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Reports from the Provinces and from Abroad

Source: The Musical Times , Vol. 103, No. 1428 (Feb., 1962), pp. 106-107

Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.

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BOURNEMOUTH

Silvestri's first concert as principal conductor was a

civic occasion; there was, however, little that was

civic about the programme, which had been cunning-

ly chosen to display the virtuosity of orchestra and

conductor. Stupendous playing justified the choice:

of Rawsthorne's Street Corner Overture, Shostako-

vich's First Symphony, a Prelude and Fugue by

Silvestri, Till and the second Daphnis and Chloe suite.

Two virtues were immediately apparent: a precision

in attack which has been lacking for too long, and

excellent balance. Particularly memorable were the

Shostakovich, and Silvestri s own Prelude and

Fugue: a work which bears the stamp of a genuine

creative mind, is brilliantly scored, and generous in

rhythmic and melodic excitement.

Silvestri's next concert was more of a 'pop', and it

was easier to make a critical evaluation. The same

virtues were apparent, but the Pathetic Symphony

seemed to reveal a tendency to overphrase and to

hammer home the obvious; it was wilful and way-

ward. On the other hand the Tristan preludes and

Liebestod showed the utmost sensitivity-what

unpredictable creatures conductors are.

Edgar Cosma, a Silvestri pupil, is to conduct a

number of concerts, but there was little to rouse

enthusiasm on Nov 30. His Coriolan and Eighth

Symphony were badly balanced and ponderous;

Don Juan was little better; there was a distinct

improvement in a splendidly controlled Pictures

from an Exhibition.

Charles Groves gave an interesting programme on

Dec 7, including Webern's Six Pieces, op 6. But

AUSTRALIA

Stravinsky's visit in November made a considerable

impact, even though he conducted only one concert

in Sydney and one in Melbourne. In Sydney his

programme, shared with Robert Craft, included

Pulcinella, the Symphony in Three Movements, the

Firebird Suite, and the ravishing Apollo Musagetes.

A capacity audience gave Stravinsky a tremendous

reception, and though the Sydney Symphony

showed signs of nervousness, the concert was a

memorable success.

So was the Melbourne concert-though there the

hall was far from full. Craft conducted two rarities

in this programme-the sombre Ode and the

Symphonies of Wind Instruments with its eerie

sonorities, also The Card Game. The poetic languor

and beauty of The Fairy's Kiss, complete, was in

no way diminished by the economy of the com-

poser's own conducting technique. The Victorian

Symphony was piloted securely through the

rhythmic kaleidoscopes.

The Sydney Symphony seems to be no nearer

finding a resident conductor. Part of the 1962

season will be under Horenstein, and visiting con-

ductors include Van Otterloo and Dean Dixon. In

the final months of 1961 the SSO was conducted by

Alberto Bolet, formerly in charge of the pre-Castro

Havana Philharmonic. Initially the critics found him

106

despite John Russell's lucid and persuasive exposi-

tion at a public lecture a few days before, the

audience did not take the work to their hearts. The

performance itself was quite good, though it was

obvious that many of the players regarded the

event more as a prank than as music to be played

and experienced. Vaughan Williams's Job was

magnificently done.

JOHN EMERY

BIRMNGHAM

The last weeks of 1961 brought a crop of novelties.

Orchestra da Camera, enterprising as ever, included

in their alternating chamber and orchestral series

works by Skalkottas and Wishart, and an effective

Piano Trio in serial technique commissioned from

James Walker. The Chamber Music Society are

also presenting a contemporary work in each

concert: after Wordsworth and Hindemith came

the Schoenberg Third Quartet, played by the

Drolc Quartet. The Birmingham Symphony have

been playing well on the whole, under Rignold,

though Kodaly's first Symphony, which received

its 'first British performance' simultaneously in

Birmingham and London, lacked something of verve

and rhythmic drive which might have made it more

memorable. The first of the year's Feeney Trust

commissions was John Gardner s Herrick Cantata

(see page 115), an attractive work, offering no

challenges to the listener, but inventive and

finely-wrought.E. DOHERT

E E DOHERTY

unsubtle and heavy in his approach, but increasing

familiarity with the orchestra refined his results.

The Victorian Symphony had Georges Tzipine

and Sir Bernard Heinze at the helm during the last

part of the year. Both introduced new symphonies

to Melbourne Roussel s Fourth under Tzipine,

and Walton s Second under Heinze. Another

novelty was the Violin Concerto of Margaret

Sutherland, a work of more charm than originality,

finely played by Thomas Matthews.

Moura Lympany appeared as successful soloist

and recitalist in both Sydney and Melbourne.

Segovia's guitar playing was rapturously received.

On a visit to his home city of Melbourne, Sir

William McKie gave a recital to a capacity audience

in St Paul s Cathedral.

FRED BLANKS

MUNCH

With five concert orchestras, three opera houses (the

fourth and biggest is being rebuilt) and the usual

concerts by visiting international artists, Munich

musical life is one of feverish activity. The hardest

concerts to get into are the six annual, fully-sub-

scribed MUSICA VIVAS. At the first, in November,

Kubelik, making his second appearance as perma-

nent conductor of the Bavarian Radio Orchestra,


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gave an excellent concert performance of Janacek's

House of the Dead, distinguished by Josef Traxel's

Filka Morosov.

At the December concert Luigi Nono s Ha

Venido made the most compelling impression.

