SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1956 TilE MICHIGAN DAILY
PAGE THREE
Vienna Orchestra Unique,
Chooses Own Conductors
Messiah Soloists
(4-
Among the great orchestras of
the world, the Vienna Philhar-
monic is unique. For over a cen-
tury it has been chief voice of
symphonic music in the city of
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and
Schubert.
It grew under the personal
leadership of Brahms, Bruckner,
Mahler, Wagner and Richard
Strauss, and gave the first per-
formances of many of their works.
The orchestra, which will appear
in Ann Arbor November 20 under
the baton of Andre Cluytens, is
now celebrating its 114th anniver-
* sary. The group is appearing in
the U.S. for the first time.
The philharmonic is unique in
that since 1860 the orchestra has
been independent, managing its
own affairs and choosing its own
conductor. Among these have been
Hans Ricter, Karl Muck, Arthru
Nikisch, Bruno Walter, Felix Wein-
gartner, Erich Gleiber, Whilhelm
Frutwangler, Arturo Toscanini and
nearly every other master conduc-
tor of the past century, appearing
either as permanent director or in
guest capacity.
During the two wars, the Vienna
Philharmonic held together as a
group, giving concerts without pay
between rehearsals, donning over-
alls to help repair their damaged
concert hall.
Another unique aspect of this
orchestra is the Sunday morning
concerts which they perform,
rather than the conventional eve-
ning concerts.
Cluytens, Belgian French con-
ductor, is Musical Director of the
Paris 'Opera-Comique and first
conductor of the Paris Conserva-
toire Orchestra. The son and
grandson of musicians, Cluytens
was born in Antwerp in 1905.
In addition to his symphonic
activities, Cluytens conducts many
Herva Nelli
To Sing Here
Herva Nelli, soprano star who
will sing in Hill Auditorium Octo-
ber 4 comes from a family of nat-
ural operatic talent.
While only Miss Nelli has turned
professional, she recalls how her
whole family often used to spent
evenings giving their own im-
promptu performances of a Puc-
cini or Verdi score.
Returning to Europe several
summers ago after an absence of
many years, the soprano reports
that one of the personal highlights
of her trip was a renewal of this
childhood custom. With her fath-
er now in his sixties, she tackled
the famous first act duet from "La
Boheme." "And we both got the
high C at the end!"
operas in Paris and elsewhere, in-
cluding those of Debussy, Ravel,
Bizet, Gounod, Offenbach, Poulenc,
Weber, Massenet and Stravinsky.
He first appeared with the Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra in May,
1955 and is now appearing with
the orchestra on its first tour of
the United States.
Many conductors have referred
to the Vienna Philharmonic as
"the incomparable." It has served
as a model for other orchestras,
especially for their unity of spirit,
rich tradition and thorough under-
standing and feeling for the music.
The Vienna Philharmonic has
toured nearly every country of
Europe, the Near East and South
America and have become world
famous also through recordings
and broadcasts.
MESSIAH SOLOISTS - Kenneth Smith, Adele Addison and Howard Jarratt (1. to r.) will appear
as soloists in the annual performance of Handel's Messiah December 1 and 2 at Hill Auditorium.
Also appearing at the traditional performance will be Eunice Alberts, the University Choral Union
conducted by Lester McCoy aqd the Musical Society Orchestra.
Choral Union,
To Feature
Symphony
One of the country's major sym-
phony orchestras, the Cincinnati
Symphony Orchestra under the
baton of Thor Johnson will be
heard in Ann Arbor Tuesday, Feb-
ruary 26 under the auspices of the
University Musical Society.
Acclaimed as one of the finesta
symphonic ensembles in the coun-
try, the Cincinnati Symphony was
established in 1895.
Approximately a hundred con-
certs each season are given by
this 87-member organization of
virtuosi players. These concerts;
are planned especially for all
types of concert-goers, the regu-
lar subscription series of twenty
pairs of concerts, the young
people's and junior high school
series, popular concerts, tour con-
certs, ballet and many special
performances.
Since the orchestra's inception
such distinguished men as Leopold
Stokowski, Fritz Reiner and
Eugene Goosens have held the
post of music director.
In the 1947-48 season, Thor
Johnson was appointed the music
director and under his brilliant
direction, the fame of the Orches-
tra has become nationwide.
One of the high points of the
1951-52 touring season was the
brilliant concert given in New
York's famous Carnegie Hall in
mid-November. The orchestra and
its conductor were unanimously
praised by the New York critics.
NEW MUSIC:
Distinctive Arrangements, Lilting Strings
Spread Mantovani's Fame Throughout Europe
SOLOMON:
English Artist To Appear
At'U'In Concert Series
A pianist who is described by his
critics as a man who plays with1
the ecstasy of a man who hugely
loves what he is doing is Solomon.
The English artist who will ap-
pear in Ann Arbor February 21 is
that rarity, a boy prodigy who
grew up to be a master artist. 1
Solomon made his first attempt
at the piano at the age of four
and four years later made his for-
mal debut playing the Mozart B
Flat Concert and the second move-
ment of the Tchaikovsky Concerto.
The young boy received a stand-
ing ovation for the performance,
but far more impressive to him
was a tricycle with which he was
presented at the end of the con-
cert.
'Violin Stands'
"I 'Jumped right on and rode,
off the stage," he remembers. "I
think I knocked over a few violin
stands in my progress, however."
