Books › Musical Courier 1928-05-10: Vol 96 Iss 19, 1928 › scan 38
Scan 38
Musical Courier 1928-05-10: Vol 96 Iss 19, 1928
74 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 39. See the scan on archive.org.
1May 10, 1928
3Foreign News in Brief
5CZECH STATE PRIZES DISTRIBUTED
6PRAGUE.—The Czech state prizes for music and literature have been distributed for this year. For the first time in the history of the republic German artists were included among the competitors. The winners are Franz Werfel—in recognition of his Verdi novel—and Fidelio Finke, for his symphonic poem, Pan, his new orchestral songs, his piano trio and his cycle, Spring.
8FRANZ SCHALK TURNS LITERARY WRITER
9VIENNA.—Franz Schalk, director of the Vienna Staatsoper, has accepted an offer to collaborate actively on a comprehensive biography of Anton Bruckner, his old master and friend. The first three volumes of the biography are already published; Schalk's collaboration begins with the fourth volume, now in preparation.
11MERANO HAS OPERA SEASON
12MILAN.—An opera season of some importance was given recently in the beautiful winter resort, Merano. The works performed included Carmen, Puccini's Manon, the Barber of Seville and Traviata.
14BADINI SCORES IN SAN REMO
15MILAN.—The San Remo opera season ended with Gianni Schicchi and Cavalleria Rusticana. In the former work the baritone, Badini, who with most of the other principals is a Scala artist, made an immense hit. This season, so successfully directed by Baroni, was followed by several symphony concerts which he also directed. The new theater is most beautifully decorated and finished, and in every respect worthy of the important Blue Coast city. C. D'I.
17STRAVINSKY ELECTED TO PRUSSIAN ACADEMY OF ARTS
18BERLIN.—The Prussian Academy of Arts, less conservative now than in imperial times, has chosen two new members who make an ill-matched pair, namely Stravinsky, the internationally known modernist, and Richard Wetz, a composer of purely Teutonic tendencies, somewhat akin to Hans Pfitzner and hardly known outside of Germany.
20TWO MORE BEETHOVEN PRIZE AWARDS
21BERLIN.—The Beethoven prize, founded last year by the Prussian minister of education, has recently been awarded for the second time. An older and a younger German composer have been chosen, namely, Arnold Mendelssohn from Darmstadt, a prominent composer of Protestant church music, motets and the like, and Heinrich Kaminski, more widely known because of the performance of some of his works at the last international festivals.
23GIANNINI AND BRAILOWSKY SCORE IN COLOGNE
24COLOGNE.—Dusolina Giannini, who is already noted in Cologne, recently aroused fresh admiration for her great vocal art with arias by Verdi, lieder by Beethoven and Strauss as well as Italian folksongs. The appearance of Alexander Brailowsky at the same concert was a musical event. This master pianist, whose technical powers are unlimited, revealed his great recreative abilities in works of Bach, Busoni, Chopin and Liszt and achieved a sensational success.
26GIANNINI TO SING AT NETHER-RHENISH FESTIVAL
27COLOGNE.—The program of the Nether-Rhenish Festival, which takes place from June 10-13, will include Bach's cantata, Gott fähret mit Jauchzen, Handel's anthem, Zadok der Priester, Beethoven's violin concerto, Wagner's Faust overture, Berlioz's overture to The Damnation of Faust, Schubert's C major symphony, Bruckner's fifth symphony, Richard Strauss' Don Juan and a Sinfonietta by Janacek. The festival will be under the musical direction of Hermann Abendroth and the soloists are to be Dusolina Giannini, Karl Erb, Heinrich Rehkemper and Fritz Kreisler.
29NISSEN TO SING SACHS AT MUNICH FESTIVAL
30MUNICH.—Hans Hermann Nissen, the Munich baritone who is singing in Covent Garden this year, will sing Hans Sachs for the first time during the coming festival in Munich.
32GREECE TO THE FORE!
33VIENNA.—The first opera by a Greek composer to be written and produced in Germany is The Love Bacillus, by Janko Konstantinides who used the pseudonym of Costa Dorres. The Municipal theater at Stralsund gave the first performance, which marks the entree of the Greek nation into international operatic competition.
35INTERNATIONAL BRUCKNER SOCIETY FOUNDED
36VIENNA.—An International Bruckner Society has been founded here with its central committee situated at Leipzig. Max Auer (Austria) is its president, and Franz Schalk, Siegmund von Hausegger, Dr. Karl Muck and Friedrich Klose are honorary presidents.
38FURTWAENGLER'S VIENNA CONTRACT SIGNED
39VIENNA.—The general director of the State Theaters, Franz Schneiderhan, publishes an official statement to the effect that the long negotiated contract is now signed whereby Dr. Wilhelm Furtwängler will be a guest conductor of the Vienna Opera beginning next season. His contract provides for one novelty and several revivals to be prepared and conducted by him every season.
41ROYAL PATRONAGE OF COVENT GARDEN; SEASON'S PROGRAM
42LONDON.—The king and queen have again extended their patronage to the Covent Garden season this year and have taken the royal box. The opera opened on April 30, with Das Rheingold, to be followed later by the rest of the cycle. The entire Ring will be given again later in the season and each time without cuts. Other operas will include Arminde, to be given the second night instead of the first (as originally planned), Die Meistersinger, Tannhäuser, Faust, Louise, Samson et Dalila, Carmen, Madame Butterfly, La Bohème, Turandot, Tosca, Otello, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Aida, Manon Lescaut, Don Giovanni, Boris Godounoff and Un Ballo in Maschera.
