JjeQleiielanii Ordjfötrat ARTUR RODZINSKI, CONDUCTOR

TWENTY-THIRD SEASON 1940-1941

SEVENTH PROGRAM November 28 and 30 THE MUSICAL ARTS ASSOCIATION SUPPORTING THE ORCHESTRA

Thomas L. Sidlo, President

Honorary Vice Presidents Mrs. D. S. Blossom Mrs. Francis F. Prentiss

Lewis B. Williams Vice President Grover Higgins Vice President E. J. Kulas Vice President Adella Prentiss Hughes Vice President and Secretary A. A. Brewster Treasurer C. J. Vosburgh Assistant Treasurer

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Mrs. George P. Bickford Edgar A. Hahn Charles B. Merrill Mrs. D. S. Blossom Grover Higgins Mrs. Francis F. Prentiss A. A. Brewster Adella Prentiss Hughes Mrs. Arthur Shepherd Percy W. Brown Jay Iglauer Thomas L. Sidlo A. C. Ernst Frank G. James M. L. Sloan Paul L. Feiss I. L. Jennings C. J. Vosburgh E. W. Garfield E. J. Kulas Lewis B. Williams

TRUSTEES

Kenneth L. Allen Edgar A. Hahn Charles B. Merrill Mrs. George P. Bickford Samuel H. Halle Victor B. Phillips Mrs. D. S. Blossom Grover Higgins Mrs. Francis F. Prentiss Charles Bingham Bolton Mrs. Allan C. House Ralph S. Schmitt A. A. Brewster Adella Prentiss Hughes Mrs. Arthur Shepherd Percy W. Brown Jay Iglauer Thomas L. Sidlo W. M. Clapp Mrs. R. Livingston Ireland M. L. Sloan Henry S. Curtiss Frank G. James Mrs. Abraham Strauss A. C. Ernst I. L. Jennings Mrs. Frank H. Teagle Miss Frances Ernst E. J. Kulas C. J. Vosburgh Paul L. Feiss Mrs. E. J. Kulas Whitney L. Warner E. W. Garfield W. G. Mather Mrs. Fred R. White Msgr. John R. Hagan Mrs. Malcolm L. McBride Lewis B. Williams

A. A. Brewster, General Manager C. J. Vosburgh, Manager The Musical Arts Association The and

11001 EUCLID AVENUE, CLEVELAND, OHIO 147 SEASON CALENDAR — REMAINING SYMPHONY CONCERTS 1940 — 1941 Thursday and Saturday evenings at 8:30

December 5-7 Bela Bartók, piano 12-14 Louis Krasner, violin 19-21 Jascha Heifetz, violin 26-28 The Cleveland Philharmonic Chorus Artur Rodzinski, music director Boris Goldovsky, conductor

January 2-4 Eugene List, piano 9-11 Orchestral Program 23-25 Joseph Szigeti, violin Orchestral Program February 20-22 Alexander Brailowsky, piano

March 6-8 Egon Petri, piano 13-15 Felix Eyle, violin

April 3-5 Gregor Piatigorsky, violoncello 10-12 Closing Program

"DESIGNED FOR THOSE WHO WOULD LIVE WELL" One - two - three room suites After the Symphony with or without cooking facilities CORAL LOUNGE BAR Fine liquors - Supper entertainment FENWAY HALL Euclid and East 107th — GArfield 5760

