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ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, SUNDAY, MARCH 2, 1952
FOUR PAGES
.7
Top
Talent
Featured in
59th May
Festival
1894 to
1952-
President
Welcomes
Audiences
MAY FESTIVAL IPROGRAM
Festival History
Reveals Mishaps
By CARA CHERNIAK
To most students May Festival goes off without mishap each
year, but it takes those who have been around the University for a
long time to remember the various foibles that have followed its in-
ception in 1894.
It all began with the very first concert. It was publicized so wide-
ly throughout the University and surrounding area that hundreds of
people jammed special trains to get here.
The only trouble was that most of them had neglected to buy
tickets. As a result the people found themselves jamming the cor-
ridors and passage ways of University Hall. The concert was good,
but the people emerged tired, hungry and anxious to get home.
* *. * *
BUT THEIR TROUBLES did not end there.
As soon as the concert was over, the people flocked back to
. the New York Central station, only to find that their trains had
been sent to Detroit, and no one had remembered to have them
sent back. They did not, in fact, arrive until about 3' a.m.
Such was the first May Festival.
THERE'S AN OLD TRADITION in Ann- Arbor that it always
rains at least once during the May Festival. But seldom is there a
snow storm.
But this is precisely what happened one afternoon.
The day started out beautifully, with the sun shining and
the people dressed in their new spring clothes. Few suspected as
they entered University Hall that when they came out two hours
later they would be faced with about five inches of snow.
* * * *
PERFORMERS coming to May Festival have had their share of
mishaps too. For example there was the time when Ignace Padrewski,
the Polish pianist, was scheduled for a concert in the then new Hill
Auditorium.
Hill was used very little at that time, and the heating equipment
wasn't quite up to par. In fact, 'no matter how much the auditorium
was heated the stage remained cold. ,
The weather was about zero degrees, and Padrewski, always'
afraid of catching a cold, demanded the heat be turned up in the
auditorium. More and more people began to fill the seats, and it
became increasingly uncomfortable as the heat went going up
and up. But the stake remained very cold.
MANY TIMES the audience has been disappointed when a par-
tilar performer has failed to appear for a scheduled performance.
This happened during the 20's when Amelide Galli-Curci, after mak-
ing her operatic debut in Chicago, became the most widely hailed
coloratura soprano of the day.
Miss Galli-Curci was asked to appear here for May Festival, and
tickets for her performance were soon sold out to eager concert-goers,
anxious to hear this new sensation.
However, only a day before she was scheduled to arrive,
Charles Sink, president of the University Musical Society re-
ceived a telegram informing him she would be unable to appear.
Some fast work had to be done to get a performer as good as Miss
Galli-Curci. '
The day was saved, however, by one New York manager who sug-
gested Lucy Gates, an American performer who had just arrived from
Europe where she was quite a success, but who was virtually unknown
4 in the United States.
Miss Gates boarded a train that same day, arriving in Ann Arbor
in time to sing the identical program Miss Galli-Curci was to sing,
making a hit with the Ann Arbor audience at the same time, both,
for her singing, which observers agreed was good, and for her efforts;
in coming to the University on such short notice.
THURSDAY, MAY 1, 8:30
Eugene Ormandy, Conductor
Eleanor Steber, Soprano
Short Symphony.................Swanson
"Exsultate, jubilate," Motet, K.165 ..Mozart
"Le Festin de 1'Araignee," Op. 17 ....Roussel
Recitative and aria, "Nun eilt herbei"
and "Frohsinn und Laune" from
Merry Wives of Windsor ....... .. .Nicolai
Marietta's Lied from "Die Tote
Stadt"...........................Korngold
Csardas from Die Fledermaus ....... Strauss
Eleanor Steber
Suite No. 2 from the Ballet, Daphnis
et Chloe ............. ............... Ravel
FRIDAY, MAY 2, 8:30
University Choral Union
Thor Johnson, Conductor
Patricia Neway, Soprano
Anton Dermota, Tenor
Philip Duey ,Baritone
George London, Bass
"Tiw* Damnation of Faust," Dramatic
Legend in Four Parts, Op. 24 .......Berlioz
Choral Union and Soloists
SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2:30
Alexander Hilsberg and
Marguerite Hood, Conductors
Nathan Milstein, Violinist
Festival Youth Chorus
Overture to "RussIan and Ludmilla". . Glinka
Song Cycle from the
Masters.............Arr. Russell Howland
Festival Youth Chorus
Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major .... Schubert
Concerto in A minor ,Op. 53, for ,
Violin and Orchestra............ Dvorak
Nathan Milstein
SATURDAY, MAY 3, 8:30g.
