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!UDERN WORK:-
DreSton Second Symphony
T BR PefIrmed at Festi r
!-ilsberg Tou OU TSTA NIN:
-ceetho Verdi Regio
To Flr E ,t Wmrks highlight Concerts
1
Most modern of the works to
be presented during the May
Festival is the Symphony No. 2
by. Paul Creston, composed m
1944.
"Conceivedf as an apotheosis of
the two foundations of all music-
song and dance," the work is writ-
GTor .To GIv
First Concert
In Ann Arbor
Ferruccio Tagliavini, tenor star
of Opera Reale, Rome, La Scala,
Milan, and San Carlo di Napoli,
Bologna, will present selections by
Massenet and Meyerbeer in the
closing concert of the 1947 May
Festival series, at 8:30 p.m. Sun-
day, May 11.
. Born in Florence in 1913, Tag-
1h.avini was hailed by critics im-
ten in two miovements, introdhic-
tion and Son, and interlde and
Dancite., t ecJiVe.d its irst c'
forance Febray l. 19
played by the Philharmoni-Syii
phony Society of New York under
Artur Rodzinski.
Symphony Played IHere
The forty year old composer is
not entirely unknown to Ann Ar-
bor audiences, as his Symphony
No, 1 was performed at the 1943
May Festi val.
Bori in New York City, October
10, 1906, Giresto n be-gan his musi-
cal studies with piano lessons at f
the age of eight, and continued
wi h organ instruction under Pie-
tro Yon. He is entirely seff-
taught, however, in counterpoint,
harmony and composition.
Research Work
Interested in all forms of music,
Creston has performed research in
acoustics, musicotherapy, Groe-
gorian chant, evolution of har-
mony, psychology of music, and
various other aspects of the musi-
cal art.
As a result of this work, Cres-
ton was twice awarded a Guggen-
heim Fellowship, in 1938 and
1939. He also received a $1,000
award, given by the American
Academy of Arts and Letters and
the National Institute of Arts and
Letters, in 1943.
Compositions Listed
It was not until 1932 that Cres-
ton began considering a compos-
er's care'r, although he had been
writing music for some time. Since
that date he has written more
than 30 works. Some of these are:
Suite for violin and piano; Suite
for viola and piano; Suite for cel-
lo and piano; Suite and a Sonata
for saxophone and piano; Sonata
for piano; String Quartet, Missa
Pro Defunctis; Legend for band;
Concertino for marimba and or-
chestra; Concerto for saxophone
and orchestra; Fantasy for piano
and orchestra1 songs, piano piec-
es and choral works.
Among his orchestral composi-
tions are Threnody, Two Choric
Dances, Prelude and Dance, Pas-
torale and Tarantella, A Rumor,
Symphony No. 1, Dance Varia-
tions for soprano and orchestra
and Symphony No. 2.
Glinka's "Russlan and Ludmila,"
which appeared in 1842, was
founded on Pushkin's poem, and
although musically it was a great
advance over his first opera, "A
Life for the Tsar," it had less
popular success.
ORCHESTRA ASSEMBLED - he Philadlphia ympon O stra is sho n as it will appeal.
to the audiences at the 54th annual May Festival during which the orchestra will perform at
all concerts.
A.,-sociate Conductor Alexander
Hlilsber., who will direct the Phila-
delphri Orchestra in two concerts
here this year, has seen a lot of
the world Since his conidictorial
dehut wit1h a Cossack hand aI the
age o nine.
After H ilsberg graduated from
the Petrogad IpInerial Conserva -
tory of Mulsic' i11 1917, 1he'went east
to Tomsk, Siberia vwere he Joined
a conservatory staff as violinist.
H-e toulred xesieyipaigin
cities throulghlout Siber1i, finllyl
(:huk_1lO, which "ZaS 11hen1, ;it; now,
Russian-dominated.
In Harbin he taught and played
for Oriental and European audi-
ences for four years. He joined
' the Skidelsky Quartet which
EMPIJEROR CONCERTO:
Casadesus, French Pinisi,
Wl Peform Betho C Work
Robert Casadesus, whose mas-
tery has been hailed as "the most
beautiful piano playing of the
century", will appear with the
Philadelphia Orchestra at 2:30 p.
in. Sunday, May 11.
Casadesus will be heard in the
Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) by
Beethcv en.
Musical Family
A Paris born artist, Casadesus
comes from a family of musicians
whose members, both men and
women, have made important con-
tributions to French cultural life
for many generations. He himself
studied at the Paris Conservatoire,
graduating with all prizes.
His career soon covered not
only Europe, but North Africa and
South America. He made his de-
but is the United States in Janu-
ary, 1935, with the New York
Philarmonic Symphony Orchestra.