148 ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

First Violins Clarinets Josef Fuchs Daniel Bonade Concertmaster George Rowe Carl Kuhlmann Felix Eyle Second Concertmaster Bass Clarinet Paul Gershman Carl Kuhlmann Ben Silverberg Samuel Carmell Bassoons Albert Edelman Frank Ruggieri Homer Schmitt August Rickert Eugene Bergen Marcello Bucci Ernest Kardos Jac Gorodetzky Contrabassoon Bernard Goodman Artur Rodzinski Marcello Bucci Morris Morovitsky Samuel Salkin Conductor French Horns David Klinger Rudolph Puletz, Jr. Rudolph Ringwall Alexander Andru Associate Conductor Second Violins William Namen Emani Angelucci Hyman Schandler Erwin Miersch Principal Basses Edward Matyi Jacques Posell Trumpets Willis Reinhardt Principal Louis Davidson Joseph Koch Michael Lamagna Alois Hruby William Dosch Thomas Pivonka William Hruby Louis Berman Olin Trogdon Alfred Käufer Salvatore Fiore Hyman Goldin James Ceasar Theron McClure Trombones Erwin King Frank May Merritt Dittert Irving Fink Clarence Totten Warren Burkhart Vincent Greicius John Coffey Alfred Käufer Emil Sholle Harp Alice Chalifoux Tuba Adolph Moser Violas Flutes Tympani Tom Brennand Maurice Sharp Wolf Kalinovsky Principal Julius Baker David Schwartz Emil Pagano Percussion Frederick Funkhouser Piccolos Constant Omers Samuel Goldblum Frank Sholle Ben Selcer Emil Pagano David Klinger Milton Thomas Julius Baker LeRoy Collins Emil Sholle Fred Rosenberg Oboes Piano Godfrey Layefsky Philip Kirchner Leon Machan Joseph Senyak Ernest Serpentini Bert Gassman Celesta Violoncellos Jeanette Pearlstein English Horns Leonard Rose Organ Principal Bert Gassman Ernest Serpentini Vincent Percy Charles McBride Harry Fuchs E Flat Clarinet Librarians Nathan Chaikin Nathan Stutch George Rowe Constant Omers Robert Swenson William Dosch Isadore Gordon Channing Robbins Personnel Manager Baggage Master Frank Grant William Dosch George Higgins 149 150 THE WOMEN’S COMMITTEE of THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

OFFICERS Mrs. George P. Bickford, President Vice Presidents Mrs. Henry Hunt Clark Mrs. Frank H. Teagle Recording Secretary Treasurer Corresponding Secretary Mrs. Sterling Newell Mrs. James S. Abbott, II Mrs. Henry R. Hatch Honorary Vice Presidents Mrs. Frank Billings Mrs. Chester C. Bolton Mrs. Howard P. Eells Mrs. Charles G. Hickox Mrs. Prentiss Hughes TRUSTEES Mrs. James S. Abbott, II Mrs. Henry R. Hatch Mrs. Sterling Newell Mrs. George P. Bickford Mrs. Joseph M. Hayman Mrs. Victor B. Phillips Mrs. Charles E. Bodurtha Mrs. Frank Hovorka Mrs. Frank M. Roby Mrs. Henry T. Bourne Mrs. Walter B. Johnston Mrs. Charles H. Strong Mrs. Percy W. Brown Mrs. Frank E. Joseph Mrs. Frank E. Taplin Mrs. Henry Hunt Clark Mrs. Walter T. Kinder Mrs. Frank H. Teagle Mrs. Richard C. Findley Mrs. John S. Lucas Mrs. Herman Wolf SUBCOMMITTEES Children’s Concerts Mrs. Richard C. Findley, Chairman Mrs. Henry T. Bourne, Vice Chairman Mrs. Robert M. Clements Mrs. Carl A. Hamann Miss Lucy Ann Webb Mrs. Benjamin P. Gale Mrs. Rankin C. McCaskey Mrs. L. C. Wykoff Mrs. Frank K. Griesinger Mrs. Thomas E. Sauters Mrs. Edward H. Yost Mrs. Nathan E. Van Stone Membership Mrs. Frank M. Roby, Chairman Mrs. Charles E. Bodurtha Mrs. Frank E. Joseph Mrs. Frank E. Taplin Mrs. Henry T. Bourne Miss Phyllis Peckham Mrs. Clifton L. Wyman Music Memory and Appreciation Mrs. Walter B. Johnston, Chairman Miss Lillian L. Baldwin, Advisor Miss Alma Lorena Bake Mrs. Tell Berna Mrs. Louis S. Peirce Mrs. Cleon M. Bell Mrs. Clark Bole Mrs. Charles E. Scanlon Mrs. Robert L. Bender Miss Olive Gibson Mrs. Avery L. Sterner Mrs. Arthur W. Huning Program Interpretation Mrs. Henry Hunt Clark, Chairman Miss Lillian L. Baldwin Miss Celeste Beckwith Mrs. Joseph M. Hayman, Jr. Mrs. Edward S. Bassett Mrs. F. W. Eisele Mrs. Alfred R. Willard ■ Speakers’ Division Miss Celeste Beckwith, Chairman Miss Katherine M. Halle Mrs. Leon Machan Mrs. Frank E. Taplin Miss Phyllis Peckham Record Lending Library Mrs. Arthur W. Huning, Director Music for Young Children Mrs. William C. McCally, Chairman Miss Marie Martin, Director Mrs. Carl L. Breithaupt Mrs. William Chisholm, II Mrs. John S. Lucas Mrs. Leonard H. Bruce Mrs. G. Richard Hunter Mrs. Henry P. Rankin, Jr. Mrs. Alexander T. Bunts Mrs. Edward P. Judd Mrs. Thomas L. Sidlo Mrs. Alfred Kelley 151 THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA ARTUR RODZINSKI, CONDUCTOR

