this accomplishment that first start- ed him on the way to national fame. Although he was heard for the first time in New York when he came unannounced and unheralded, all America has heard the story of the woodman's son who overnight, became an important musical discov- ery. In the course of the season he appeared as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, both in that city and Milwaukee, and with the Montreal and the Dallas Symphony orchestra; he played some thirty recitals in as many cities, and ap- peared on the Ford Sunday Evening Radio Hour. Wrapped Up In Work.. Virovai is wrapped up in his work, and when he is practising is totally oblivious to what goes on around him.- He works from - six to seven hours a day, except when he is to give a concert in the evening. He carries two violins with him-one of Hun- garian make, and the other a. treas- ured Stradivarius. Virovai neither smokes nor does he drink cocktails or other spiritous liquor. He gives the inaterviewer the added information that he does not .intend -to smoke or- touch liquor until he is thirty. He doesn't intend to marry until that age, either.e, In the intervening twelve years he hopes to accomplish a lot, just attending to his music, for his ambition is a compelling incentive at present. He is not satisfied with world acclaim; he wants to make knowledge his province. The English language is no longer a stumbling block, but now serves him for all the ordinary channels of conversation. - Spends Summer In r ew York Instead of returning to Budapest after his first American tour last season, Virovai, who is accompanied on all his tours by his mother, elect- ed to spend the summer in the Cat- skill Mountains of New York, divid- ing his time between practise and out-door sports. He interrupted his vacation long enough to appear as soloist in the -famous New York City outdoor series of orchestral concerts held at the Lewisohn Stadium, and again won acclaim; according to the New York Herald-Tribune, to be counted "in the front rank of con- temporary violinists." Virovai will appear at Hill Audi- torium in the eighth program of the Choral Union to be presented Jan. 25, 1940. - Pianist's Visit Makes Second Of U.S. Tours, (Continued from Page 1) burgh, where he rendered the Anton Rubinstein Concerto in D Minor with Serge Koussevitzky conducting the orchestra. So well known was he by the end of the war that Poland granted him J a passport with the inscription. "On a mission of art for Poland." In 1916 he made his first entry .into Spain, where he was so well re- ceived that he lengthened his tour from four recitals to one hundred and twenty. This success, was followed by an1 extensive tour of South America so that he did not reach the United States again until 1919. His playing in Carnegie Hall is frequently re- ferred to as his American debut al- though he had been to the Hall once before. Since that date his time has been so &uch in demand that he has been forced to be on the move almost every month of his life. Last year, having been absent from America for a decade, he prefaced his return by one of his typical tours during which he gave one hundred and ninety- two concerts. He returns now, in 1939, for his second official. American tour. Concert Programs Begin Here Oct. 24 (Continued 'from Page 1) in the world today, Kirsten Flagstad. Called by the late Lawrence Gilman, music critic, "the greatest living singer," Miss Flagstad has teamed with Lauritz Melchior to make Wag- nerian opera the most popular of the Metropolitan aeason. She is entering upon her sixth'-season in the United States. Robert Virovai, 18-year-old Hun- garian violinist, will appear in the eighth concert Thursday, Jan. 5. His debut in Carnegie Hall last Christ- tnas had critics searching for new superlatives. "Born fiddler . . . artistic conscience . . . sensuous and vibrant tone" . . . were some of the tributes in next day's music columns. Bartlett and Robertson, wife and husband, two-piano team, make their second appearance in Ann Arbor Wednesday, Feb. 14. Both have won distinction as individual artists, but far greater acclaim has come with their blending of two instruments. Each year they play more than 100 s.{' II concerts in South America, Great recital by Artur F Britain and the United States, brought the Hill Ai Bringing the winter musical activ- ence to its feet last3 ity to a fitting close will be a piano Festival ear TRIBUTE Ey MR. ARTHUR HILL, a graduate and a loyal son of the University of Michigan, bequeathed the funds for the now famous Hill Auditorium. Since the auditorium was built in 1913, the. Choral Union Concerts have been held there. Mr. Hill has, by his generosity, greatly con- tributed to the musical culture of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan. II SCHEDULE o IE SEASON TICKETS The prices of season tickets are $12.00, $10.00, $8.00, and $6.00. Each season ticket contains a coupon good for $3.00 in exchange for a season May Festival ticket. Three center