Since his American debut, Casa-
desus has become a name of re-"
nown in this country. He makes
his American home in Princeton,
N.J., just off the Princeton Uni-
versity campus. A friendly neigh-
bor is the ,physicist and amateur
violinist, Albert Einstein.
Composes Concerto
A composer as well as pianist,
Casadesus has written many
works, including a Double Con-
certo for Two Pianos and Orches-
tra which, with his wife and him-
self as soloists, both the Cincin-
nati Symphony and the Rochester
Philarmonic have performed. The
St. Louis Symphony has played his
"Ballet for the Birth of Dau-
phine". His compositions also in-
clude a series of piano Etudes,
two symphonies, a sonata for vio-
lin and piano dedicated to his
Arist Photos
Cover *Wa Ils
,e Society Office
fld ( "Oncert Greati
Great Performances of the past
still live in the headquarters rooms
of the University Musical Society.
Cream of the musical greats of
the last quarter. century still in
their concert primes, look down
from a huge collection of pictures
which stud the walls of two of the
big rooms where the Choral Union
has its offices.
Among the great works to be
performed in the 1947 May Festi-
val concert series, two are pArticul-
larly ott-andin, alccording to
Prof. Glenn D. MCGeouch of the
music school.
The Beethove1 Missa Soleiinis,
Jo b heard May 9, "a suprenwly
beatiful example of how a great
genius can lift his work above the
worldly and achieve a spiritual
maI.sterpie~e," was witlten :is a
erimional ins for a friend at
is instllat ion ats Archbishop of
Olmut z, Pit'. McGeoch satid.
"Itxwas nt comlpleted in time
for the ceremonybut Beethoven
beaeso aibsocr bed inl its, crea-
t ioni that it resullted in oile of the
most individua,,l works in miusic lit-
era t re"rof. McO' eh asserted.
Traditional form
Although B Feethioven restricted
himself to the traditional form of
the mass, he skillfully combined
musical styles and so completely
put himself into the work that it
is unique in its unity and may be
caled not a mass, but his mass,
Prof. McGeoch said.
"Lofty and beautiful as the
Missa Solemnis is," Prof. McGeoch
said, "it is hard to reconcile Bee-
thoven's moral and ethical lapses
in the disposal of the mass."
Four Publishers
The great composer promised
the work to four different pub-
lishers and borrowed money to
obtain a contract for the sale of
the work with no intentions of
turning it over to any of these
,,sources, Prof. McGeoch explained.
"He employed every possible trick
to obtain the greatest monetary
value for the mass."
"Beethoven showed how genius
in an artist can be completely
apart from his 'worldly' charac-
ter," Prof. Mdjeoch said..
The second significant work to
be performed is the 'Te Deum' by
Giuseppe Verdi which will be
her. -a. 11.
Prof. McGeoch said that it is
also interesting to note that spir-
itually inspiring as the mass is,
the composer was considered an
"unbeliever" in his day. Beethoven,
although deeply religious in his
own way.
j
"This work has been shamefully
neglected by performers." Prof.
MCGeoch said. Written when the
composer was over 80 years old,
"it reveals Verdi's unlimited re-
sources of in1agination aind crea-
tive powers with its dramatic in-
tensity and color reminiscent of
his greatn operas." Prof. MrGeoch
said,
Fire Bird Stite
Will Be Give,i
Cotroversy Begun~
By Stravinsky Work
Since the production of "The
Fire Bird" in 1910, the music of
Stravinsky has created more con-
troversy and critical comment
than that of any other contempo-
rary composer.
The suite, which will be per-
foimed in the fourth May Festi-
val concert, has been followed by
"Rite of Spring" in 1912 and "The
Psalms" in 1930, all presenting dif-
ferent musical positions. Stravin-
sky's ideas have caused critics to
label his music as "modernistic"
and "futuristic ''
"The Fire Bird," which first at-
tracted attention to the composer,
was first performed at the Paris
Opera with a scenario by Vokine.
In it he showed the influences of
his teacher, Rimski-Korsakov.
The story of the ballet is com-
posed of Russian folklore concern-
ing a fire bird, known in its native
haunts as the Zhar-Pititsa.
The movements of the siti e are
organized into Introduction, Fire
Bird and Her Dance, Dance of
the Princesses, Kastchei's Infernal
Dance, Berceuse and Finale.
Stravinsky, who was born in
1882, represents the modern Rus-
sian school, also shown by Mous-
sorgsky, and Borodin, two of his
friends. Monologue, Farewell, and
Death Scene from "Boris Godu-
nov" by Moussorgsky will be per-
formed in the same concert of the
Festival as the Stravinsky suite.
t
- ti Each autographed, in most cas-
- X4 s inscribed, the more than four
hundred pictures all were person-
ly collected by Dr. Charles A.
