MUSIC
SUPPLEMENT
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SUPPLEMENT.
Latest Deadline in the State
VOL. LIX, No. 6 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 148
PRICE FIVE CENTS
Choral
Union
co-, tlcert
S ries
pens
ct.
6
Orchestra of
France Will
Pla Here
Munch To Lead
Symphony Oct. 25
On its first American tour, the
French National Orchestra will
appear here Oct. 25 in the second
concert of the regular Choral Un-
ion Series.
Founded in 1934 as the Orches-
tre National of France, the or-
chestra rose at once to prominence
among the great symphony or-
chestras of that nation. Arturo
Toscannini conducted the group
in a series of concerts in Novem-
ber 1935, which marked its attain-
ment of first place among French
orchestras.
WHEN WAR WAS declared, the
National Orchestra was on the
eve of making a tour of the ar-
tistic centers of Europe. The or-
chestra was completely broken up
when the Germans occupied
France in 1940. Many of the mem-
bers were military prisoners,
others were under the close ob-
servation of the Occupation forces.
However, the director and
others who had been able to gain
refuge in Free France decided
to reorganize the Orchestre Na-
tional in spite of the great dif-
ficulties.
.The plan took shape and by
March, 1941, the orchestra had
again begun its work. By Sep-
tember, of the same year the or-
chestra had begun its radio broad-
casts again and was completely
reestablished on a solid founda-
tion.
BETWEEN 1941 AND 1943 the
orchestra kept up its regular ac-
tivities in Marseille. Finally, in
1943, the complete orchestra was
able to return to the capital,
where it took up its headquarters
in the Old Conservatory.
At the Theatre des Champs-
Elysees the Orchestre National be-
gan a series of broadcasts devoted
to the reestablishment of musical
contact between France and the
Allied Nations and to the musical
reeducation of the French people.
SEVERAL TOURS were then
begun of French cities and Brus-
sels, Berlin, Biel, Berne, Zgrich,
Lucerne, Montreaux, and Geneva
among others. The Orchestra Na-
tional also participated in the
great London Festival of 1947.
Conducting the orchestra on its
American tour is Charles Munch,
the French conducwor who has
won acclaim in many previous
tours of this country.
Szell To Lead
Symphony in
Third Concert
The Cleveland Symphony Or-
chestra under George Szell will
present the third in the regular
concert series, Sunday, Nov. 7.
Szell, who took over the orches-
tra two years ago, was born in
Budapest and presented his first
concert at the age of 11.
* * *
HE APPEARED as conductor,
pianist and composer at the con-
cert of the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra when he was 17 and
decided then on a career of con-
ducting.
Szell has conducted orchestras
in Darmstadt, Dusseldorf, Berlin,
Prague, Glasgow and The Hague
in Europe, and New York, Boston,
Philadelphia, Chicago, Los An-
geles, Detroit and Cleveland in
the United States.
As composer, Szell also has con-
ducted many of his own arrange-
ments, including one of Smetana's
String Quartet.
* * *
SZELL succeeded Erich Leins-
dorff, who served as conductor
from 1943 to 1946. Artur Rodzin-
ski also directed the orchestra at
one time, as successor to Nikolai
Sokoloff, who led the orchestra
through its first 15 years.
Since its founding in 1918 by
the Musical Arts Association of
nl-ra- -r tl- nrn scrr lin arn
Ezio Pinza To Be Guest
Star in Fourth Concert
Ezio Pinza, versatile bass-baritone of the Metropolitan Opera, will
appear here Nov. 18 as guest soloist in the fourth concert of the
regular Choral Union Series.
This date will mark the popular Pinza's eighth appearance at
Hill Auditorium.
FAMED AS A GREAT ACTOR as well as a great singer, Pinza
is most noted for his interpretation of the title role in Mozart's "Don
Giovanni."
His amazing versatility and extraordinary range, however,
have given him a repertoire of 72 different characterizations,
from the baritone role of Escamillo in "Carmen" to Basilio's
basso profundo in "The Barber of Seville."
