PAGE TWO
T HE MICHIGAN DAILY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1951
JOHNSON TO CONDUCT :
Cincinnati Symphony
To Play Here Jan. 14
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Leading one of the country's
foremost symphonies, Thor John-
son, former Michigan alumnus and,
faculty member, will return with
the Cincinnati Symphony Orches-
tra Jan. 14 to Hill Auditorium in
the Choral Union Series concerts.,
Johnson has had a long success-
ful career culminating with his
duties as permanent conductor of,
the Cincinnati Orchestra. Inter-.
rupted by the war from his service,
at the University, where he was
conductor of the University Musi-.
Szigeti Will
Gi ve Series
C oncert Here
Josef Szigeti, world famous
violinist, will appear here October
15 as a part of the Choral Union
Series at Hill Auditorium.
With this season the interna-
tionally celebrated musician cele-
brates the 26th anniversary of his
American debut with the Phila-
delphia Orchestra under Leopold
Stokowski.
Perhaps the most traveled of
virtuosi, Szigeti returned to this
country after a series of perform-
ances at the Prades Festival and
a concert tour throughout France,
Italy, Switzerland, Austria and
Great Britain.
S* *
SZIGETI WAS born in Hungary
and was taught violin first by his
father and then under Jeno Hu-
bay. When he yas 12, he played
for Joachim, the greatest violinist
of the 19th century.
His first start, however, was
unusual for a concert violinist.
One of his early performances
was on a variety stage where
he shared the bill with a lion-
tamer, a trained dog act and a
jazz group.
Now rated as one of the top
three or four violinists in the
world, Szigeti has received many
honors. He holds awards from
Belgium and France, and can also
claim a "first," as he was the
first world-famous musician to
play a complete violin concerto on
television.
cal Society, Johnson entered the
army where he organized the Army
Orchestra.
At the end of the war he was
sent by the government to the
Army Training School at Shriven-
ham, Englarpd, and Biarritz, France
as conductor. On returning to
America he served as conductor
of the Juilliard Symphony Orches-
tra in New York, after which he
succeeded Eugene Goossens as
conductor of the Cincinnati Sym-
phony Orchestra.
* * *
JOHNSON maintains a critical
ability in selecting the best of all
times and eras for his concerts,
and extracting from them a co-
ordinated and practical program.
His native critical ability has been
supplemented by an academic
background in the philosophy of
art.
He believes not only in keep-
ing his right arm in shape for
conducting, but his whole body
as well. Whenever he can find
time he goes to the YMCA gym-
nasium and also takes advant-
age of the summer months to
play tennis. Johnson is enthus-
iastic about football as well, and
can be spotted at many games.
Under Johnson's direction the
Cincinnati Orchestra is reaching
even greater pre-eminence today.
He won the post on the sheer basis
of his accomplishments which in-
clude guest-conductorship appear-
ances with such orchestras as the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the
Boston Symphony Orchestra, and
the Philharmonic Orchestra.
AS A MUSICIAN, Johnson has
won the admiration of the sever-
est critics, of the populace and
the men in the orchestra. During
one season he conducted 95 full
length concerts.
For his distinguished service
he has received many honors,
among them two doctorate de-
grees and a trusteeship to the
Brevard Music Foundation Board
Since it began in 1895 the Cin-
cinnati Symphony Orchestra has
earned an enviable record of
achievement, and today the 85
member organization of virtuoso
players gives approximately one
hundred concerts each season.
Shaw Group
To Appear
NextMarh
Robert Shaw, who will be here
March 18 at Hill Auditorium in
the Choral Union Series has had
a lively career conducting the now
famous Robert Shaw Chorale and
Concert Orchestra.
Shaw got his start in choral
conducting at college where he led
the glee club, and later worked
under Fred Waring leading a radio
glee club. In 1945, however, his
career was interrupted by service
in the Navy.
HIS FIRST GROUP, the Chapel
Choir, was formed in the summer
of 1941, and sang in radio broad-
casts and public performances in
New ' ork. The group got bigger
and bigger, culminating in the 185
voice Shaw Collegiate Chorale.
The Chorale has sung its own
concerts at Carnegie Hall, Town
Hall, and the New York City
Center. It has also appeared in
choral works conducted by Tos-
cannini, Stokowski and Kousse-
vitsky.
In the summer of 1948 the Shaw
Chorale was chosen by NBC as a
summer replacement for a feature
show, the first time a choral group
had been picked for such a spot.