sections, both on the main floor and in the first balcony, $12.00 each. (These $12.00 tickets are designated "Patrons' Tickets," and entitle the holder to the same location for the next May Festival when exchanged in accordance with a May Festival schedule to be announced.) Two side sections both on the main floor and in the first balcony, $10.00 each. First sixteen rows in the second balcony, $8.00. Back of the first sixteen rows in the second balcony, $6.00, SINGLE CONCERTS The prices of individual concert tickets are: Main floor, $2.50; first balcony, $2.00; and second balcony, first sixteen rows, $1.50; balance of second balcony, $1.00. If the seats in any division become exhausted remaining orders will be filled from succeeding divisions, and a corresponding adjust- ment in finances will be nade. Beginning Monday, October 9, all unsold tickets, both season and individual, will he offered for sale "over-the-counter." No resonsibility will be assumed for errors made in connectiod with orders written illegibly or inaccurately, or in connection with telehone conversations, or for tickets lost, stolen, burned, or other- wise destroyed. Bartlett And Are Still Robertson Sentimental f . Fm Ff 4 gS F& "Ir KIR ST"E N FL A.GSTA D at true immortal of mfusic. {OTHING MORE NEED BE SAID than the name Kirsten Flagstad, for she has sung in Ann Arbor on two previous occasions. No other artist has ever excelled her in winning the hearts of music lovers. Her appearances always mean packed houses. CHORAL UNION CONCERTS MONDAY JANUARY 15 ert Virovai, young genius of iolin who is to appear next at Hill Auditorium, believes in med economy of life. He has ed his accordingly-that is, up 1. He'll be thirty then and con- that age old enough for a s consideration of marriage. has no one in view as yet; his girl is Mitze, a cat of royal n descent, who is now in Bel- Virovai wanted to bring her im to America, but his mother ed. If you want to be 1 reassured that romance has not gone out of art, that high pressure salesmanship is not the only thing that makes for success, go to see Ethel Bartlett and Rae Robertson, and find out how they came to play two-piano music. The two people met while they were studying at the Royal Academy of music and were married soon af- ter. In order to stay together, rather than be separated from ech other for long periods of time, the pair decided to present a two-piano recital. The program was so well appreciated that the . practice has been continued. And the pair are still happily married. The great ambition of Bartlett and Robertson, married in real life. is to retire to a private island. The island is a spot of land in the Heb- rides off the. north coast of the British Isles, and it's for sale. The pianists spend their holidays there now. They won't reveal its exact locatioin for "fear that some one else will go there and perhaps buy it before we have a chance to do so. I ORDER BLANK CHARLES A. SINK, President Ann Arbor, Michigan. Enclosed find remittance of $. ............. in payment for, ...........Choral Union tickets as follows: SEASON TICKETS- INDiVIDUAL 10 CONCERTS CONCERTS .... tickets at $12 each $.... Tickets: $2.50-$2-$1.50-$1 .... tickets at $10 each $.... Sergei Rachmaninoff at $.... ....tickets at $8 each $... Fritz Kreisler ...... at $.. . ..tickets at $6 each $.... Alexander Kipnis .. at $. Total .......$ New York Orchestra at $.... Please Write Name Plainly Jussi Bjoerling ,.... at $.... Name.....................Boston Orchestra.. at $. Stret irsten Flagstad .. at $... Street.... Robert Virovai .... at $.... City ...... .,...............Bartlett & Robertson at $.... L State ... ...... ......... Artur Rubinstein .. at $... i v I _____-_________________I 4 I ..... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - --- - - 'f a SUPERB GREAT MUS IC by TWO SYMPHONIES and two great conductors THE BOSTON SYMPHONY THE BOSTON SYMPHONY was founded more than fifty years ago. For many years it was supported largely by Colonel Henry A. Higginson, a wealthy Boston music lover, THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC A DECADE AGO the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra evolved from the two great orchestras which had existed for many years, the Philharmonic and the New York SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY has direct- ed the destinies of the Boston Sym-. phony Orchestra for the past dozen years. The orchestra is now in its fifty- ninth season; and its record is phenom- enal. Other distinguished conductors have presided over its welfare, but it remained for Koousevitzky to substan- who is said to have made his fortune largely from Michigan copper. The many appear- ances in Ann Arbor in a sense is a compen- sation for its support during its early days. Symphony. Both of these organizations i appeared in Ann Arbor. But this year's concerts will be the first time that a New York orchestra has played in- the Choral Bially advance i mlivadvnceis accomnnhishnnts in -..