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F
MET'S BA UM:
'High-C' Tenor
To Perform
Brailowsky Will Open
May Festival Concerts
Kurt Baum, "High - C" tenor of
the Metropolitan Opera Company,
will appear in the May 3 concert.
Baum, born in Czechoslovakia
with a German name, has been
called an "international tenor."e
He is the ranking tenor of the
Met's Italian wing, an unusual ac-
complishment in the operaticworld
where few Italian tenors would at-
tempt a German operatic role, or
vice versa.
Baum, once an amateur boxer,
is nicknamed the "High-C Tenor"
.'of the Met because of an accident
which occurred during one of his
boxing bouts. He suffered a brok-
en nose and had to have some car-
tilage removed. Rather than hin-
dering his singing, as was expected,
Baum's voice was now greatly im-
proved. He went on to study sing-
ing seriously after this incident.
Made Vienna Debut
Beginning his career by win-
ning the Vienna International
Competition, Baum was invited to
make his professional debut at the
Vienna State Opera. He declined
the offer, however, believing that
he needed more experience.
The following year, in Zurich,
Baum did make his debut, in Ver-
di's opera "Il Trovatore."
By 1939, Baum was 'stablished
as one of the finest tenors on the
European operatic stage. He had
sung in Italy, in Paris, inVienna
and in Zurich. It was while he was
singing in Monte Carlo, however,
that Paul Longone of the Chicago
Opera Company heard him and
engaged him for his company.
.E Baum made his American debut
in Chicago singing the role of Ra-
dames in "Aida" by Verdi. He has
since sung the role many times and
is now identified with it.
Joined Metropolitan
Two years after his first Chicago
performance, Baum joined the
Metropolitan Opera Company,
making his bow in "Der Rosen-
kavalier," a Strauss opera. He sang
the role of the Italian tenor.
By this time, Baum was already
. quite well known 'throughout the
world, having appeared in opera
and in concert throughout Latin
America, as well as Europe and the
United States.
Since then, he has established
himself as the Italian Tenor par
excellence. He has sung all the
great Italian Tenor parts, includ-
ing "Trovatore," "Tosca," "Forza
del Destino" and "Pagliacci."
He has proved his versatility
many times by starring in the
y leading roles of German operas,
Pianist Alexander Brailowsky,
who has been hailed as the "pas-
sionate poet of the piano," will
perform in the first May Festival,
concert.
Brailowsky,° noted for his per-
formances of Chopin compositions,
received his first musical instruc-
tion from his father, an accom-
plished amateur pianist. He was
not brought up as a prodigy, how-
ever. His parents required that he
complete his high school education
before they would permit him to
enter the Kiev Conservatory.
It was while studying at that
institute that Brailowsky was
heard by the late Sergei Rachman-
inoff. The famous musician gave
the young pianist his approval and
encouragement.
Had Advanced Studies
From the Kiev Conservatory the
young musician went to Vienna for
advanced studies with the former
teacher of Paderewski, Theodor
Leschetizky.
Brailowsky made his official de-
but in 1920 in Paris.
Two years later, he made his
initial South American tour, al-
ready a famous musician.
Lasting fame, however, came to
Brailowsky in 1924. It was then
that he conceived the idea of a
complete Chopin cycle.
Using Chopin's own piano for
some of the pieces, he performed,
in six recitals, 172 of the master's
solo works, later that same season.
The public was impressed with,
his Chopin interpretations and
Brailowsky became identified with
the Polish composer. His interpre-
tations of the frail master's music
KURT BAUM
such as "Lohengrin" and "Meister-
singer" as well as in "Carmen" and
"Samson and Delilah" in the
French repertory.
Command Performance
Baum has also starred in a
command performance of "Aida"
before Queen Elizabeth of En-
gland as part of the Coronation
festivities.
Although Baum has established
himself in this country as one of
the top tenors of America, he has
also maintained the reputation he
enjoyed in Europe before coming
here.
Although he is famous for his
operatic portrayals, Baum is
equally well known for his recital
performances. He is a superb Lie-
der-singer and interpreter of art
songs, and has been acclaimed sea-
son after season on the American
concert stage.