Eugene Ormandy, Conductor
Astrid Varnay, Soprano
Set Svanholm, Tenor
Overture to The Flying Dutchman ..Wagner
Act I, Scene III, from Die Walkure ..Wagner
Astrid Varnay and Set Svanholm.
Prelude to Tristan and Isolde .......Wagner
Night Scene-Act II, Scene III from
Tristan and Isolde.............Wagner
Miss Varnay and Mr. Svanholm
SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2:30
Thor Johnson, Conductor
University Choral Union
Mack Harrell, Baritone
Guiomar Novaes, Pianist
Overture to "Coriolanus," Op. 62.. Beethoven
"Belshazzar's Feast".............Walton
Choral Union and Mack Harrell
Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, for
Piano and Orchestra.........Beethoven
Guiomar Novaes
SUNDAY, MAY 4, 8:30
Eugene Ormandy, Conductor
Patrice Munsel, Soprano
Passacaglia ..........................Haug
"Chacun le sait" from La Fille du
Regiment..................Donizetti
"0 mio babbino caro" from Gianni
Schicci......"..................Puccini
"Mi chiamano Mimi" from
La Boheme....... . ..........Puccini
Patrice Munsel
Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major,
Op. 82 .......................... Sibelius
Lucy's Arietta from The Telephone.. Menotti
Willow Song ..............Coleridge-Taylor
Suite from Die Fledermaus........Strauss
Patrice Munsel, Soloist
Variety Sparks
FestivalSchedule
Eleven Soloists, Four Conductors,
Ensemble Groups To Perform
Eleven distinguished soloists, four renowned conductors and three
outstanding ensemble groups round out the schedule for the fifty-
ninth annual May Festival program which will be presented May 1,
2, 3 and 4 in Hill Auditorium.
THE FESTIVAL consists of six concerts-four evening perform-
ances and two matinees-for which the Philadelphia Orchestra will
provide the instrumental works and background music.
Three of the featured singers have never before been heard In
Ann Arbor. The other vocal soloists have appeared here before but
their performances at the Festival will mark the first in several
years for most.
Patricia Neway, soprano who re4'U
cently sang the leading role
Menotti's "The Consul," George
London, who made his debut withtFouraFamed
the Metropolitan this season, and
tenor Anton Dermota, who will ar-
rive from Europe shortly before his AnUArorUpp
Ann Arbor appearance will all be
featured here for the first time. *11 fA1nn Pn
*
CHARLES A. SINK
* * *
X
Charles A. Sink, director of the
University Musical Society, sends
his annual message for the coming
May Festival season.
"The' Board of Directors of the
University Musical Society again
announces a series of'six concerts
in the fifty-ninth annual May
Festival. .
"Opera stars, oratorio singers
and instrumental soloists will co-
operate with the Philadelphia Or-
chestra, the University Choral Un-
ion and the Festival Youth Chorus
to provide programs of variety and
brilliance.
"The Festival comes in May as a
climax to the Society's annual
concert-giving activities. The sev-
eral programs should be considered
in relationship to those which have
been given through the year. This
complete repertoire will reveal a
wide range of works by many com-
posers, covering nearly all schools,
forms and periods.
"It is hoped that those attend-
ing the concerts will enjoy the pro-
grams, and that in these days of
stress and strain, all who come
within the sphere of the Festival
influence will be stimulated to a
greater patience and courage in
facing the complex and vexing
problems with which the world is
confronted.1
"The Board of Directors appre-
ciates the continued cooperative'
support of students, faculty and1
others who by their long presence1
make possible the Festival pro-
grams.
"Ars Longa Vita Brevis."
'MET' SOUBRETTE:
Final Concert to Feature Munsel
Young coloratura'. Patrice Mun-
sel, ranked as one of the top'
Metropolitan Opera stars, will be
heard .as guest artist in the final
concert of May Festival.
The program for her concert is
the same one she was scheduled to
sing last year, when a throat in-
fection prevented her from per-
forming, and brought Eileen Far-
rell to the stage in her place.
r . "
MISS MUNSEL'S operatic ca-
reer was begun in a unique way-
by starting whistling lessons at the
age of five. Her chief childhood in-
terests were whistling and tom-
boy athletics, including football,
baseball, and riding a bike with no
hands.
However, Miss Munsel began
to really turn her interest
towards a musical career when,
after having iven a whistling
concert and thoroughly enjoy-
ing the audience response, she
decided that the stage was the
life for her.
Soon afterwards her whistling
* * *
OPERA, CONCERT, TV:
i
Eleanor' Steber's Career Impressive
As a child, Eleanor Steber
claimed that some day she would
be an opera singer, and she meant
it.
