MUSIC SUPPLEMENT Y S irrtax D43aii44 MUSIC SUPPLEMENT ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 1955 . s i RISE STEVENS, METROPOLITAN OPERA MEZZO-SOPRANO Met's Renowned Soprano Noted for Versatile Career Rise Stevens, mezzo-soprano star of the Metropolitan Opera, has been called "the sexiest dame on a screen since Theda Bara" and "the greatest singing actress of our time." Appearing May 8 in the final concert of the May Festival, Miss Stevens 'has achieved fame in opera, movies, radio, television and records. But, in her early youth, Miss Stevens showed no signs of extra- ordinary gifts and her parents had no aspirations for their daughter. Born in New York of American and Norwegian extraction, she at- tended a Long Island high school. Unusual Voice Noticed Her unusual voice was noticed by the school's superintendent as he attended a regular singing class. She was made to attend all music classes and was given yearly scholarships. $ She soon sang at weddings, fu- Serkin Uses Own Piano In Concerts Rudolph Serkin, the world fa-1 mous pianist who, in the words of a national magazine, "looks like a scholar and plays like an angel," will be heard May 5. in the open- ing concert of the May Festival. A truly international figure, he was born of Russian background in Eger, Czechoslovakia, March 28, 1903. He was brought up in Vienna where he studied piano with Prof. Richard Robert and, later, compo- sition under Arnold Schoenberg. He made his debut at the age of 12 with the Vienna Symphony but! his concert career did not start un- til his mid-teens.' Meets Violinist Busch At 17, Serkin met the late vio- linist Adolf Busch. A friendship began, with the result that Serkin went to live with the Busch family and gave a series of sonata reci- tals with him. In 1933, after Hitler's ' rise to power, they all left Germany and settled in Switzerland. Two years later, Serkin married Irene Busch, the violinist's only daughter. When the war broke out in 1939 they came to this country to live and are now American citizens. For a number of years, Serkin, his wife and five children have made their home in Brattleboro, Vt. Public Debut His public debut as pianist took .place in 1936, when Aturo Tos- canini invited him to be soloist with the New York Philharmonic- Symphony Orchestra. A New York music critic said that "Serkin played with a brilliancy and an unfaltering security of technique, taste and musical intuition which brought the thunders of the au- dience's approval crashing about his ears." At the Bach anniversary festi- val in Jne, 1950, Serkin gave the' only concert performed by a sin- gle artist. The performance was under the direction of Pablo Ca- sals in Prades, France. Serkin has returned each season to play witht Casals.i Serkin travels with his own1 Steinway piano. Before the start of each season, Serkin telephones his1 friend, Alexander Greiner, at Steinway's. Together they go to the factory and try out a collection1 of new pianos or check pianos Ser-1 kin had played previously., Chooses Three Of these, the pianist chooses three pianos which are shipped to New York. After being tuned they3 are then shipped to key points1 throughout the country.t Once after Serkin, called "Rudi" by those who know him, played in Philadelphia, Steinway trucked the piano back to New York. When the tarpaulin was removed on 57th street, the haules found a brownt rabbit with a white cottontail sit-< ting on the music rack.. Nobody knows how he got there, but the rabbit was adopted by a tuner who took him home for a1 pet and named him "Rudi." May Festival Programs Thursday, May 5 --8:30 P.M. EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor RUDOLPH SERKIN, Pianist Prelude and Fuge in C minor.... ........Bach (Transcribed for orchestra by Eugene Ormandy) Symphony No. 5 in C~minor, Op. 67..Beethoven INTERMISSION Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 for Piano and Orchestra...........Brahms RUDOLPH SERKIN Friday, May 6 -8:30'P.M. THOR JOHNSON, Guest Conductor UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION LOIS MARSHALL, Soprano NELL RANKIN, Contralto LESLIE CHABAY, Tenor MORLEY MEREDITH, Baritone Missa Solemnis in D major, Op. 123 Beethoven Saturday, May 7- 2:30 P.M. EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor JEANNE MITCHELL, Violinist FESTIVAL YOUTH CHORUS MARGUERITE HOOD, Conductor Overture, "Donna Diana"............ Reznicek Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major, K. 279b.. ...................................Mozart John DeLancie, Oboe; Anthony Gigliotti, Clarinet; Sol Schoenbach, Bassoon; Mason Jones, Horn Viennese Folk and Art Songs FESTIVAL YOUTH CHORUS INTERMISSION Symphony No. 8 ("Unfinished") .....Schubert Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 for Violin and Orchestra'...... .....Mozart JEANNE MITCHELL Saturday, May 7 - 8:30 P.M. EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor WILLIAM WARFIELD, Baritone Overture and Allegro, from the Suite "La Sultane" .................. .. .Couperin (arranged for orchestra by Darius Milhaud) "Thy Glorious Deeds Inspired My Tongue" from "Samson"..................Handel Two Songs from "Vier Ernste Gesange," Op. 121.............................Brahms O Tod, wie bitter bist du Wenn ich, mit Menschen WILLIAM WARFIELD Epigraph..... . . . . .............. ...Dello Jolo INTERMISSION Five Old American Songs....Arr. Aaron Copland WILLIAM WARFIELD Concerto for Orchestra.................Bartok Sunday, May 8-2:30 P.M. THOR JOHNSON, Guest Conductor UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION LOIS MARSHALL, Soprano LESLIE CHABAY, Tenor MORLEY MEREDITH, Baritone. GRANT JOHANNESEN, Pianist "Carmina Burana"..................Carl Orff UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION and SOLOISTS INTERMISSION Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26 for Piano and Orchestra..........Prokoieff GRANT JOHANNESEN Sunday, May 8-8:30 P.M. EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor RISE STEVENS, Mezzo-soprano Concerto Grosso No. 2. for String Orchestra.. .............................Ernest Bloch "Gods of Eternal Night" from "Alceste". .Gluck (English text by John Gutman) "Adieu, forets" from "Jeanne d'Arc"..... ................................Tchaikovsky RISE STEVENS INTERMISSION "Mon coeur" from "Samson and Delilah"... ...............................Saint-Saens Habanera, from "Carmen"'. ............. ,Bizet Sequidilla, from "Carmen"... ...........Bizet RISE STEVENS Symphony N. 4 in F. Minor, Op. 36. . Tchaikovsky 11 Brahms' "Concerto No. 2 for Pi- ano and orchestra:" Ormandy will conduct the Orchestra in Beetho- ven's "Symphony No. 5" and Bach's "Prelude and Fugue in C Minor.' Friday evening's concert will be devoted to the "Missa Solemnis" by Beethoven. Soloists in the chor- al woi'k will be Lois Marshall, so- prano; Nell Rankin, contralto; Leslie Chabay, tenor; and Morley Meredith, baritone. The per- formance will be conducted by Thor Johnson with the University Choral Union performing. Honors for Saturd y afternoon's concert will be shared by Jeanne Mitchell, violinist and the Festival Youth Chorus, conducted by Prof. Marguerite Hood. Selections to be heard include works by Mozart,i Reznicek, Schubert and Viennese folk song composers. Warfield Concert William Warfield will appear at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 7. He will sing works by Handel and Brahms and five old American songs by Copland. The Orchestra, conduct- ed by Eugene Ormandy will play works by Couperin, Dello Joio and Bartok. . ' Thor Johnson will return to the podium for the concert Sunday afternoon. Along with the Univer- sity Choral Union, Miss Marshall, Chabay and Meredith will sing Orff's "Carmina Burana." After intermission, Grant Jo- hannesen, pianist, will appear with the Orchestra in Prokoffieff's "Concerto No. 3 for piano and or- chestra." Sink Extends Festival Note To Audience Discusses Of Music Season Series Serkin To Open Philadelphia Orchestra, Soloists, Choral Groups Highlight Series As a climax to its 76th season, the University Musical Society will present the 62nd annual May Festival May 5 to May 8 in Hill Auditor- ium. The festival will feature nine soloists, choral groups and the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy and guest conductor Thor Johnson. Also included in the six-day program will be the Festival Youth Chorus under the direction of Prof. Marguerite Hood of the School of Music and the University Choral Union. Two Choral Works Scheduled Two Choral works,' Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" and Carl Orft's "Carmina Burana" will be heard Friday evening and Sunday after- noon respectively. Rudolph Serkin, noted American pianist will be heard in the opening concert. He will play- Warfield Plans Festival Appearance NIN I I %IF - -A -I A Choral Union To Perform With Soloists Founded in 1879, the University Choral Union is one of the oldest and largest permanent choral groups in the country. Under the guidance of the Uni- t versity Musical Society, singers from four local churches grouped together to sing choruses from Handel's "Messiah." Name Changed Before the season had ended, the group admitted other competent singers, expanded its repertoireI and changed its name to the "Choral Union of the University Musical Society." Meetings were held frequently and were spent in discussing per- formance procedure, choral re- hearsals and social entertainment. They pledged themselves to give four concerts for the benefit of the Ladies Societies