* * *
BESIDES HIS radio work and
the Collegiate Chorale, Shaw has
also trained choruses for Billy
Rose's Aquacades in New York and
San Francisco, and for many
broadway shows, including "Car-
men Jones."
Soon after the formation of
the .Collegiate Chorale, Shaw
branched out as an orchestral
conductor. In 1943 he was named
the outstanding American-born
conductor of the year by the Na-
tional Association of American
Composers and Conductors.
In addition to all these activities,
Shaw also manages to serve as
head of the choral department of
the Juilliard School of Music.
A specialty of the Shaw system
is diction. When choruses trained
under Shaw perform, one can un-
derstand the words they are sing-
ing.
"Music is an art," Shaw declares.
"The chorus, the symphony or-
chestra, the virtuoso recitalist and
the string quartet are not competi-
tive attractions but are instru-
ments of a single craft."
'MAST E BRAILOWSKY':
Chopin Artist Will Perform Here a
"The Master Pianist," Alexan-
der Brailowsky, famous for his
playing of Chopin, will appear
here Nov. 16 in the Choral Union
Series.
Although his specialty is pre-
senting the life work of Chopin,
Brailowsky has been widely ac-
claimed for his interpretations of
all the great masters of the piano.
Brailowsky, Russian by birth,
has toured Europe, South Ameri-
ca, and the United States. In
1920, when 20 years old, he made
his debut in Paris, and later went
on to perform in larger halls be-
fore increasing audiences. Four
years later he made his first ap-
pearance in this country, where
he again met with instantaneous
success.
Since then he has returned
regularly, and boasts the record
of six sold out Carnegie Hall re-
citals in one season. There is
hardly a symphony orchestra
which Brailowsky has not per-
formed with or a city in the Uni-
ted States in which he has not
appeared.
One of the highest prized musi-
cal honors, the King Christian X
medal was presented to the pian-
ist in 1946 by the King of Den-
mark.
He has been heralded "the born
Schumann player," "the ideal
Beethoven player," and "one of
the greatest Chopin players." His
vast repertoire includes the clas-
sics, the romantics, and the mod-
erns, all of which he plays with
the same pianistic perfection.
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Fr 'Ii
CHAMBER MUSIC--Appearing in the Chamber Music Festival
will be the Budapest String Quartet with Joseph Roisman, first
violin; Jac Gorodetzky, second violin; Mischa Schneider, violin-
cello; and Boris Kroyt, viola. The quartet has been hailed as the
superlative interpretater of chamber music.
Buda pest Quartet T o Be Here
For Chamber Music Festival
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
I
CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF
CONCERTS FOR 1951-1952
When the Budapest String Quar-
tet arrives here for the twelfth an-
nual Chamber Music Festival the
city Will have the opportunity to
hear an ensemble generally regard-
ed as the finest in the world.
The Budapest Quartet has been
in existence since the early de-
cades of this century, and since its
debut in this country in 1930 has
gained continually in popularity.
Although none of the original per-
formers remains in the group, it
has managed to maintain the
matchless perfection which has
distinguished it throughout the
years.
DESPITE its name, the Buda-
pest String Quartet no longer is
made up of Hungarians. The mem-
bers are all Russians. Joseph Rois-
man, first violinist, Jac Gorodetz-
ky, second violinist, and Boris
Kroyt, violist, were all born in the
Russian city of Odessa, and Mischa
Schneider, cellist, hails from Vilna.
Before joining the Quartet, each
was an accomplished solo perform-
er in his own right.y
As members of the Budapest
Quartet, these four men have
travelled to almost every corner
of the earth, bringing their
music to practically every conti-
nent. They have performed in
Europe a great number of times,
and are known as far afield as
the East Indies, North Africa,
Australia and New Zealand.
The quartet has consistently sold
about 300,000 records per year. Al-
though chamber music as such has
never been too popular with the
general listening public.
* * *
T HE REPERTOIRE of the en-
ensemble is extensive and univer-
sally appealing, embracing all
types and schools. In addition to
the classics, contemporary Ameri-
can chamber music is often includ-
ed in their offerings. They make it
a policy to include at least one
modern work in each program, for
the group unanimously believes
that the newer music must be
played, not once but often.