Presenting the opening May
Festival concert at 8:30 p.m. May
1, the soprano has behind her an
etxended career in opera, concert,
radio and television.
* s
BORN IN Wheeling, W. Va.,
Miss Steber received her, early
musical training from her mother,
also a soprano. Her formal train-
ing was received at the New Eng-
land Conservatory in Boston,
where she worked her way through
school.
After her first thrilling ex-
perience with opera in "Andrea
Chenier" se obtained a position
with the Metropolitan in "Die
Meistersinger"--as a $1 super,
being permitted to carry a
wreath on stage. The night of
the performance she found that
another student had stolen her
job.
Miss Steber made her debut as
Senta in Wagner's "Flying Dutch-
man," an English performance~
with the Federal Music Project.
She had just finished her first
round of road concerts when she
won the Metropolitan Opera Au-
ditions of the Air. in April 1940.
fad at : t n --
i 9t
In spite of her fame in the
fields of opera, radio and tele-
vision, Miss Steber considers
herself primarily a concert sing-
er. Since her first tour in 1940
she has made annual trips
throughout the United States
and has extended some of the
tours into Canada as well.
With an impressive list of ap-
pearances as soloist with import-
ant American orchestras, Miss
Steber is justly proud of her col-
lections of batons which conduc-
tors have presented to her after
important "first" performances.
Her collection now totals 13 and
brings memories of such appear-
ances as one for the Red Cross
Fund during the war and her de-
but at the Metropolitan.
Season Tickets
Now on Sale
Single tickets for the May Festi-
val concerts will go on sale March
10 at Burton Memorial Tower, ac-
cording to Charles A. Sink, presi-
dent of the Musical Society.
Orders for season tickets have
been accepted since December, but
a good selection is still available
in the $8.00 and $9.00 range, while
a limited number remain in the
$10 section.
Individual concert tickets will
be sold for $1.50, $2.00 and $2.50.
PATRICE MUNSEL
teacher began to realize her un-
usual voice talents and persuaded
her to take voice lessons.
* * *
WHEN PATRICE was fifteen
her parents began to feel that her
voice merited full time training,
so she and her mother went to
New York to start extensive train-
ing under William Herman. After
this preparation, she entered the
Met Auditions of the Air and a
few months later made her debut
at the Met in the role of Philine
in "Mignon.'.
In the summer of 1949 Miss
Munsel sang in Victor Herbert's
"Naughty Marietta," where she
got her first taste of comedy.
"The first time you step out on
the stage and get a big yak," she
said, "you're lost for the rest of
your life."
From then on she began to take
frivolous, soubrette opera parts.
Critics began to realize her co-
quette-like talents in her portrayal
of Zerlina, the country maid, in
"Don Giovanni," and her later
fame as Adele in "Die Fleder-
maus" established her as the Met's
leading soubrette.
Miss Munsel achieved an excit-
ing effect in her performance of
"Die Fledermaus" at the Met when
she held a high "A" while climb-
ing a flight of stairs with a basket
on her head, ending dramatically,
at the top.-
She has selected several "Die
Fledermaus" arias for her Univer-
sity concert, giving local audiences
a chance to see her in this role.
Presently she is engaged in a
concert tour including 40 concerts,
and further plans include adding
new roles to her Metropolitan re-
pertoire this year: Mimi and
Musetta in "La Boheme."
Festival Books
Will Be Sold
Official Program Books of May
Festival, a booklet which includes
programs, history and comments
on the music being performed, will
be on sale in the lobbies before all
Festival concerts.
Now being prepared by Profes-
sor Glenn A. McGouch of the
music literature department in the
School of Music, this booklet has
come to be a traditional thing at
the Festival.
It explains in understandable
terms to both the educated and
uneducated music lover the inner
meanings. and intricacies of the
music being heard. These books
are recognized as being good music
history and appreciation source
material and are now sent to lib-
raries all over the country for pub-
lic use.
THE SLATE of outstandinig mu-
sicians for .the 1952 Festival also
boasts seven Metropolitan Opera
'stars and one from the New York
City Opera.
Four conductors will share the
podium during the four day fes-
tival. Eugene Ormandy will con-
duct at three performances and
Thor Johnson, conductor of the
Cincinnati Orchestra, for two.
Alexander Hilsberg, associate
conductor of the Philadelphia,
and Marguerite Hood will divide
conducting honors for the Sat-
urday afternoon presentation.