But Pinza's fame has gone beyond the operatic stage: he is
<equally at home with the concert
platform and radio. with
songs and Handel's airs.
* * *
folk
THE COLORFUL PINZA grew
up in Italy. He first aimed for a
career in bicycle racing, but-since
he didn't win enough prizes to
cover his expenses-shortly de-
cided to switch to music, although
at 18 he had had no formal train-
ing.
Studying
nights for
made fast
made his
Oroveso inI
days (and working
his board) Pinza
progress and soon
debut at Milan as
Bellini's "Norma."
CHARLES A. SINK
* :
Extra Series
To Supplement
ChoralUnion
Following is the annual message
from Charles. A.. Sink, president of+
The date was 1914, however,
and within a year Pinza was in
uniform. He rose from private to
captain, won a distinguished serv-
ice cross at the front, and for four
years sang not a note.
HE WAS STILL IN uniform at
the end of the war when he was
offered the part of King Mark in
"Tristan and Isolde." But his col-
onel, who-like all Italians-took
opera seriously, slashed the red
tape of discharge with a ven-
geance. Pinza was back on stage.
His success was immediate,
and for the next five years he
sang all over Italy as a member
of the La Scala, Regio, San
Carlo and Royal Opera House
comr anies.
Heifetz Likes
Classics and
New Music
Violinist To Play
At Hill, Feb. 10
Jascha Heifetz, Russian-born
master violinist, could rest on his
record of superbly played classics,
but instead he continues to per-
form the newest in modern Amer-
ican music.
A great believer in the Amer-
ican tradition, Heifetz, who will
appear in Hill Auditorium, Feb.
19, 1949 during the extra concert
series, also includes in his pro-
grams American folk music
which he has transcribed himself.
IN FACT, ALTHOUGH Heifetz
needs no other claim to fame than
his violin playing, he has a great
desire to be a composer and has
written more than 100 transcrip-
tions from Bach to Debussy
through Gershwin.
Carrying out his interest in
American music, the violinist
has sponsored numerous con-
tests among young composers
and artists.
His motion picture, "They
Shall Have Music" was voted
by educators the greatest single
contribution to the general ap-
preciation of good music made
on the screen up to that time.
Although hie owns several vio-
lins, Heifetz has two favorites: a
Guarnerius and his Stradivarius.
The first, dated 1742, once be-
longed to the great German art-
ist, Wilhelmj, and before that to
Ferdinand David, violinist of the
last century.
S * *
THE STRAD, made in 1731,
first came into Heifetz' possession
as a loan when he arrived in New
York at 16 years old. As soon as
he had earned sufficient money,
Heifetz purchased it permanently.
Heifetz made his American
debut in 1917, but he had al-
ready marked a couple of other
premieres: his first lessons at
three, and his Russian debut at
seven.
He has been an American cit-
izen for 20 years, is the father of
two children and lives in Beverly
Hills, California, although his
tours do not leave him much time
for home life. He has played over
80,000 hours in his life, and has
travelled about 1,700,000 miles in
the course of his career.
Librarian Is
Versatile Man
Listed on the membership of
the Cincinnati Symphony, and of
every large orchestra, is an indis-
pensable man who seldom plays
an instrument, lifts a baton or
hauls the company's baggage-the
librarian.
Without this man's help, the
orchestra would have no music
with which to attract concert-go-
ers, for the Cincinnati Symphony's
librarian, Otto Brasch, is the cus-
todian of the many thousands of
compositions which the orchestra
performs.
After the conductor plans the
program, it is up to Bri',an to
provide the music. He must order
scores for all the musicians, check
the accuracy with the master
score, and see to it that the music
is in place on the stands for each
rehearsal and performance.
These are his specific duties.
Whenever necessary, the versatile
Brasch doubles in brass in the
viola and percussion sections. y
HILL AUDITORIUM-Noted for its excellent acoustics, Hill
Auditorium will be the center of the University music season.
