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MUSIC
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ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 1956
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HILL AUDITORIUM WHERE THE MAY FESTIVAL CONCERTS ARE HELD EACH YEAR.
Annual May Festival Climaxes Season
Of University Musical Society Offerings
Sink Offers
Greetinags
TgTo Audience
Top Composers
Commemorated
Greetings:
This year's May Festival will
be of special interest from several
points of view, although in general
it will follow traditional lines. Six
concerts will be performed during
four days, in all of which the
Philadelphia Orchestra will parti-
cipate, with Eugene Ormandy con-
ducting four performances, and
sharing the podium with Thor
Johnson, conductor of the Cin-
cinnati Symphony Orchestra, for
two concerts; while Marguerite
Hood will present the, Festival
Youth Chorus in a special group
of songs.
The Festival will commemorate
the ninetieth birthday of Finland's
distinguished composer, John Si-
belius, by the inclusion of his Sym-
phony No. 7; while the 100th an-
niversary of the death of Schu-
mann will be recognized by the
presentation of a group of songs
especially orchestrated for this oc-
casion. The 200th birth:anniver-
sary of Mozart will be fittingly ob-
served by the devotion of the en-
tire Friday night's program and
also a large portion of the Satur-
day afternoon program to his
works.
The two choral works offered by
the University Choral Union will
be of special interest. Mozart's
"Davidde penitente," which so far
as can be learned, will have been
heard in this country on only two
previous occasions-at a church
service in New York City, and a
recent performance in Cincinnati
under Thor Johnson; will be per-
formed Friday night. This work
is an adaptation of the composer's
"Great Mass in C minor." Portions
were omitted, others were added
and the whole reorganized as an
oratorio. The other outstanding
choral work will be the "Gurre-
Lieder" of Schoenberg. This work
has been heard only on rare oc-
casions.
Although numerous, former fav-
orite soloists will participate, a
large number of new faces will ap-
pear, chosen because of their
splendid accomplishments both in
America, and particularly in Eur-
ope.
The Board of Directors of the
University Musical Society has full
confidence that the music public
will be pleased with the rehear-
ing of certain works and certain
artists, and that they will be es-
pecially pleased at the'opportunity
of hearing new artists and less
familiar works. The Board ex-
presses its appreciation to the
concert going public from far and
wide, and to the members of the
University, bot'h student and fac-
ulty; and the loyal citizens of the
community as well as to the press
generally for their stimulating co-
operation.
--Charles A. Sink, President
University Musical Society
May Festival Programs
Thursday, May 3 -8:30 P.M.
EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor INGE BORKH, Soprano
Concerto for Orchestra, A major........... .Handel-Ormandy
Symphony No. 7......................................Sibelius
Cleopatra's aria from, "Julius Caesar".............. .Handel
"Abscheulicher wo eilst du hin?" from "Fidelio".....Beethoven
INGE BORKH
Monologue from "Elektra".......... ........«..... R. Strauss
INGE BORKH
Symphonic Variations, "Paganiniana"................Blacher
Friday, May 4-8:30 P.M.
UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION
THOR JOHNSON, Guest Conductor
LOIS MARSHALL, Soprano JANE HOBSON, Mezzo-soprano
RUDOLF PETRAK, Tenor VRONSKY AND BABIN, Pianists
Overture to "The Marriage of Figaro".................Mozart
"Davidde penitente"..................Mozart
CHORAL UNION AND SOLOISTS
Concerto in F major..................................Mozart
VRONSKY AND BABIN
Saturday, May 5- 2:30 P.M.
EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor
HILDE GUEDEN, Soprano
FESTIVAL YOUTH CHORUS
MARGUERITE HOOD, Conductor
Adagio and Fugue...................................Mozart
Aminta's Aria from "Il Re Pastore".,.... ...............Mozart
"Non temer amato bene".............Mozart
HILDE GUEDEN
Songs by Robert Schumann
FESTIVAL YOUTH CHORUS
Zerbinetta's aria from "Ariadne"................ .R. Strauss
HILDE GUEDEN
Concerto for Orchestra.........................von Einem
Saturday, May 5-8:30 P.M.
EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor
ZINO FRANCESCATTI, Violinist
Overture to "Oberon"..................................Weber
Symphony No. 1 in C major.............................Bizet
Concerto in D major, Op. 77, for Violin and Orchestra. ..Brahms
Sunday, May 6-2:30 P.M.
