1 PAGE TWO THE MICHIGAN DAILY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26,1954 U II i 1 , . 11 I 11 All Russians In Hungarian String Group The Budapest String Quartet will perform in the 15th annual Cham- ber Music Festival on Feb. 18,19 and 20. Most people take it for granted that the Quartet consists of Hun- garian musicians. None of them comes from Budapest, for they are all Russians by birth and now all are American citizens. Joseph Roisman, the first violin- ist, comes from Odessa, as does Boris Kroyt, the viola player and Jac Grodetzky, the second violin- ist. Mischa Schneider, the violin- cellist, comes from Vilna. Quartet Origin The name of the quartet was fully justified, for not only was the "patron-saint" of chamber music, Prince Esterhazy, a Hungarian nobleman, but the quartet origin- ally started out with a full-fledged Hungarian membership. It was this organization which toured the United States and Eu- rope in the 1920's. Then times changed. By 1927 the second fid- dler left and was replaced by a Russian. By 1936, there was not a Hungarian left. Theyamade their United States' debut in 1930 at Cornell University and have toured the United States annually ever since. In the fall of 1950, they toured Europe for the first time since 1939, and visited South America in 1951. Extensive Schedule Their concert engagements have grown into a strenuous annual schedule of over a hundred con- certs-24 of whichaare in the Li- brary of Congress, ten for the New York Y.M.H.A., 15 at a summer en- gagement in California at Mills College and the rest touring the United States from coast-to-coast. They practice three hours a day with religious regularity"and all disputes about interpretation are put to a majority vote. But it is during their stay at Mills College that the Budapesters finally have a real opportunity to relax. Relaxation and Diversion As part of their annual duties the Budapest artists join the faculty of the college and there is ample free time to indulge in their favor- ite sport-tennis. Swimming is an- other welcome exercise, while chess, bridge and gin-rummy pro- vide mental diversion. They are also ardent readers, devouring the classics and absorbing American history. Inaddition to the classics which everywhere are taken for granted, contemporary American chamber music is generally included in their offerings. Each program regular- ly includes a modern work, for the group unanimously believes that the newer music must be played, not once but often. The Quartet has become famous for its recordings of quartets by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and other masters. The record review- er of the New York Times de- scribed some of the Beethoven re- cordings as the "outstanding of all records this season." !, -Photo by Teela NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC CONDUCTOR DIMITRI MITROPOULOS Mitropoulos, Philharmonic To Appear in Last Concert f' .. THE ROBERT SHf4W CHORALE ROBERT SHAW, Conductor I Under the direction of Dimitri. Mitropotilos, the Philharmonic- Symphony Orchestra of New York will bring the Choral Union Se- ries to a close with a concert on May 22. The Orchestra, America's old- est, started at a time when Tchai- kovsky was only two, Brahms nine, Wagner 29 and Mendelssohn 33. It has performed uninterrupted ever since that first concert on Dec. 7, 1842. T o d a y 's Philharmonic repre- sents a merger in 1928 of the New York Philharmonic and the 50- year-old New York Symphony Or- chestra which was then conduct- ed by Walter Damrosch. An ear- lier merger in 1921 with the Na- tional Symphony also expanded the Philharmonic's number. Rapid Expansion There were 63 members in the organization when it was found- ed. Today, there are over 100 reg- ular playing memners. In its first season, the Philharmonic gave three concerts and at the pres- ent time, well over 100 concerts are played by the orchestra. This includes its winter season at Car- negie Hall and the Young Peo- ple's Concerts, in addition to its concerts on tour. Guest conductors were rare in the early days of the Orchestra, but at the beginning of the 20th century many world famous con- ductors made their appearance with the Philharmonic. Among them were: Wilhelm Furtwangler, Richard Strauss, Victor Herbert, Felix Weingartner, Serge Kous- sevitzky, Leopold Stokowski, How- ard Barlow, Fritz Reiner, Dimitri Mitropoulos, C h a r 1 e s Munch, George Szell and in 1925, Arturo Toscanini. In 1920, the orchestra, under Walter Damrosch went abroad, the first American orchestra to make a foreign tour. Under Tos- canini's direction, the orchestra returned to Europe in 1930 and played 23 concerts to sold-out houses sin 15 cities. Toscanini's Farewell The next five years