Once considered "the finest music hall in the world," Hill has
become inadequate for the expanded musical program and plans
are underway for the construction of a new auditorium.
'Messiah' To Be Presented
Twvo Times by Choral Union
___I,
the University Musical Society:
In 1926 he made his debut at
To Concert-Goers: the Metropolitan, where he was
The University Musical Society acclaimed by critics and public
announces two principal concert alike as the "greatest bass since
series at this time-the Seventieth Chaliapin."
Annual Choral Union Series of
ten concerts, and the Third An-:
nual Extra Concert Series of five
numbers.
The latter series of concerts was
inaugurated three years ago, co-
incident with the greatly in-
creased student enrollment at the
close of the war, for the special.
purpose of providing students with
larger opportunities for supple-
menting their regular University"
studies by hearing great music
performed by artists and organi-
zations of established reputations.
The enthusiasm with which stu-
dents in particular have availed'
themselves of this opportunity has
more than justified the optimism
of the Society.
The concerts in the Extra Se-{
Ties, which number five, are listed
at half the price of season tickets
in the Choral Union Series, but1
the quality of the performances
are equal.
The Board of Directors hopet
that this season's offerings in
both series will be received with
the same enthusiasm as in thef
past, and that all who attend any1
or all of the programs will be well
pleased; thus justifying the legend
of the founding fathers of the
University Musical Society-- Ars
Longa Vita Brevis.
Charles A. Sink, President. Z
Record SeasonTo
Be Sponsored by
'U' Music Society
Five Performiance Series 1'eattre
26 Concerts ti ot Xear
In one of the biggest musical seasons in the history of the
University Musical Society, 26 concerts will be performed in five con-
cert series this year.
Eileen Farrell, widely known radio soprano will open the seven-
tieth season of the Choral Union Series Oct. 6. The Extra Concert
Series, instituted in 1946 to accommodate the greatly increased de-
mand for concerts from the record breaking enrollments, will open
Oct. 14 with a concert by Marian Anderson, world renowned contralto.
ALL CONCERTS IN regular Choral Union series and in the Extra
Concert Series will be held at Hill Auditorium. The Concerts will begin
at 8:30 p.m. except the Chicago, Cleveland and Indianapolis Orches-
tras, which will begin at 7 p.m.
Quartet Will
Present Three
Concerts Here
Sparking the Chamber Music
Festival for the second time, the
Paganini String Quartet will pre-
sent three varied programs Jan-
uary 14, 15 and 16 in the Rack-
ham Auditorium.
Four renowned artists, each an
eminent musician on his own in-
strument, make up the quartet.
Henri Temianka and Gustave
Roesseels are the violinists; Robert
Courte, violist, and Jean de Nock-
er, violoncellist. -
Organized early in 1946, the
name of the quartet derives from
the fact that all of the instru-
ments, which were made by Strad-
ivarius, were at one time owned
by the famous master, Paganini.
The viola, cello and two violins,
dispersed since Paganini's death
have only recently been brought
together by a New York music
lover after years of patient ef-
fort.
Season tickets and tickets for
individual concerts will be on sale
October 1, at Offices of the Uni-
versity Musical Society, Burton
Memorial Tower.
Two performances of Handel's
oratorio "Messiah" have been
scheduled for the Choral Union's
annual Christmas concert this
year.
The concerts will be given on
Saturday evening, December 11,
Noted Violinist
Also Famous
As Composer
Not being satisfied to merely
play from the best of the world's
existing music, Nathan Milstein,
internationally known violinist
has also made substantial con-
tributions of his own.
Milstein, who will appear in the
ninth of the regular concert series
on March 4, has written Cadenzas
for both the Brahms Concerto
and the Beethoven Violon Con-
certo and has made many other
arrangements of famous works to
make them more suitable to ex-
pert violin interpretation.
A NATIVE OF RUSSIA, Mil-
stein is at least one great musician
who old not begin playing because
he wanted to. Instead his mother
MADE him practice the violin
but not for long because it soon
became the ruling force in his
life.