But the classics are always
most in demand. Their most pop-
ular concerts are those which
consist of the quartets of Haydn,
Mozart, Beethoven, and Schu-
bert. The high point in any
string quartet's accomplishment
is the playing of the Beethoven
cycle. The Budapest artists have
presented the complete quartets
of the German master many
times, often repeatedly in the
world's great music centers.
The Budapest String Quartet
will perform at all three of the
Chamber Music Festival concerts
at the Rackham Auditorium. The
first concert, on Friday, February
15, will include quartets by Haydn
and the contemporary Lucas Foss,
and will feature Beethoven's Quar-
tet in C, Op. 59, No. 3.
At the concert of February 16
the ensemble will play quartets by
Mozart, Brahms, and Darius Mil-
haud. The work by Milhaud was
composed in 1950.
The final concert on Sunday,
February 17, will be a matinee
performance, and will include
works of Beethoven, Samuel Bar-
ber, and Mendelssohn.
New Orchestra
A new Concert Orchestra has
been organized here for those in-
terested in performing symphonic
music and unable to play in the
University Symphonic Orchestra.
Emil Raab will conduct the or-
chestra.
{
VICTORIA dE LOS ANGELES, Soprano ....... . ...... . . Thurs., Oct. 4
GLADYS SWARTHOUT, Mezzo-Soprano ... . ...... ...... .Tues., Oct. 9
JOSEF SZIGETI, Violinist ................. .. ............Mon., Oct. 15
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Charles Munch, Conductor .......... . ...... ........... Sun., Oct. 21
Mon., Oct. 22
CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA
George Szell, Conductor............ . ... . ..... . . . . . ..Sun., Nov. 4
ALEXANDER BRAILOWSKY, Pianist ....... ..........Fri., Nov.16
de PAUR'S INFANTRY CHORUS. .. .. ... . .... . . .Tues., Nov. 20
SALVATORE BACCALONI, Bass ... . ..... . .... . .... ..Thurs., Nov. 29
MESSIAH .....................,. * . * .............................Sat., Dec. 8
Sun., Dec. 9
CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Thor Johnson, Conductor . . ..... . . . ..................Mon., Jan. 14
OSCAR LEVANT, Pianist . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .... .Fri., Jan. 18
BUDAPEST STRING QUARTET .......... .Fri., Sat., Sun., Feb. 15, 16, 17
SINGING BOYS OF NORWAY . .................. . ..J. ..,Wed., Feb. 20
CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Rafael Kubelik, Conductor ......,....:...... . . . ..... . ..Sun., Mar. 9
SHAW CHORALE AND ORCHESTRA..................Tues., Mar.18
4
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Adolf Busch, Violinist and
Rudolf Serkin, Pianist ................. s ....+...,
. . Mon., Mar. 31
MESSIAH
CONCERTS
MAY FESTIVAL
. . ...May 1, 2, 3,4
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8... .8:30 P.M.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9...... .2:30 P.M.
SOLOISTS
PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA (6 Concerts)
Eugene Ormandy, Conductor
Alexander Hilsberg, Associate Conductor
UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION (2 Concerts)
Thor Johnson, Guest Conductor
Lester McCoy, Associate Conductor
FESTIVAL YOUTH CHORUS (1 Concert)
Marguerite Hood
Soloists (to be announced later)'.
NANCY CARR, Soprano
EUNICE ALBERTS, Contralto
DAVI D LLOYD, Tenor
OSCAR NATZKA, Bass
UNIVERSITY
CHORAL UNION
SPECI AL ORCIHESTIRA
MARY McCALL STUBB INS
Organist
LESTER McCOY, Conductor
TICKETS
(Tax Included)
EITHER CONCERT
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EUNICE ALBERTS
LESTER McCOY
70c or 50c
On Sale October 15
udapest string quartet
in the twelfth annual
chamber music festival e
The Budapest String Quartet will give three
concerts for the Twelfth Annual Chamber Music
Festival - Friday and Saturday evenings and
Sunday afternoon, Feb. 15, 16, and 17. The three
programs will include major quartets and other
ensemble numbers.
JOSEF ROISMAN, Violin
JAC GORODETSKY, Violin
BORIS KROYT, Viola
MISCHA SCHNEIDER, Violoncello
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OSCAR NATZKA
DAVID LLOYD
ALL THREE CONCERTS in RACKHAM AUDITORIUM
FRIDAY, 8:30 P.M. - SATURDAY, 8:30 P.M. - SUNDAY, 2:30 P.M.
TICKETS: THREE CONCERTS $3.90 and $2.70
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