First program of the series will
highlight soprano Eleanor Steber
under the baton of Eugene Or-
mandy. For her concert she will
sing Mozart's "Exsultate, jubilate,"
a selection from "Merry Wives of
Windsor" by Nicolai, "Marietta's
Lied from 'Die Tote Stadt" by
Korngold and "Csardas from
Strauss's 'Die Fledermaus."
a * *
"THE DAMNATION of Faust"
by Berlioz will be presented in the
second concert of the series. Pa-
tricia Neway, Anton Dermota and
George London will take the stage
with University professor, Philip
Duey for the selection, accompan-
ied by the University Choral Union
conducted by Thor Jhonson.
For the Saturday afternoon
concert the spotlight will' be
shared by violinist Nathan Mil-
stein and the Festival Youth
Chorus directed by Marguerite
Hood. Alexander Hilsberg will
conduct the balance of the pro-
gram.f
The traditional all-Wagner pro-
gram wil be featured in the Sat-
urday evening concert, with Eu-
gene Ormandy again taking over
the podium. Soloists will be so-
prano Astrid Varnay and tenor Set
Svanholm.
The fifth .concert which will be
heard at 2:30 p.m. Sunday will pre-
sent Mack Harrell, baritone, Guio-
mar Novaes, pianist, and the Chor-
al Union with Thor Johnson con-
ducting. Included on the program
will be "Overture to 'Coriolanus',"
by Beethoven; Walton's "Belshaz-
zar's Feast;" and Beethoven's
"Concerto No. 4 for Piano and Or-
chestra."
In the final concert at 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, soprano Patrice Munsel
will be starred under the baton of
Ormandy. Her program will in-
clude, Haug's "Passacaglia;" Si-
belius' "Symphony No. 5;" Arias
from Donizetti's "Daughter of the
Regiment;". Puccini's " Gianni
Schicci" and "La Boheme;" and
Menotti's "The Telephone." The
progrma will close with a Suite
from Strauss' "Die Fledermaus."
EUGENE ORMANDY
* * s
sity Musical Society and Mar-
guerite Hood, director of the
Youth Chorus will share conduct-
ing duties at the six Festival con.
certs.
I a
ORMANDY, who began his ca-
reer as a violinist in his native
Hungary, has been conductor of
the Philadelphia Orchestra since
1936. His rise to head of one of
the most famous orchestras in the
world was close to phenomenal.
After five years in Minneapolis,.
he accepted a position as co-
conductor of the Philadelphia Or-
chestra with Leopold Stokowski,
and succeeded that eminent musi-
cian as musical director of the
orchestra in 1941.
S* * s
Alexander Hilsberg has been
with the Philadelphia Orchestra,
as concertmaster and later as as-
sociate conductor, since 1931. The
Russian-born violinist established
his reputation as a virtuoso
through tours across Europe and
Asia, appearing in Russia, Si-
beria, China, and Japan.
Almost as soon as he arrived-
in this country' he was offered
a position with the Philadelphia
his way up to, the first chair of
the violin section. He was named
associate conductor at the close
of the 1950-51 season.
The appearances of Thor John-
son, conductor of the Cincinnati
Symphony Orchestra and Univer-
sity Musical Society, have become
olmne a +at- iin -nr --Ain 1..n .
Traditional Stars
To Share Duties
The -four conductors who will
lead the' Philadelphia Orchestra
in this year's May Festival have
established themselves as peren-
nial favorites with Hill Auditor-
ium audiences.
Eugene Ormandy, music director
of the orchestra, Alexander Hils-
berg, associate conductor, Thor
Johnson, conductor of the Univer-
S- * * *
.
l 1.~~ *
.v ..
ELEANOR STEBER
HAILED BY MANY AS 'WORLD'S GREATEST':
Philadelphia Orchestra To Perform at All Six Concerts
r.
The Philadelphia Orchestra,
which will provide the orchestral
element for all six Festival con-
certs, marks its seventeenth con-
secutive year at Ann Arbor's an-
tra has steadily climbed until it
now stands, in the opinion of many
critics, at the very top of the mu-
sical world.
Stokowski, who has long been
and stis .on +f th , .+st enn
await further developments.
* * *
HOWEVER, it wasn't long be-
fore Ormany was demonstrating
to the people of Philadelphia-and
+th ra,+t o flip rrnm... n. n
audience through its large reper-
tory of phonograph records.
* * *
THE TOTAL for the past 10
years exceeds 24,000,000 recordings
fn. ta.n Ma m. ..nr-. m nan ~.
margin it was the first major
symphony to be televised in the
United States.
In the winter of 1929 Stokowski,
always ready for unique innova-
tin y .. UI T. n - n frf- A T-,.,
Several young artists who are
now widely known made their
concert debuts at these young
people's concerts. Among them
are William Kapell, Fiances