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QYORTfHEMICHIGAN flAIL.Y ___
AY, OC'TOBE~R 12, 1.41
i
Cleveland Orchestra Conductor',
DA
escribes Listener's Problems
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By ARTUR RODZINSKI
I like music. Naturally.
I am fond of Wagner. His powers
were stupendous; his music bold,
original, beautiful.
I am deeply interested in the works
of contemporary Americans-I like
the music of Carpenter, of Samuel
Barber, of Edward Burlingame Hill,
of Arthur Shepherd.
And I am just as fond of the im-
pressionism and sensuousness of De-
bussy; the irony of Ravel; the roman-
ticism of Schumann and Mendels-
sohn; the mysticism of Cesar Franck
and the orderliness of his great dis-
ciple, d'Indy; the torrid flash of Al-!
beniz; the so-called barbarism of!
Rimsky-Korsakoff, Prokofieff, and
Stravinsky; the bite of Irish wit in
Stanford; the somberness of Grieg;
the profound reverence for their
native lands which shines forth in
the music of Dvorak and Sibelius.
Hearing Music First Time
I might go on naming dozens of
others, for I find something to my
liking even in the hysterics of Scria-
bin. The first time I heard Stravin-
sky's "Sacre du Printemps" I was
shocked; now I like it very much.
One should never condemn any mu-
sic at first hearing. Perhaps the sec-
ond time you will like it, the third
time you will love it.
I like all good music. The year it1
was written and the number of times
'it has been played mean absolutely
nothing. There are no vintage years
in music, and contrary to popular
be if, it doesnot improve with age.
Music that is written by an inspired
corpiposer may gain with the years
because the taste of the musical
public has been educated to appre-
ciate it, but it was good when it was
written. The date on music means
nothing.
'I' am not alarmed that there is'
yet no traditional music in this coun-x
try of ours, for we are still the melt-e
ing pot of music and we have a mul-e
titude. of musical traditions from al
th . older nations which sometimes
eflict and confuse, but which in-r
evitably enrich us.
Problem of Moment
e problem of the moment is tot
make the great mass of people int
America conscious of the progressl
which is being made in music. No]
Vigorous Stylet
Of Martinelli
Grips Hearersb
Noted Te or To Sing Hereb
With Ezio Pinza, Basso,
In Recital On Nov. 18
The vigor us personality of Gio-c
vanni Martinlli, who will be heardf
in recital here on Nov. 18 with Ezio
Pinza, basso, fascinates you the mo-
ment you see him. His robust phy-..
sique and handsome face radiate thei
warmth of a man with whom you feel
happily at ease, and in his manner
of speech, the famous singer capti-
vates his listeners by his simplicity
and directness. There is nothing of
ceremony in Martinelli. After a min-
ute's conversation with him, you feel
that you have known him for years,
and that he has known you for just
as long a time.
The tenor sat with his back to thef
window og his apartment overlookingI
upper Cetral Park. His magnificentt
head with its mass of iron-gray hairr
was cocked in characteristic fashion,s
and his kindly eyes peered from av
face whose strong lines were temper-v
ed b an almost delicately shaped_
mouth.c
Recalls Debutt
Martinelli was , discussing opera.-
He recalled his debut at the Met-s
ropolitan in 1913 as Rodolfo, thes
poet, in Puccini's "La Boheme," andt
derives much pleasure from the fact
that' he has completed twenty-eightf
seasons with the Met. At his debut,
Martinelli's colleagues irn the haunt-f
ingly bqautiful workc were Francesv
Aida as Mimi, and Scotti, Didur and
de Segurola as his Bohemian con-d
freres. The tenor waxed reminiscent
and harked back to his appearance
in 1915 at Covent Garden in London
where he sang Rololfo to the immor-
tal Mimi of the great Nelli Melba.
Probably the highlight of his oper-c
atic career at the Metropolitan was
his assumption of the role which
Caruso relinguished with his untimely
death-that of Eleazar in Halevy's
"La Juive." Eleazar is Martinelli's
favorite role, for in that operatic
character lies a wealth of opportun-
ity for dramatic expression, whichu
the tenor has rerharkably utilized.
Likes Rhadames Role
Next to the old Jew in "La Juive,"
the singer is especially fond of the
part of Rhadames in Verdi's oft-
celebrated "Aida." "The music of the
Egyptian officer," explained Mr. t
Martineeli, "is a blend of power and~
beauty which grows in intensityo
throughout the unfolding of the op-'
motorist is satisfied with the same
automobile year after year; no one
reads Shakespeare every night or
even once a week. There is no rea-
son for sticking to the classics simply
because they are "safe" and everyone
will recognize their names.