of the Episco- pal, Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational Churches. Calvin B. Cady, who had come to Ann Arbor that year, was cho- sen conductor. He remained until 1888. During that time, the chorus participated in public concerts, in some of which solo roles were ta- ken by artists from Detroit,' Chica- go and New York. Attendance was meagre and on most occasions income was not able to meet expenses. Frequently, more people were in the chorus than in the audience. In spite of lack of interest at times and lack of funds, definite progress was made. Growing Repertoire By 1888, the Society had earned nerals, parties, in clubs and made her professional debut as a child prima donna on a local radio pro- gram. After appearing in the lead of "The Chocolate Soldier" at the Heckscher Theatre in Brooklyn, a vocal teacher of the Julliard School of Music was so impressed with her that she obtained a schol- arship for her at the music school. Miss Stevens learned operatic scores, languages and acting tech- niques during her career at Juill- iard. She also studied dancing and fencing from anyone who would show her. Her first contact with the Met came when she sang on the Met- ropolitan Auditions of the Air, but she lost to mezzo Anna Kaskas. When she auditioned a year later, she was accepted and given a small contract which she refused in or- der to go to Europe for further operatic training. Gamble in Prague After finding all contracts sign- ed, she took a gamble and went to Prague, Czechoslovakia on the money she had saved for her pass- age home. / . The gamble paid off and she got the leading roles. Edward Johnson, the Met's general man- ager, heard her at the Prague Op- era on his last pre-war trip to Eu- rope, and offered her another con- tract which she accepted. ' She made her Met debut in 1938 in the title-role of "Mignon." Her success was so instantaneous that the Met revived for her one great opera after another. Records show that she is the biggest operatic at- traction, not only in New York but also on the annual spring tour. First "Carmen" When she was scheduled to sing "Carmen" several im)ortant peo- ple of the management came to her dressing-room and told her not to worry. "Carmen' is really a very ungrateful role, and many of William Warfleld, noted bari- tone, will appear Saturday, May - ess got him a part in the touring in the fourth concert of the May company of "Call Me Mister." Festival, returning to Ann Arbor Back on Broadway he was award- Festval reurnng o An Abored small parts in "Se; My People after an overwhelming success in 'e al rsin" last year's May Festival. FAee" and "Regina." sd He has recently come back from At the same time he studied un- Europe where he sang the role of der the GI Bill in the American{ Porgy in Gershwin's "Porgy and Theatre Wing's Professional- Bess" in Vienna, Berlin and other .raining Program and supple- music centers in Austria, England mented his educational allowance} and Germany. by singing at churches and in Fame began to court the singer supper clubs. at an earln t oDurin his last After a concert debut in New at a ealy g'e Durng is astYork's Town .Hall March 19, 1950,1 year in high school, he won first Y was sign a Mar of Aus- place in the Music Educators' Na- ti whefor a tour of Aus- tional Convention and was given 'Warfield revealed a combination a scholarshipat the Eastman scholasi in thesof natural resources and brilliant School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. musicianship not equalled since Command of Languages Chaliapin." His fluent command of German, Returning to America, he be- Italian and French which he at- gan work ih the movie version of tained in his musical studies en- "Showboat," where he sang the abled him to be chosen for Mili- now-classical "Ol' Man River" tary Intelligence work during the Second Recital Second World War. After the war Warfield's second New York re- was over, Warfield returned to cital was in January; 1951 and Eastman for graduate work, shortly afterwards he went on Word of Warfield's vocal prow- concert tours in recitals and as so- loist with many symphony orches- tras. When a proposed revival of "Porgy and Bess" began' rehear- sals, Warfield was chosen to sing the leading role. During rehear- sals. he met Leontyne Price, a3 noted singer, who had been signed to singBess. , t 3 It 1 i 1 Opera Mezzo The day before the "Porgy" Rise Stevens, Metropolitan Op- company left for Europe, War- era mezzo-soprano will close the field and Miss Price were married, four-day series with a performance His success as "Porgy" was at 8:30 p.m. Sunday. The orches-' equalled by the audiences' ova- tra will open the program, playing tions. In both Vienna and Berlin, Bloch's "Concerto Grosso No. 2 for the