Bass-Baritone Made Debut in Athens
ALEXANDER BRAILOWSKY
have been described as "trance-
like."
Each year, pianists turn to Brai-
lowsky to examine the device
through which he makes Chopin
a popular favorite.
Includes Chopin
Since then, he almost always in-
cludes some of Chopin's music in
his performances.
After his first New York reci-
tal at Town Hall, Brailowsky's
tour, originally scheduled for only
six weeks, had to be extended to
four months.
Chopin's is not the' only music
with which Brailowsky is identi-
fied. He is equally as well known
for his interpretations of Liszt and
other compositions of the Roman-
tic Era. Brailowsky has also per-
formed many of the great master-
works of the Classical and Modern
periods. He also recently appeared
in the Teatro Colon in Buenos
Aires, where for two months, he
performed in 17 recitals, never
once duplicating the programs.
Has Large Repertoire
Brailowsky has a sizable reper-
toire of recordings which he has
made. They include Chopin's com-
plete "Waltzes," "Preludes," sev-
eral of the "Etudes," and both
"Concertos."
Liszt is notably represented by
the complete "Hungarian Rhapso-
dies" and a number of his shorter
works.
Of Schumann, Brailowsky has
recorded the "Sonata No. 1" and
the entire "Symphonic Etudes."
Star Called-
International
'Rank Singer
Acclaimed a star of internation-
al rank, soprano Leontyne Price
made her debut recital in New
York's Town Hall three years ago.
Her musicaleducationbegan in
early childhood, however, when
she played the piano for church
services and at parties. ShIe quick-
ly became familiar with the spir-
ituals and folk music of her peo-
ple.
By the time she had completed
high school she had become quite
proficient as a pianist. After join-
ing her college glee club, however,
her natural voice and extraordi-
nary vocal capacity became ap-
parent, and she was assigned all
solo parts. She won a scholarship
for study at Juilliard School of
Music in New York, following
graduation.
Sings in 'Falstaff'
Miss Price performed in many
student productions while at
Juilliard, among them Verdi's
"Falstaff."
Critic-composer, Virgil Thom-
son, after hearing her, engaged
Miss Price for a main part in the
revival of his opera, "Four Saints
in Three Acts." It was while sing-
ing this part that Miss Price was
heard by the men producing the
revival of "Porgy and Bess." She
was signed up almost immediately,
for the part of Bess.
While still singing in the opera
a year later, Miss Price was invited
to give a recital at the Library of
Congress. Accompanied by Sam-
uel Barber, she included the world
premier of his Hermit Songs. The
soprano also sang these songs the
following year in Rome, where she
was the only American singer in-
vited to perform at the music fes-
tival.
Concentrates on Career
Leaving the "Porgy and Bess"
cast to concentrate on her concert
career, Miss Price began appear-
ing in concerts all over the coun-
try. She has sung with such major
symphony orchestras as the New
York Philharmonic, the Boston,
Philadelphia and Los Angeles
Symphonies.
Her performance of "Tosca"
with the NBC-TV Opera Theatre,
was acclaimed as a great success
by both press and public. The pro-.
ducers of the show requested that
Miss Price return the following
year and on the 200th anniversary
of Mozart's birth, she starred in
his "The Magic Flute."
Martha Lipton, acclaimed as
"the most versatile artist at the
Met" will appear in the May 3
concert.
Making her European debut with
concerts at The Hague and in Am-
sterdam in 1950, Miss Lipton, mez-
zo-soprano, has since visited that
continent five more times.
She appeared at the Edinburgh
Festival as soloist in Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony with the visit-
ing New York Philharmonic-Sym-
phony Orchestra in 1951.
Sang at Festival
The following two years, Miss
Lipton sang at the Holland Festi-
val in Scheveningen, performing
both Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle"
and de Falla's "El Amor Brujo."
She also sang her first Amneris
in "Aida" at the Vienna State
Opera in 1953.
Miss Lipton returned to Europe
for the fifth time as the first
American star to sign with the
Benjamin Britten English Opera
Companty. She toured Germany
and England with the company,
concluding with an appearance at
the Sadler's Wells Theatre in Lon-
don.
During this time the singer also
gave several programs of Mahler
songs under Sir Adrian Boult's
direction.