THOR JOHNSON, Conductor
UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION
LOIS MARSHALL, Soprano MARTHA LIPTON, Contalto
RUDOLF PETRAK, Tenor HAROLD HAUGH, Tenor
LAWRENCE WINTERS, Bass
ERIKA VON WAGNER STIEDRY, Narrator
"Gurre-Lieder"..... . . ......... .......Arnold Schoenberg
UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION AND SOLOISTS'
Sunday, May 6- 8:30 P.M.
EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor BYRON JANIS, Pianist
"Cantus animae et Cordis" for String Orchestra....Yardumian
Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, for Piano and Orchestra.....
Rachmaninoff
BYRON JANIS
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98....................Brahms
LESTER McCOY CONDUCTS:
Choral Union in 75th Year
The annual May Festival comes
each year as a climax to the sea-
son of concerts offered by the
University Musical Society.
This year's festvial is the 63rd
of its type, the first being given
Jane Hobson
Had Envious
Coming-Out'
Mezzo-soprano Jane Hobson, who
will appear in the second Festival
concert, has had a "coming-out"
that any musical debutante might
well envy.
In her first season, the young
American singer had the great
honor to be chosen as soloist by
both Toscanini and Stokowski-
two big events in the career of any
artist. 4
Small Town Origin
She was born. in a town of 200
people--Murray, Nebraska, where
her .father was a banker and a
cattle man. Her mother was a
good amateur pianist from whom
Miss Hobson had inherited a flair
for the keyboard.
Both parents soon recognized
that they had an unusually tal-
ented child, and her mother did
something about it. She got up
at 5:30 a.m. 'in sub-zero weather
to get the furnace started to warm
up the piano keys so her daughter
could practice comfortably before
school. And every Friday after-
noon, from the time Miss Hobson
was seven, she drove her 28 miles
to Omaha for a weekly music les-
son.
High school days over, she en-
rolled in William Woods College
in Fulton, Miss., where two years
later she received a degree as
Associate in Fine Arts. Then she
wangled parental permission to
go to Paris, where she had a won-
derful time learning French at the
Alliance Francaise and studying
piano first with Camille Decreus
and then with Casadesus at the
American Conservatory at Foun-
tainebleau.
Returns to United States
Back in the United States on
the threat of war, she entered the
Cincinnati Conservatory on a
scholarshiph studied piano under
Severin Eisenberger, and won her
Bachelor's degree. She returned
to study for her Master's, at the
same time holding for two years
the post of Student Dean of
Women.
It was while she was in Cincin-
nati, singing hymns during a Bac-
calaureate Service, the conserva-
in May 1894. In, that year the
Musical Society engaged the Bos-
ton Festival Orchestra, conducted
by Emil Mollenhauer, to play three
concerts in Ann Arbor. The event
was announced as the "First An-
nual, May Festival" practically
commanding the continuance of
the concerts.
The Festival of three concerts
took place on a Friday night, Sat-
urday afternoon and evening. The
first concert was opened with
Beethoven's "Lenore" Overture No.
3; and the closing event was Satur-
day night when the Choral Union
and Orchestra played Verdi's Re-
quiem."
Front-Page News
The local press, that or the state
as well as that of Ohio and this
entire area generally, considered
the Festival front-page news be-
cause it was the first major event
of this kind to be held between
New York, Cincinnati and Chicago.
Railroads granted special rates,
and committees on transportation,
housing, and publicity were ap-
pointed and actively promoted the
idea.
The following year the number
of concerts was increased to four
and this was continued until the
present number, six, was establish-
ed. This number of concerts has
been in effect for about four dec-
ades.
Group Disbanded
Mollenhauer continued to ap-
pear with the Boston Festival Or-
chestra, but the group disbanded
in 1905 and the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra, with Frederick Stock
conducting, took over. The Chi-
cago group continued to appear in
the Festival until 1935 when the
Philadelphia Orchestra was en-
gaged.
Leopold Stokowski was then con-
ductor, but Eugene Ormandy took
over after the first year.
Throughout the years, the Fest-
ival has presented deversified pro-
grams. Oratorios, operas in concert
form, and important choral works
have been performed featuring the
University Choral Union, the Fest-
ival Youth Chorus and well-known
soloists.
Sell Tickets
for Festival
Tickets for the May Festival
concerts are on sale at the offices
of the University Musical Society,
in Burton Tower.
Some season tickets are still
available. Block A is in the threeI
center sections of the main floor
and first balcony. A limited
number of tickets are available in
Borkh To Open
Two Choral Groups, 12 Soloists,
Philadelphia Orchestra To Perform
Featuring twelve soloists, choral groups and the Philadelphia
Orchestra, the 63rd annual May Festival will be presented by the
University Musical Society, May 3 to May 6 in Hill Auditorium.