public demanded that he give String Orchestra." them a separate concert. Miss Stevens will follow with an He consented-and to sing their aria from Gluck's "Alceste" and native Lieder. Their critics said "Adieu, forets" from Tchaikovsky's that none of their native singers in "Jeanne d'Arc." recent years have sung these songs After intermission, Miss Stevens with such insight. will sing arias from Saint-Saens' Warfield "as also appeared on "Samson and Delilah" and Biz- radio and television and made nu- I et's "Carmen," roles in which she merous recordings. His musical in- has been noted throughout the terest covers such a wide 'span that music world. his album may contain either old The Orchestra will conclude the American songs, sea chanties or p r o g r a m with Tchaikovsky's ancient music of the church. "Symphony No. 4 in F minor." Greetings: The Ann Arbor May Festival comes as a climax, each season, to the concert offerings of the Uni- versity Musical Society. The Society was, organized 786 years ago, but it was not until the spring of 1894 that the Board of Directors conceived the idea of a May Festival. Through the years, a wide di- versificatin of music literature-- classical, romantic and contem- porary-has been heard. Oratorios, operas in concert form, and other important choral works have been performed by the University Chor- al Union, the restival Youth Chor- us and world-renowned soloists. In numerous instances, Ameri- can and world premiers have been given. Operatic arias, songs and composition for orchestra and for soloists, both vocal and instru- mental have been included. The composite repertoire of the May Festivals and of the many other concerts given each year reaches a surprisingly large total, .as does the list of performers. Such a comprehensive tabulation of compositions and of artists and organizations which have partici- pated is in the process of compila- tion, and should be of interest to those who may care to review the list of offerings which have taken place during the Society's more than 75 years of existence. The Board of Director's is grate- ful for the sympathetic and un- derstanding cooperation of stu- dents and other members of the University, and the music-loving public of Ann Arbor and the coun- try in general. Henry Simmons Frieze, first president of the Society, spoke wisely when he suggested for the motto of the organization-ARS LONGA VITA BREVIS. -Charles A. Sink, President University Musical Societe Musical Society Now Selling Single Festival Tickets Tickets for all May Festival con- certs are on sale at the offices of the University Musical Society in Burton Tower. Some season tickets are still available. Block A tickets priced at $12 are in the three center sec- tions of the main floor and first balcony. Block B tickets priced at $9 are in the side sections of the main floor and first balcony, and the first eight rows of the second bal-' cony. Block C seats, priced at $8 are ']tyt !, 4 E , ORMANDY, JOHNSON SHARE PODIUM: Philadelphia Orchestra Set for 19th Festival Appearing in all six May Festi- I val concerts, the Philadelphia Or- Included in its season programs, chsetra will perform in its 19th are 38 regular concerts, four stu- consecutive Festival series. dent. concerts and five children's . concerts. The group also broad- The Orchestra had its origin in casts several concerts each season two concerts given under Fritz and was the first major orchestra I Sheel in 1899. Today it plays an to be heard on the radio, as well average of 150 concerts a year dur- as the first orchestra in the coun- ing its eight month season. try to be televised. Sheel and a groip of 80 musi- Ormandy Biography cians played six concerts during their first regular season in 1900. Ormandy has been connected Since Sheel's death in 1907, the with the orchestra since 1936. orchestra has had only three con- A violin progidy in his native ductors - Carl Pohlog, Leopold Budapest, Ormandy enteied the' Stokowski and its present conduc- Royal Hungarian Academy of Mu- tor. Eugene Ormandy. sic at the age of five. After tour- and then came to the Philadelphia Orchestra where he has remained. University Alumnus Thor John- son will return to guest conduct at the May Festival, making his sev- enth consecutive appearance. After receiving the Beebe scho- larship entitling him to two years music study abroad, he was ap- pointed assistant professor at the School of Music and formed the Little Symphony. Two years later he directed the. Choral Union and the Grand Ra- pids Symphony Orchestra. After his discharge from the ar- my, he was appointed director of the Juilliard School of Music Or- Yearly Series Composed of 110 members. the ing Europe in his teens, he came' to the United States for an ex- 1 Y, .. , <;