found Tos- canini returning regularly as con- ductor. Other prominent conduc- tors officiated during this period, including Otto Klemperer and Sir Thomas Beecham. When Tosca- nini gave his "farewell concert" on April 29, 1936, the orchestra was then entrusted to John Barbirolli, since knighted and now head of the Halle Orchestra of Manches- ter, England. Bruno Walter was appointed Di- rector in 1947 and remained un- til 1949 when Mitropoulos and Stokowski were appointed regular conductors with Leonard Bern- stein and Bruno Walter among the guest conductors for the season. Mitropolous was appointed con- ductor in 1950 and the next year he became the Philharmonic's Mu- sical Director, a post which he still holds. Greek by birth and American by adoption, Mitropoulos is an in- ternationally noted figure. A bril- liant European reputation preced- ed his Boston Symphony debut in 1936. European Training Mitropoulos studied at the Con- servatory of his native Athens and with Ferruccio Busoni in Berlin. For a number of years he was the permanent conductor of the Ath- ens Symphony. From the time of his Boston de- but until the spring of 1949, his activities were centered in the Midwest where he was Musical Di- rector of the Minneapolis Sym- phony. He first appeared as guest conductor with the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orches- tra in the 1940-41 season. Appearing MONDAY, DECEMBER 6 8.30 P.M. { (Extra Concert e ries) Robert Shaw _______________________ __- - ---- ------- ------------ - - - - - - ---- iL--- -- Warren Wins Radio Audition Which Leads to Met Contract /I, ~1 E l Co , . . ' .,; A,. , . i x ;. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, at 8:30; and SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, at 2:30 I a 0 Leonard Warren, baritone of thev Metropolitan Opera Association, will appear in the sixth concert of the Choral Union Series on Nov. 21. Warren was chosen to inaug- urate the current Metropolitan season, and will sing the role of Tonio in "Pagliacci" on opening night. This month he will appear with the San Francisco Opera Company, singing "La Forza del Destino" and "Rigoletto," prob- ably his most famous role. It was as Rigoletto that he made his debut at Milan's La Scala last season, the first non-Italian to undertake the role there. After singing Rigoletto, Warren appear- ed as Iago in Verdi's "Otello," be- fore leaving La Scala and return- ing to the United States in mid- January of this year. Born in New York City, War- ren's first singing part was in the Radio City Music Hall Glee Club. In 1938, he auditioned on the Met- ropolitan Auditions of the Air and won a coveted contract. He sailed for Italy, to begin the hard work of learning in six months all the seven roles assign- ed to him for the next season. He made his Met debut on Jan. 13, 1939 as Paola Albiana in "Simon Boccanegra." Gradually, he assumed the ma- jor roles in the baritone reper- toire and he now appears in 22 roles such as "Il Trovatore," "Fal- staff," "La Gioconda" and "Aida." During the present season at the Met, he will add a new role, that of Gerald in "Andrea Chenier." Foreign Recitals In 1942, Warren sang In the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Ja- niero and then appeared in Sao Paulo in 1945. The Department of Culture in Sao Paulo has cited Warren for his operatic perform- ances with a plaque granted to only one other foreign artist. Appearances in Mexico City fol- lowed in 1948 and 1949, and War- ren has appeared on both radio and television programs. In the past few seasons, he has sung with the Chicago Opera, the Cincin- nati Summer Opera and returns to San Francisco this fail to sing in the opera company there. Last August, Warren sang the world-premiere of a ne v work by a contemporary composer-Nor- man Dello Joio's "The Lamenta- tion of Saul." The 15 minute com- position, the setting of a text by D. H. Lawrence, is scored for flute, oboe, clarinet, viola, cello and piano. r I DONALD GRAMM LUCINE AMARA LESTER McCOY LILLIAN CHOOKASIAN CHARLES CURTIS Performers THE UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION Soprano DONALD GRAMM, Bass ASIAN, Contralto MUSICAL SOCIETY ORCHESTRA TICKETS ON SALE AT BURTON TOWER NOW! CHORAL UNION SERIES-Season Tickets: $17.00-Block A. Remaining UNCLAIMED seats in the three central sections on both Main Floor and in First Balcony, front to rear. $14.00-Block B. Two side sections on both Main Floor and in First Balcony, front to rear, $12.00-Block C. Top Balcony, first 18 rows. $10.00--Block D. Top Balcony, rear 13 rows. EXTRA CON CERT SERI ES-Season Tickets: $ 8.50-Block A. Three central sections on both Main Floor nnd in First Balcony, front to rear r LUCINE AMARA, LILLIAN- CHOOKA :S I r