Dedicated by the composer to his daughter Silvia

for her first birthday (1960), this beautiful setting of

three short poems by Antonio Machado for seven

unaccompanied sopranos-a soloist and chorus of

six-breaks new ground in its intimate expression

of joy at the start of a new life. The arresting

combination of silvery tones set up vibrations in the

ears which had a direct physical working on this

listener.



Filka Morosov.











listener.



Filka Morosov.











listener.



Filka Morosov.











listener.

Stefania Woytowicz (who has a lovely lyric voice

which reminded me of Los Angeles), Michel

Senechal and Keith Engen were the soloists in a

performance of Debussy's L'Enfant Prodigue, at

times too vaguely directed by Bruno Maderna.

Maderna's time-beating account of Karl Amadeus

Hartmann's monstrous Seventh Symphony did little

to elucidate its long-winded complexities. The

composer deserves immense praise for all he has

done for this city s musical life, especially by

organizing MUSICA VIVA; but the enforced hearing

of this horrid work struck me as a form of musical

blackmail. Gratitude should be unbinding.

GREVILLE ROTHON














GREVILLE ROTHON














GREVILLE ROTHON














GREVILLE ROTHON

LETTERS TO THE EDITORLETTERS TO THE EDITORLETTERS TO THE EDITORLETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Spurious Chopin Letters

I am authorized by the President of the conference

of Polish musicologists and scholars which met in

October 1961 at Niebor6w, Poland, to make public

certain facts. The conference was called by the

Chopin Institute, Warsaw, to investigate thoroughly

the so-called 'Letters of Chopin to Delfina Potocka'

produced by one Paulina Czericka in 1941 and

again in 1945. These letters were given wide

publicity (notably in the book The Life and Death of

Chopin by K. Wierzyfiski) and have been the subject

of controversy chiefly in the Polish, French and

American press.

The President of the Niebor6w conference writes:

'The letters are spurious. To the arguments already

formulated have been added new ones, which are

quite simply a revelation. In the papers left behind

by Mme Czernicka were found further exercises

made by her in the form of 104 fragments of Chopin

letters . Of these only a certain number are covered

by the letters hitherto revealed. It was evidently

the lady's plan to proceed with a far more extensive

publication; she had already picked out those

fragments which she considered most successful .

It was further shown that she had engaged in

musicological studies in France; that at her residence

near Wilno she had something of a Chopin Chapel ;

that she had at her disposal a considerable library;

and that some of her letters are simply taken from

Kleczynski, Hoesick and others; also that her

suicide [in 1949] was connected with the 100th

anniversary of Chopin s death. There was some

psychopathic identification of herself with Chopin

which led her to write letters, and to put into those

letters her own thoughts and imaginings.

'Further: philological analysis showed that the

characteristic linguistic features of Chopin's letters

are repeated in the spurious ones, but 100 per cent

more frequently. Evidently Mme Czernicka added

plenty of salt , wishing to give a flavour of authen-

ticity. Again: expressions are found which were not

used in the Polish language in 1830-40. In the

spurious texts are found certain vulgar expressions

which appeared in Polish only after the First World

War. Philological evidence places the date of the

fabrication between 1926 and 1945.

Within the next few months a complete report of

the conference will appear.

London NW3 ARTHUR HEDLEY













American press.

















































American press.

















































American press.





































The Prince Consort

The piano duet by the Prince Consort, described by

Mr Howes in his letter last month, sounds most

entertaining, but I have been unable to find a copy

of it. It is certainly not in the British Museum. The

'German melodies' in it are evidently some of the

Prince's own songs.

I am grateful to Mr Howes for mentioning the

Royal College of Music in connection with the

Prince Consort. He may, indeed, have provided

the first stimulus which ultimately led to the founda-

tion of the College, though the evidence for this

seems a little thin. On the whole I feel that my

assessment of the Prince s influence on musical

education still stands. He expressed advanced views

on the subject but did not get them put into practice.

Mr Robert Sterndale Bennett has kindly pointed

out a serious error in my article. I said that

the performance of the St Matthew Passion at

Windsor Castle was the first in England. My

impression that this was so had come from Martin's

Life of the Prince Consort. With the help of Mr

Hyatt King and of the Queen s Librarian, Mr

Mackworth-Young, it has been possible to establish

the date of the Windsor performance as 23 April

1859. It was thus over a year later than the per-

formance by the Bach Society under Sterndale

Bennett, which took place on 23 March 1858. So it

is to Sterndale Bennett, and not to the Prince

Consort, that we owe the introduction of Bach s

masterpiece to this country. The Windsor per-

formance seems, indeed, to have been a direct

product of the Bach Society performance of 1858;

the same English translation, newly made by Helen

Johnston, was used, and the chorus was drawn from

the Bach Society. The conductor was G. F. Ander-

son, Master of the Queen's Private Band.

Faculty of Music, NICHOLAS TEMPERLEY

Cambridge University

Joao Domingos Itomtempo

I am anxious to obtain information about the work

of the Portuguese composer Joao Domingos

Bomtempo, who lived in London between 1810 and

1820; and should be grateful if anyone possessing

any of his works, in printed or manuscript form,

would communicate with me.

London W1 J P SARRAUTE

107

The Prince Consort






Prince's own songs.









































107

The Prince Consort






Prince's own songs.









































107

The Prince Consort






Prince's own songs.









































107


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