Played Role of Adelaide
Recently, the mezzo-soprano was
heard as Adelaide in the Metro-
politan Opera Company's new
production of Richard Strauss's
"Arabella."
Miss Lipton has also appeared
as Klytemnestra in the Strauss
opera "Elektra," with the Min-
neapolis Symphony. She repeated
the role with the Chicago Sym-
phony Orchestra under Fritz
Reiner's direction.
Appearances in Cherubini's "Me-
dea" with the American Opera
Society in New York, soloist with
the Symphony of the Air's pre-
sentation of "Resurection Sym-
phony" by Mahler, and soloist
with the Bach Aria Group in New
York are among Miss Lipton's
successes. She has also appeared
in the Ann Arbor Music Festival in
previous years.
World Premiere
Last summer Miss Lipton ap-
peared in the world premiere of
Douglas Moore's opera, "The Bal-
lad of Baby Doe" at the Central
City Opera Festival in Colorado.
She also performed at Lewisohn
Stadium in New York, and was
guest artist with the Little Or-
chestra Society on New York's
Hunter College series.
The Metropolitan star's reper-
toire includes over 25 roles in four
languages. They range from the
boy Hansel in "Hansel and Gretel"
to the Fortune-teller in "The
Masked Ball," by Verdi.
It also includes the role of Bi-
zet's "Carmen," Emilia in Verdi's
"Otello," and Octavian in "Der
Rosenkavalier," by Strauss.
TU' Alumnus
To Perform
In 5th Concert
John Krell, outstanding meinber
of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will
perform with his own music group
in the fifth May Festival concert.
A graduate of the University,
Krell will play a Concerto in A
Nicola Moscona, well-known
bass-baritone with the Metropoli-
tan Opera Company, will perform
in the second May Festival con-
cert, May 3.
Moscona has sung with most of
the leading orchestras in the
United States and Europe. He has
appeared 26 times with Toscanini
and nine times with Bruno Wal-
ter, as' well as under the batons
of Weingartner, Mitropoulos, Sto-
kowski, Busch, Reiner, Ormandy,
Bernstein and Sevitsky.
Since his professional debut in
1930 in his native Athens, Mos-
cona has sung more than 500' en-
gagements in the United States
with the Metropolitan.
From Athens, Moscano made
Versatile Soprano
Has Toured World
his debut in Italy in 1937 as the
Abbot in "La Forza del Detino."
That same year, he came to the
United States and was introduced
to New York opera-goers as Ram-
fis in "Aida."
Moscona's favorite role is Me-
phistopheles in Gounod's "Faust"
because it affords him a charac-
terization rich in color and subtle-
ties as well as an opportunity for
the full display of his bass-bari-
tone voice.
In the summer of 1949, Moscona
returned to Greece where he gave
14 operatic performances and a
recital in Athens for the benefit
of the Greek Disabled War Vet-
erans.
JOHN KRELL
minor for Piccolo and °Orchestra
by Vivaldi.
While a student at the Univer-
sity, the young piccoloist played in
the University Symphony Orches-
tra and the University Little Sym-
phony. The Little Symphony, at
that time, was directed by May
Festival Guest Conductor Thor\
Johnson. *
In the May 5th concert, Krell
will again be appearing under the
baton of Thor Johnson, but this
time in. a more professional ca-
pacity.
NICOLA MOSCONA
I r ' 1
Ffr____________________ ____________________________________________________________ II
Saturday, May 4,2:30 P.M.
The magnificent 400-voice
Thursday, May 2, 8:30 P.M.
ALL -BEETHOVEN
PROGRAM
featuring
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5
FESTIVAL
YOUTH CHORUS
conducted by
Geneva
Nelson
singing
"WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER"
and
World-renowned violinist
ows"Momwm
JOSEPH
SZIGETI
Alexander
Brailowsky
pianist
Eugene
Ormandy
conducting
PROGRAM
playing
Concerto in D minor for Violin
and Orchestra . . . . . . . . . Tartini
Portrait No.1, Op.5 . . . . . . . . . . Bartok
La Folia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Corelli
Overture to
"Leonore," No.
3,
Op
.72
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