Included in the four-day program will be the Festival Youth
Chorus under the direction of Prof. Marguerite Hood of the music
school and the University Choral Union.
In the opening concert Thursday evening soprano Inge Borkh
will sing Cleopatra's aria from "Julius Caesar" by Handel; "Ab-
scheulicher wo eilst du hin?" from "Fidelio" by Beethoven; and
Monologue from "Elektra" by R. Strauss. The Philadelphia O-
American and world premieres,
operatic arias, songs and com-
positions for orchestra and soloists,
both vocal and instrumental have
been included in the programs.
The sponsors of the Festival, the
University Musical Society was
organized in 1879 -1880. The
purpose of the group was to as-
sociate the music of the Univer-
sity with that of the community.
The Choral Union and the
School of Music became divisions
of the Society shortly after it was
formed. The choral group has con-
tinually increased its membership
until it reached its present total
of more than 300 members. Per-
formances of Handel's "Messiah"
are given each year as well as its
participation in the Festival.
Sink President
Long associated with the world
of music, Charles A. Sink, presi-
dent of the Society, has been its
head since 1927 and with- the Soc-
iety in other capacities before that
time.
Aink received the degree of K. B.
from the University in 1904. He
was a member of the Michigan
House of Representatives and of
the state Senate for several terms
between 1919 and 1930. He has
also held positions on the Ann
Arbor City Council and the Board
of Education.
Sink holds honorary degrees from
Michigan State Normal College
and Battle Creek College.
The walls of his office in Bur-
ton Tower are lined with the pic-
tures and authographs of great
artists of past and present day
who have appeared in the Ann Ar-
bor Festival.
chestra, conducted by Eugene Or-
mandy, will play Concerto for Or-
chestra, A major, Handel-Orman-
dy; Sibelius' Symphony No. 7; and
Symphonic Variations, "Paganin-
iana" by Blacher. The Sibelius
number will commemorate the
ninetieth birthday of the compos-
er.
Mozart Concert Scheduled
Friday evening's concert will be
dedicated to the 200th birthday
anniversary of Mozart by an all-
Mozart concert featuring the Uni-
versity Choral Union with Thor
Johnson as guest conductor. Solo-1
ists will be Lois Marshall, soprano;
Jane Hobson, mezzo-soprano; Rud-
olf Petrak, tenor; and Vronsky and
Babin, pianists.
The Overture to "The Marriage
of Figaro" and "Davidde penitente"
will be presented by the Choral
Union and soloists while Vronsky
and Babin will be heard in' Moz-
art's Concerto in F major.
Again presenting three works by
Mozart, Saturday afternoon's con-
cert will include the Festival
Youth Chorus; Hilde Gueden, so
prano; and the Philadelphia Or-
chestra. '
Selections Listed
Mozart's Adagio and Fugue;'
Aminta's Aria from "Il Re Pas-
tori;" and "Non temer amato bene"
will be performed by Miss Gueden.,
She will also sing Zerbinetta's aria
from "Ariadne" by R. Strauss.
The Chorus will present songs
by Robert Schumann commemor-
ating the 100th anniversary of the
composer's death. The Orchestra
will play von Einem's Concerto for
Orchestra.
Violinist Zino Franceseattiwill
share honors with the Philadel-
phia Orchestra Saturday night
playing Weber's Overture to "Ob-
eron;" Symphony No. 1 in C ma-
jor by Bizet; and Concerto in D
major, Op. 77, for violin and or-
chestra by Brahms.
Gurre-Lieder' Presented
Sunday afternoon the Univer-
sity Choral Union along with guest
conductor Thor Johnson will
combine with Miss Marshall, Mar-
tha Lipton, contralto; Petrak; Prof.
Harold Haugh, tenor, of the music
school; and Lawrence Winters;
bass, to present Arnold Schoen-
berg's "Gurre-Lieder," a compo-
sition rarely heard. Erika von
Wagner Stiedry will be the ndr-
rator.
For the final concert of the May
Festival, pianist Byron Janis will
appear with the Philadelphia Or-
chestra.
Noted Group
To Perform
In Concerts
Tracing its ancestry to a summer
ensemble that flourished during
the gay nineties in a local amuse-
ment park, the Philadelphia or-
chestra has grown to an organiza-
tion which has traveled more than
1,200,000 miles on concert tours.