Si President of the University
Muical Society. His office walls.1
co-mpletely covered with pictures
o eat performers whom Dr.
Sink has known intimately, are a
I museum of modern musical greats.
ROBERT CASADESUS In adjacent frames may be seen
.to perform Beethoven I Fritz Crisler, Lily Pons, John Phil-
ip Sousa, Nelson Eddy, all who
friend Zino Francescatti. and a have entertained in Ann Arbor in+
Piano Concerto in E dedicated to the last quarter-century.
Dmitri Mitropoulos, conductor of Glancing at random on the oth-
the Minneapolis Symphony Or- cr side of the room ,one can see
chestra.C Helen Jepson, Enrico Garuso and'
Casadesu.s is noted for being atI Waiteir Damrosch.
home with the compositions of ' Dr. Sink has an oportunity to
any composer, be it the thunder- i renew old friendships when these
ous virtuosity of Liszt, the artists visit Ann 4rbor during the+
strength and nobility of Brahms, musical season. It is his custom
or the elegance and grace of Mo- to entertain the musicians at his
zart. He himself believes that the home following the concerts.
trend today is "back to Rameau ---
ALEXANDER HILSBERG
- . . to lead symphony
FERRUCCIO TAGLIAVINI
. . .to sing in last concert
mediately after his debut there in
1939. Since then he has become
one of the most popuar Italian
recording artists and is known as
the principal interpreter of several
Italian films.
He made his American debut
with the Chicago Opera Com-
pany in "Rigoletto" in 1946 and
his debut with the Metropolitan
Opera Company in January, 1947.
Tagliavini's concert here will
mark his first Ann Arbor appear-
ance.
played to Eastern Siberia, Japan
and China.
In 1921, the Quartet gave con-
certs for the benefit of the China
famine victims, and President Sun
Yat-Sen, founder of modern China
decorated Hilsberg in recognition
of the work.
A chance meeting with his
friend Jascha Heifetz turned the
violinist's thoughts to America. He
came here via Vancouver in the
twenties, becoming a member of
the Philadelphia Orchestra's first
violin section.
C
t
- -,-----.
aE
ll
11
241
IAhe / /our[4~
24nmta
I
and Couperin." In his own words:
"the classical note is gaining
everywhere. Stravinsky, who para-
doxically is the greatest name in
contemporary F r e n c h music,
marls the ind of an era"
Pinzm...
ing his time in the army, during
his last few months he began
praticing again. He was heard
by av manager and promptly on-
gag ed for the role of King Mar
in Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde"
at the Royal Opera House in
Dome.
This was the turning point in
his career, and his fame began
to grow. Ile made hiis debut with
tie Metropolitan Opera Company
in November, 1926, as the Hligh
Priest in Spontin's "La Vest alo"
Plays Many itles
Acclaimed by critics and the
public as well as the greatest bass
since Chaiapin, he was given an
imposing array of great roles for
his first season with the Metro- {
pohitan. In 1929, he created a sen-
sation in his first Metropolitan
"Don Giovanni" and his abilities
as one of the most arresting per-
sonalities on any operatic stage,
in addition to being a great sing-
er and actor, were recognized. .
A NEW AND LARGERAUDITORIUM
IS NEEDED FOR MICHIGAN STUDENTS
A'lAY
IF IE SIL VA,
i _".
4
IL
A
was constructed
from funds be-
queathed to the University by the late Arthur
Hill, a loyal and generous son of Michigan,
more than thirty-five years ago. Ignace Jan
Paderewski pronounced it "the finest music hall
in the world." For a long time it was so regarded.
With the passage of years, however, the audi
torium has long since lost this distinction. With
the growth of the University and the widespread
advance in musical culture and appreciation, it
no longer adequately serves its original purpose.
The University Musical Society hopes, and be-
lieves, that there are other public-spirited citi-
zens who would like to provide funds for a NEW
AUDITORIUM, equipped in all respects to meet
present-day needs.
Such a building with increased capacity
would make possible the presentation of mu-
sical programs of greater magnitude, including
grand opera in its best tradition. It would serve
as ran outstanding educational and cultural fac-
tor, and would also bring to the University many
alumni, interested friends, and the public in
general who are desirous of hearing the best
programs under favorable conditions.
ARS LONGA VITA BREVIS
ok
MAY FESTIVAL
ARTISTS
: ,
... .w r ri 'rte .,..: :- ..,... .
L. 1
I
EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor
of the world renowned
Philadelphia -Orchestra
May 8, 9,1, 1I,1]94/f
ail
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I
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