Books › Musical Courier 1928-12-13: Vol 97 Iss 24, 1928 › scan 48
Scan 48
Musical Courier 1928-12-13: Vol 97 Iss 24, 1928
32 lines. Read by computer on 29 September 2026. Printed page 49. See the scan on archive.org.
1December 13, 1928
2VISIT TO A CHOPIN SHRINE
3Told by Alberto Jonás
4(Continue from page 14)
5thousands but millions of them in Mallorca, are not to be seen in America, nor in the rest of Europe, not even in the Spanish continent. There must be something in the soil and in the air of Mallorca that gives rise to one of the most appalling sights imaginable; trees turned to furies, trees rushing against each other in a mad fight, writhing, entwined, in a deadly embrace; trees that look like lions fighting tigers, dragons spouting flames, skeletons hanging from the gibbet, boa constrictors crushing their prey, chimeras, the most fantastic shapes that a delirious mind can conceive. If there were but a few of them! But no, all along the road, as far as the eye can reach, these trees of Hell can be seen locked in a fearful struggle, or, if lonely, split into the most terrifying shapes.
6"They are over a thousand years old. They were planted by the Romans when they invaded the peaceful, sunlit island, truly a fitting memento of those times of rapine and carnage. Gustave Doré, the famous French painter, went to Mallorca for the express purpose of studying those terrible trees, taking them as models for his marvelous illustrations of Dante's Inferno. The following pictures give but a very faint idea of the awesome impression made by whole fields of such nightmare trees.
7"But these 'magnificent horrors' disappeared gradually as we neared Valldemosa and none were left as we reached our goal.
8"With what emotion we beheld it, this convent, secluded in the lovely valley, where the great poet-musician lived and wrote some of his immortal works!
9"Some books have it that it is not known in which rooms, or cells, Chopin and George Sand lived, but that is an error. Tradition is too powerful a factor in an isolated island like Mallorca for such knowledge to fade. We were shown the rooms where they lived.
10"They did not live together. George Sand and her son occupied rooms quite distant from those where Chopin dwelt. A few steps lead from his two rooms to the pretty garden where he strolled and rested, breathing the pure, mild, vivifying air of Mallorca.
11"As my wife and I stood in that garden I pictured him, the unrivalled poet-musician, one of the greatest geniuses who ever graced this earth, sitting on that bench yonder, slender, frail of physique, lost in reverie, listening to the tremendous surge of his creative soul. How much poorer in art we would be had he not lived!
12"We gazed long and silently, our mind reverting to the glorious past, when Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Rubinstein—heroes all—lived, giving to mankind the priceless treasures of their heart, soul, and mind. It was the age of poetry, romance, of high ideals. What a contrast to our present materialistic, musically barren and unfruitful generation! Götterdämmerung! Such was the passing of these men.
13"Until a short time ago the rooms where Chopin and George Sand lived were tenanted, for the convent is such only in name. But no longer will strangers make their home there. Beginning with this year those rooms will become a Chopin museum with relics, personal belongings, gifts from all parts of the world.
14"Now here in New York we are far from the little sunny garden in front of the rooms of Chopin, in the heart of the island of Mallorca, a hundred miles off the coast of Spain, but never shall we forget it. It is a lasting, loving memory, of fascinating and haunting beauty."
15Mero's Chicago Success
16Yolanda Mero was eminently successful in her Chicago recital. Herman Devries in the Chicago Evening American says that when he first heard Mme. Mero he called her the Brünnhilde of the piano, and that she is now far more than that. The Chicago Daily News Journal says that Mme. Mero played with superb clarity and speed, and the Chicago Herald-Examiner states that there are no technical difficulties for her fleet fingers.
17Prix de Rome in Musical Composition
18The American Academy in Rome has announced its ninth annual competition for a Fellowship in musical composition, this being the Horatio Parker Fellowship which was awarded three years ago to Robert L. Sanders. Candidates must file with the executive secretary of the Academy, not later than April 1, two compositions, one either for orchestra alone or in combination with a solo instrument; and one for string quartet or for some ensemble combination such as a sonata for violin and piano, a trio for violin, cello and pianoforte, or possibly for some less usual combination of chamber instruments. The compositions must show facility in handling larger instrumental forms, such as the sonata form or free modifications of it. A sonata for pianoforte or a fugue of large dimensions will be accepted, but not songs nor short pianoforte pieces.
19The competition is open to unmarried men who are citizens of the United States, but the Academy reserves the right to withhold an award in case no candidate is considered to have reached the desired standard. The stipend is $1,500 a year, for three years, with an additional allowance of $500 a year for traveling expenses in visiting the leading musical centers of Europe. The winner will have the privilege of studio and residence at the Academy, and opportunity for six months' travel each year.
20For circular of information and application blank, address Roscoe Guernsey, executive secretary, American Academy in Rome.
21OLIVE TREES ON THE ROAD FROM PALMA DE MALLORCA TO VALDEMOASA.
22(As described by Alberto Jonás.)
23Eric Clarke Replaces Mrs. Hull
24The National Music League announces the appointment of Eric Clarke as associate director to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Vera Bull Hull.
25For the past five years Mr. Clarke has been general manager of the Eastman Theater in Rochester, N. Y., and operated under the auspices of the University of Rochester. Mr. Clarke also acted as general manager of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
26New Robinson-Harshbarger Book
27No brighter talent has been shown anywhere in recent years than in the books of poems and drawings which have issued from the Robinson-Harshbarger Studios. The latest of these books is Loose Lyrics of Lovely Ladies, which will be reviewed later. Emilie Sarter will in future be the sole distributor of all Robinson-Harshbarger publications.
28Singers Feature Gruen's Songs
29Rafael Diaz recently programmed Rudolph Gruen's song, My Own, in Garden City, L. I., Lake Placid, N. Y., and Southampton, L. I. Others who are singing Rudolph Gruen songs include: Paul Althouse, Bori, Yvonne D'Arle, Chamlee, Julia Claussen, Richard Crooks and Danise.
30Bonelli Popular
31Richard Bonelli, baritone, who has become a great favorite in the concert field, has been engaged for an appearance with the Cleveland Orchestra in Providence, R. I., on May 2. Already a large number of recital and orchestral appearances have been arranged for him following the close of the Chicago Civic Opera season.
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