Milstein cautions against too
much parental zeal for their chil-
dren's musical education, how-
ever, advising that it may kill all
ambition.
Now in his 19th concert tour
of the United States and Canada,
Milstein who is now 42 has ap-
peared with practically every large
symphony on the continent. He
has been a soloist with the New
York Philharmonic 33 times. Olin
Downs of the New York Times
says "he has long since been
ranked as a master virtuoso. He
has become, while still young, a
very great artist."
and Sunday afternoon December
12 in Hill Auditorium.
* * * -
LESTER McCOY, associate con-
ductor of the Choral Union, who
demonstrated his musical ability
in his direction of last year's
"Messiah" presentation will con-
duct.
Four distinguished soloists
will be on the program, includ-
ing Doris Doree, Nan Merriman,
Frederick Jagel, and John Gur-
ney.
Miss Doree, a soprano, has won
success with the Metropolitan
Opera Association both in New
York and on tour, and has re-
cently come from an engagement
in England.
AMERICAN CONTRALTO Nan
Merriman is a Columbia Concerts
and Victor recording star, and has
distinguished herself as soloist
with Toscanini and with the New
York Philharmonic Symphony.
Miss Merriman starts her new
concert season with six engage-
ments with the New York Phil-
harmonic, two with the New
York City Symphony and two
broadcasts with Toscanini in
Verdi's Otello. In addition she
has fifty concerts coast to coast
in recital including her Ann
Arbor engagement.
Frederick Jagel, American born
tenor and regular performer at
the Metropolitan Opera in New
York, is renowned for the variety
of roles he has mastered in opera.
IN HIS IMMEDIATE repertoire
he has 40 roles in Italian, French
and German opera. Among these
are Lucia, Rigoletto and Verdi's
"Aida," with which he was the
first American to open an opea
season at the famous Teatro Colon
in Buenos Aires.
The bass soloist in this sea-
son's "Messiah" is John Gurney,
who has sung several hundred
performances with the Metro-
politan Opera Association, and
has appeared in concerts from
Coast to Coast.
The annual performances of
the Messiah will be held Dec. 11
and 12, with the Paganini
String Quartet sparking the
Chamber Music Festival Jan.
14, 15 and 16. The May Fes-
tival, including six concerts, will
be held May 5, 6, 7 and 8.
Including concerts by four ma-
jor symphony orchestras, and two
vocal, two piano and twohviolin
recitals, the schedule for the reg-
ular Choral Union Series follows:
EILEEN FARRELL,' saprono,
Oct. 6; French National Orchestra,
conducted by Charles Munch,
Oct. 25; Cleveland Orchestra,
headed by George Szell, Nov. 7;
Ezio Pinza, bass, Nov. 18; Clifford
Curzon, pianist, Nov. 27; Boston
Symphony Orchestra, under the
direction of Serge Koussevitzky,
Dec. 6; Ginette Neveu, violinist,
Jan. 8; Vladimir Horowitz, pian-
ist, Feb. 11; Nathan Milstein, vio-
linist, March 4; Chicago Sym-
phony Orchestra, led by guest
conductor Fritz Busch, March 27.
The schedule for the Extra
Concert Series, composed of per-
formances by two major orches-
tras and a piano, violin and
vocal recital is: Marian Ander-
son, contralto, Oct. 14; Cincin-
nati Symphony Orchestra, led
by Thor Johnson, Nov. 15; Ru-
dolf Serkin, pianist, Dec. 3;
Jascha Heifetz, violinist, Feb.
19; Indianapolis Symphony Or-
chestra, under the direction of
Fabian Sevitzky, March 13.
Tickets for all concert series
may be purchased at the office of
the University Musical Society,
Burton Memorial Tower.
Cincinnati
Ranks With
est ino.S.
The Cincinnati Symphony,
which will appear in Hill Audi-
torium on November 15, has es-
tablished for itself a record as
one of the country's leading or-
chestras.