There is growing in America a def-
inite feeling that music is not a lux-
ury and is not for the limited few.
The extraordinary hold that music
has in Cleveland is basically due to
the great number of people here who
are active in the affairs of the Or-
chestra, the Institute, the opera and
the choral clubs. No one who loves
music can fail to be thrilled.
There is no need for music to be
"high-brow" but there is still less
reason for it, to be "low-brow." Let
us forget the financial satisfaction of
successful seasons and inquire if the
music we have heard has diverted and
entertained us and if it has lifted us
a little and left us happier.
Bashful About Music
Just as I hold no special brief for
the moderns, when I play the classics
it is not because everyone will rec-
ognize them. Too many people are
bashful about music. They them-
selves make it hard to understand
music, instead of relaxing; listening
and letting the music do the work.
SzgetOpened
Noted Career
At Early Age
Hungarian Virtuoso Made
Debut At Age Of 13;
Was PupilOf Hubay
Joseph Szigeti, violin virtuoso, was
born in Budapest, was a pupil of the
distinguished Hubay and made his
debut at the age of thirteen. Shortly
threafter he was heard with over-
*helming success in practically every
music capital of Europe.
Then his fame spread to America
and to the Orient. He first came
to the United States in 1925, where
he has become a perennial favorite.
His visits are considered indispens-
able to American musical life.
Leopold Stokowski was instrumen-
tal in bringing him before the Ameri-
can public. His performances, whe-
ther in recital or with orchestra, are
always works of beauty. Intellectual
precision, supplemented by an under-
standing temperament, have com-
bined in him those qualities and fac-
tors so necessary and so worhy of a
true artist.
Although world renowned, each
year sees his American popularity
and prestige ever advancing. Last
season he was heard in 11 nationwide
broadcasts; he participated in 18 or-
chestra appearances, and in recitals
from New York to Honolulu and
Mexico City.
Composers, critics, fellow musicians
and the people as a whole, have unan-
imously singled him out as one of the
world's most distinguished.
Robert Casadesus
Describes Effects
Of Ravel's Works
Interviewed before his recent per-
formance of the Ravel concerto for
Left Hand alone under John Bar-
birolli, with the New York Philhar-
monic Symphony, Robert Casadesus
spoke movingly of the composer
whom he admired profoundly and
who had been his friend. Casadesus
-himself not only a pianist but a
composer whose last big work, his
Second Piano Concerto, bore the op-
us number 50-is equipped on two
scores to judge the muic of a man
still too close to his contemporaries
to have found his ultimate place.
"Ravel and I, we shared the same
God-Mozart," says Casadesus.
He considers the Ravel Concerto
for Left bland "one of the great
works-worthy to r~ank with the Da-
phnis and Chloe'. In time," he pre-
dicts. "it will be fully 'appreciated."
This concerto was of particular
interest to Casadesus to play because
it was Ravel's "swansong", his last
major work before he was incapaci-
tated by the illness which finally
claimed his life.
Piuza Encourages
Bathtub Warblers
It's a far cry from the bathtub to
.he glory of the Metropolitan Opera .
House, but Ezio Pinza says that his
^areer began in the tub.
It happened after a bicycle race,
Ginza explains. He was taking a bath
.n a room adjacent to the lockers
where his colleagues were removing
their riding togs; and enjoying him-
3elf in the cool water after the grind
of a race he hadn't won, Pinza.raised
his voice in song. When he finally
Ctocfltof1,
o~a9
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22
GRACE MOORE
Soprano
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30
EMANUEL FEUERMANN
.. Violontellist
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9
(Afternoon )
/'
CLEVELAND, ORCHESTRA
Artur Rodzinski, Conductor
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18
GIOVANNI MARTINELLI Tenor, and
EZIO PINZA, Bass .
. In Joint Recital
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30
(Afternoon)
CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Frederick Stock, Conductor
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Serge Koussevitzki, ConductQr
MONDAY, JANUARY 19
ROBERT CASADESUS..
"Pia ist
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY
3
MINNEAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORHCESTRA
Dimitri Mitropoulos, Conductor
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19*-
JOSEPH SZIGET .
Violinist
. . . . .' . .
TUESDAY, MARCH 3
VRONSKY and BABIN
Pianists
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" 0 9 0
OVE:R-THE-COUNrTER SALE
of, TI CKETS
begins Monday (tomorrow) Morning at 8:30 a.m.
BURTON MEMORIAL TOWER
Ticket Prices Include Tax
Season
T ickets:
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$1100'
$880
$1 65
c4kls r% el D
T;"
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