44A NEW SCHREKER OPERA
45BERLIN.—Franz Schreker has completed a new opera, Der singende Teufel (The Singing Devil), which will have its first performance at the Berlin Staatsoper the coming autumn.
47"PROMS" PROMISED ONCE MORE
48LONDON.—The British Broadcasting Corporation has once more assured London its Promenade Concerts. They will last eight weeks this year, beginning August 11, and particular attention will be given to the words of young English composers.
50AMERICAN SEASON IN VIENNA
51VIENNA.—The Staatsoper looks forward to a season of American singers, or singers from American opera houses, during the next few months. First comes Leone Kruse, whom director Schalk is said to have engaged on the strength of her gramophone records. While the Vienna company is in Paris the Staatsoper is to be kept going by guest singers, including Tito Schipa (who will then make his Vienna debut), Baklanoff and Fleta, Yvonne Gall and Ninon Vallin, from the Paris Opéra Comique, are expected to come at the head of a French company, with Carmen, Manon, Werther and Faust, and the Cologne Opera intends to give a few guest performances of Debussy's Pelléas and Melisande and Handel's Julius Caesar, bringing its own orchestra, chorus, singers and scenic apparatus.
53SÉBASTIEN JASPARD HONORED
54PARIS.—The Musical Courier's Paris correspondent, Sébastien Jaspard, has been awarded the Palms of the Academy by the French Government. one of two readings
55PARIS.—The MUSICAL COURIER's Paris correspondent, Sébastien Jaspard, has been awarded the Palms of the Academy by the French Government. one of two readings
57PARIS TO HEAR BERLIN PHILHARMONIC
58PARIS.—The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, under Wilhelm Furtwängler, will visit Paris this spring on its annual tour. Not only will this mark the first appearance of a German orchestra here since the war but it will also be Furtwängler's Paris début, and the event is being eagerly awaited. The orchestra's tour will start in Copenhagen and end in Heidelberg in time for the three-day Music Festival.
60PROGRAM FOR SIENA FESTIVAL
61LONDON.—The full program for the sixth festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music, being held in Siena this year from Sept. 10-15 has now been announced. There will be three international chamber concerts whose programs are as follows: (First concert) Vincenzo Tommasini's second string quartet; Karel Haba's sonata for flute and piano; Paul Hindemith's Piano pieces; Maurice Ravel's violin sonata and Alexander von Zelinsky's third string quartet. (Second concert) Frank Bridge's third string quartet; Heinz Tiessen's duo for violin and piano; Anton von Webern's trio for violin, viola and violoncello; Manuel de Falla's Concerto for harpsichord and five other instruments and Robert Blum's Music for Eight Instruments. (Third concert) Bohuslav Martinu's second string quartet; Franco Alfano's sonata for cello and piano; Serge Prokofieff's quintet for oboe, clarinet, violin, viola and double-bass and Ernest Bloch's quintet for piano and strings. William Walton's Facade will be performed and Alois Haba will give an illustrated lecture on quarter-tone music. Besides these concerts there will be several programs of old and new Italian music.
63London String Quartet Delights Chicagoans
64The London String Quartet recently played a postponed Chicago engagement, and in commenting on the performance in the Herald-Examiner, Glenn Dillard Gunn said: "The London String Quartet is the musical thrill of the season. Whatever deficiencies may have marked the season's programs in the pious and important duty of paying tribute to the memory of Franz Schubert were compensated yesterday by the London String Quartet. That distinguished chamber group appearing at the Goodman, set forth the serene beauties of the A major quartet with unrivaled tonal glory and eloquence. The Londoners seem to remain at the head of their aristocratic division of executive art. Even so important a change in the personnel as the engagement of a new first violin in the person of John Pennington does not disturb their fine poised ensemble. Tonal unity, a rarely rich and sonorous volume, inflections that carry always the impulse of rhythm, these and other virtues of the string quartet they define with satisfying completeness."
66The Londoners sailed on April 21 on the Celtic for England where another long list of engagements awaits them. This organization is one of the busiest in the musical world, and rightly so, for its virtues are many.
68Meisle and Austral in Coast Festival
69Florence Austral, dramatic soprano, and Kathryn Meisle, contralto were two of the soloists at the Sprink Music Festival in San Francisco under the baton of Alfred Hertz. Both artists gleamed more than a fair share of the glory.
71Charles Woodman, in the Call and Post, said: "Coming at the end of the Libera Me, famous as the foundation of Verdi's work, Mme. Austral was greeted most vociferously, and she sang superbly. So did Mme. Meisle, with her lustrous contralto, gloriously expressive, particularly in the Lux Aeterna, singing which would leave one satisfied if there were nothing else to hear."
73In the Examiner, Redfern Mason commented, "And it was a beautiful quartet, four voices of true festival timbre. Miss Meisle, now a local tradition, sang with the devout sincerity that your churchmen must bless, and Mr. Althouse proved himself a worthy champion. The soprano was the young Australian Florence Austral, a vocalist with the true oratorio instinct and capable of an exalted ecstasy which in great moments like the 'Cause them O Lord to pass from Death to Life and the great cry for mercy in the Libera, moved hearers profoundly."
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