Conducted at present by Thor
Johnson, the symphony can boast
of its past leaders, Leopold Sto-
kowski, Fritz Reiner and Eugene
Goossens. It was established in
1895 in response to the increasing
cultural demands of a growing
city and now is composed of 86
players.
SUPPORTED BY a substantial
endowment fund-William How-
ard Taft was"once president of
the Board of Directors-the Cin-
cinnati Symphony has been able
to secure the best of concert art-
ists.
The name of Thor Johnson, al-
ready familiar to the University as
a member of the Music School
faculty and from the Symphony's
appearance here last spring,
stands high on the list of Amer-
ican-born musicians. Still in his
early thirties, Johnson won the
post of director of the Cincinnati
Symphony because of his training,
superlative talent and his intense
vitality and enthusiasm. 1
Boston Concert
Will Be Held
InDecember
Koussevitzky Will
Conduct Last Time
Serge Koussevitzky, conductor
of the Boston Symphony Orches-
tra since 1924, will lead the or-
chestra in their appearance here
December 6 in his last season as
head of the group.
Koussevitzky will relinquish his
baton next fall to Charles Muench,
now heading the French National
Orchestra.
LEADER OF THE orchestra
since 1924, Koussevitzky's tenure
has far exceeded that of any of
his predecessors, and now the Bos-
ton's name is almost synonymous
with his own.
Born in Russia, the eminent
conductor founded and directed
the Koussevitzky Symphony Or-
chestra from 1910 to 1918, and in
that capacity made extensive tours
of Russia.
Later he conducted orchestras
in various parts of Europe, includ-
ing England, Germany and Italy.
After coming to this country,
America's composers became as
For picture of Boston Sym-
phony Orchestra, see Page 3.
familiar to him as those of the
Old World. Despite his interest
in the great music of the past, he
can never be accused of neglecting
contemporary currents.
IN 1938, KUOSSEVITZKY es-
tablished the world famous Berk-
shire Music Center, of which he
,has been director since 1940. In
memory of his wife, he established
the Koussevitzky Music Founda-.
tion in 1942, to further the de-
velopment of musical culture and
to assist composers.
Thor Johnson, former conduc-
tor of the University Choral Un-
ion, was one of Koussevitzky's
prize students. At present, John-
son is conducting the Cincinnati
Orchestra which will appear here
Nov. 15.
Frieze Orcran
One of Finest
History Includes Use
At 1892 World's Fair
Carrying the show at the per-
formances of "The Messiah" this
December will be a veteran of the
1892 World's Fair-the Frieze
organ.
The instrument was purchased
by the Choral Union Society in
1894, when its booking was closed
at the fair. With its 120 sets of
pipes, the organ was considered
"one of the largest and most ef-
fective instruments of its kind" by
the late Dr. Palmer Christian,
professor of organ.
Though some parts have been
f -rlnr r7 n , ,,1 _1 rv.s w i
CONTRALTO CHOSEN RADIO'S BEST:
Classics, Spirituals To Be Sung by Anderson
* * *
v
Marian Anderson, whose warm
contralto voice has thrilled thou-
sands of Americans, will appear
in Hill Auditorium for the extra
concert series' at 8:30 p.m., Oct.
14.
Although Miss Anderson in -
cludes interpretations pf classic
compositions and opera arias in
ar rnnertnir- it. i so,' -nrcan I
derson also finds time for tours
outside the country. Next spring
she will pay her first visit to Aus-
tralia and New Zealand.
Last year, for the fourth consec-
utive time, Miss Anderson was
chosen radio's foremost woman
singer by 600 music editors in the
United States and Canada.
church in Philadelphia subsidized
her career by collecting nickels
and dimes into "a fund for Marian
Anderson's future."
She was born and reared with
her two sisters in Philadelphia's
Negro quarter where her father
sold ice and coal. Her mother, an
ex-school mistress from Lynch-
African Redemption, the highest
Award of the Republic of Liberia,
and in 1944, the Merit Award
from the New York Youth Com-
mittee for her work in a music
school among Harllem's under-
privileged children.
In addition, Miss Anderson has
been honored by request perform-