Following his youthful triumph
the young boy was invited to per-
form for the royal family at Buck-
ingham Palace. He also soloed for
several distinguished conductors
such as Arthur Kikisch, Sir Henry
Wood, and Sir George Henschel.
At the youthful age of 14, Solo-
mon retired from professional life
to study his art and later returned
to the concert stage refreshed and
strengthened by his voluntary ab-
sence from professional life.
He was an immediate success and
since has been in great demand for
recitals in England and Europe as
well as the entire world.
'Traveler'
Since that time, he has, as he
humorously puts it, become noth-
ing more than a "commercial
traveler" visiting almost all the
countries and all the continents
on the globe.
Solomon made his first appear-
ance in the United States in 1929
in New York's Town Hall. Since
then he has played several con-
certs in the United States begin-
ning in 1949 and has returned al-
most every season.
In his forty-odd concerts dur-
ing each season in the U.S. Solo-
mon receives compliments from
daily newspaper critics seldom
equalled in the musical profession.
One reviewer said that Solomon
has "a really beautiful touch, with-
out a bang in it. His phrasing was
exquisite and gracious . . . his
technique wonderful in its free-
dom, facility and clarity."
Classic and Romantic
The British pianist has searched
deeply through the classic and
romantic piano literature and is
a master of the individual styles
of composers in its complex fabric.
He plays Brahms, Chopin, Haydn,
Mozart, Debussy, Schumann and
Liszt with fervor and devotion to
the musical and emotional identity
of each.
His heart and brain, he says,
have been directed to the output
of the great ones whose worth is
proven.
"Contemporary composition has
not impinged much on my con-
sciousness, save as being interest-
ing to hear and often to like," he
confessed. "Some .day, perhaps, I
will concentrate on performing
some of it. But to date, I feel that
my job is with the 'old masters'."
i
04
The enthusiasm for the lilting
arrangements of Mantno v ani
spread first to England, then
throughout the United Kingdom
and on to the Continent.
Mantovani's "New Music", which
has established itself as a house-
hold word all over the United
Kingdom, free Europe, the U.S.A.
and Canada came into being with
the band-leader's first success, his
arrangement of "Charmaine"
which swept to the top of the U.S.
Hit Parade in 1951. There have
been few subsequent weeks in the
past five years when a Mantovani
arrangement was missing from
this roster of favorites.
Venetian-Born
The Venetian-born musician
came by his interest in music nat-
urally, since his father was pro-
fessor and a Gold Medalist at two
Conservatories in his native Italy,
and leader for Toscanini at Mi-
lan's celebrated La Scala.
Despite this and other distinc-
itons, he was not anxious to see
his son become a professional mu-
sician, and wanted him instead to
study engineering.
However, Mantovani's interest
in music had awakened; within
four years of the time he first
tackled a violin, Mantovani, whose
father soon recognized his tre-
mendous facility with the instru-
ment, was in business for himself.
Two years later he commenced
his career as director of the salon
orchestra at one of London's well-
known hotels.
Mantovani first began broad-
casting in the late 'twenties; his
nationwide fame throughout the
British Isles began when he
formed the Tipica Orchestra to
play in London's most exclusive
restaurant.
After this celebrated establish-
ment closed its doors, he turned
to the variety and concert stage;
meantime his recordings zoomed
upward in popularity. The distinc-
tive arrangements which put the
emphasis on the strings, and the
original scoring . he makes him-
self, since he was thoroughly
trained in music theory, counter-
point and harmony, caught the
public fancy both in the United
States, in England and on the
Continent.
The sales of such Mantovani fa-
vorites as "Charmaine," his sig-
nature, "Wyoming," "Lovely Lady"
and "Moulin Rouge" hit astron-
omical heights.
Composer
As composer, he has written a
number of compositions, most of
them when he couldn't find
something which already existed
which suited the needs of his 40-
piece orchestra. These have in-
cluded a "Poem to the Moon" in
the style of. Debussy, "Dance of
the Eighth Veil," a "September
Nocturne" for piano and orches-
tra under his own name, his latest
composition "Longing," and a long
list of popular music under as-
sorted pseudonyms. The most fa-
miliar of these was "Cara Mia"
which hit the top of Hit Parades
on both sides of the Atlantic.
Mantovani is politely interested
in the success of his popular and
semi-popular airs, but his real
concern is for his own arrange-
ments of his new music, all of
which he has made himself in the
past three years.
"It's a good thing I can arrange,
isn't it?" he asks, modestly proud
of the fact that anybody can on
first hearing spot one of his dis-
tinctive recordings, with its sharp
emphasis on the melody as per-
formed by the string section.
"The Italian-Britisher could be
called the Andre Kostelanetz of
England, for he specializes in lush
sound and the sweet-and-swoon-
ing treatment applied to familiar
melodies. His orchestra of 45 is a
well-drilled unit filled with tech-
nically expert musicians." Thus
summarized one music critic when
speaking about Mantovani and his
New Music.
w oreturn
stone
Orchestras
to
tii
RBERT CSASS, Piaist
Ann Arbor
TWO CONCERTS
Monday, October 15
I
I
Choral Union
Series
....:
Wednesday, October 17
Extra Concert Series
THE BOSTON SYPMHONY
CHARLES MUNCH, Conductor
Sunday, March 3
2:30 P.M.
Fvtrn C nrinrrt SPripc
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