The director of this first en-
semble ,a gifted German musician
named Fritz Scheel, so impressed a
number of music lovers that he
was urged to remain during the
winter as leader of three musical
societies. He agreed on condition
that an orchestra of profes onal
musicians be put at his dis s.l
for two concerts, which were given
with great success in the spring
of 1899.
A group of eighty-five musicians
were assembled, and on November
16, 1900, the Philadelphia Orches-
tra gave its first perfbrmance.
Twentieth Appearance
Appearing in all six May Festi-
val concerts, the Philadelphia
Orchestra will perform in its
twentieth consecutive Festival.
Composed of 110 members, the
organization became the first
American symphony orchestra to
record under its own name with
its own permanent conductor. It
was also the first established sym-
phony orchestra to broadcast over
a nation-wide network for a com-
mercial sponsor in 1929 and the
first to be televised in 1948.
The present conductor of the
Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, as-
sumed his present position in 1936,
bringing to his job a wealth of
experience as a concert artist,
teacher, radio orchestra conducto
and five years of service directing
the Minneapolis Symphony Orch-'
estra.
Receives Diploma
At the age of five, Ormandy
entered the Royal Academy of
Music in Budapest and at 15 re-
ceived his professor's diploma be-
side degrees in piano-playing,,
composition and counterpoint.
After concert tours in Central
Europe, he returned to Budapest
to teach at the State Conservatory
and from there he carried on fur-
ther tours as a virtioso
In 1936 he was appointed Musio
Director and Conductor of the
Philadelphia Orchestra.
Johnson To Conduct
University Alumnus Thor John-
son will be guest conductor of the
Orchestra for his eighteenth con-
secutive appearance.
He received the Beebe scholar-
ship allowing him two years of
study abroad following which he
was appointed assistant professor
at the music school and formed
the Little Symphony.
He also directed the 'Choral
Union and the Grand Rapids Sym-
phony Orchestra.
He is now conductor of the Cin-
cinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Hood Conducts
Youth Chorus
Singing each year at the May
Under the guidance of the Uni-
versity Musical Society, the pres-
ent Choral Union was formed.
Prof. Lester McCoy of the music
school conducts the singers.
Founded in 1879, the group is
one of the oldest and largest per-
manent choral groups in the coun-
try. Singers from four local
churches grouped together at that
time to sing choruses from Han-
del's "Messiah."
The group added members, ex-
panded its repertoire and changed
its name to the one it now holds.
Meetings were spent in discuss-
ing performance procedure, choral
rehearsals and social entertain-
ment.
The Choral Union pledged to
give )four concerts for the benefit
of the Ladies Societies of the Pres-
byterian, Methodist, Episcopal and
Congregational Churches.
Public concerts in which some
of the solo roles were taken by
artists from New York, Detroit and
Chicago were given, but attend-
ance was meager and income was
not enough to meet expenses. By
1888 the Society had earned a
credible reputation.
Today its membership of 300'
performs yearly at the May Fes-
tival and sings in Handel's "Mes-
siah" during December.
F
NOTED VIOLINIST:
Franeescatti Plan s May Festival Appearance
Early in the career of the French
violinist, Zino Francescatti, who
will perform in the May 5 concert,
a critic hailed him as "worthy
of the mantle of Paganini."
The glory of that legendary vir-
tuoso comes to him by direct
musical heredity. Francescatti's
teacher was his father, a natur-
alized Frenchman of Italian birth
who had studied violin with Sivori,
who in turn had been the only
direct pupil of Paganini. In the
Francescatti household the per-
sonality of Paganini was a living
presence.
When Francescatti came to
America he chose for his debut
with the New York Philharmonic-
Symphony the Paganini D major
violin at the age of three and
made his first public appearance
when he was five. His debut, at
the age of ten, was made with a
local orchestra. He played the
Beethoven Concerto.
He entered into legal studies on'
the advice of his father who did
not want his son to be a musician,
but abandoned them when, upon
his father's death, the family was
in dire need of money.
Makes Debut
,He at once won an audition with
Jacques Thibaud in Paris and the
same year made his debut with
France's most distinguished or-
chestra, the "Societi des Concerts
du Conservatoire" in a concert
he found that it was difficult to
make a decent living as a concert
artist.
Taught at Ecole Normale
He requested a position with the
violin section of the Orchestra
Straram and the same year was
asked to teach at the Ecole Nor-
male along with such great mas-
ters as Alfred Cortot and Pablo
Casals. Shortly after he became
assistant concertmaster with the
Poulet Orchestra.
In 1938 he made his first ap-
pearance in the New World with
an orchestra directed by his old
friend Jose Iturbi in the' great
Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
In 1939, under the management
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