SEVENTH PROGRAM Thursday Evening, November 28, 1940 at Eight-thirty Saturday Evening, November 30, 1940 at Eight-thirty

Suite in B minor Bach-Mahler Overture: Grave — allegro Rondo Badinerie Air Gavotte I Gavotte II

Suite from the Ballet, “The Incredible Flutist” Piston Introduction — Dance of the Vendors — Entrance of the Customers —Tango of the Merchant’s Daughters— Arrival of the Circus — Circus March — The Flutist — Minuet — Spanish Waltz — Eight O’clock Strikes — Siciliano — Polka Finale

Rhapsodie Espagnole Ravel Prelude á la nuit Malagueña Habanera Feria

INTERMISSION

Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 Beethoven Allegro con brio Andante con moto (Allegro [Finale

The STEl NW A Y is the official piano of The Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra records exclusively for COL UMBIA

153 PROGRAM NOTES By ARTHUR LOESSER

Suite in B minor Johann Sebastian Bach Born March 21, 1685 in Eisenach Died July 28, 1750 in Leipzig Edited by Born July 7, 1860 in Kalischt, Bohemia; died May 18, 1911 in Vienna The orchestral Suite in B minor was, in all likelihood, composed during Bach’s stay in the town of Cothen, while he was filling the position of Capell- meister of the chamber music of Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Cöthen. In fact all of Bach’s instrumental music, except that for organ or clavier, dates from this six-year period. Thus the Suite, one of six of the same general pattern, is cognate and contemporaneous with the composer’s Brandenburg Con­ certos. It is scored for string instruments plus a single flute. The princely Cöthen orchestra comprised about eighteen players, and it is likely that the Suite was originally performed by a still smaller number. The Suite, like other compositions of that name, is a succession of more or less idealized dance forms, the whole preceded by a prelude or overture. Bourrée is originally the name of a rustic dance from central France. Badinerie is in a dance-like rhythm, but is not the name of any particular dance. The word means something like “playfulness,” almost “foolery.” MME. ELSA SCHIAPARELLI WILL LECTURE ON "COSTUME AS AN ART” Severance Hall, Saturday afternoon, November 30, at three Tickets 50 cents to $2.50 — Severance Hall and Halle Bros. Co. Benefit of The Women’s Committee of The Cleveland Orchestra

FLOWERS Ä $ Segelifgs Carnegie Avenue at East 90th Street gpp QbManhXtiBtttMte nf (I)ustr Comparative Arts Lecture GIOVANNI PERGOLESI by HERBERT ELWELL Friday morning, December 6, at 11:30

The Institute operates a TEACHERS PLACEMENT BUREAU for the benefit of its graduates Beryl Rubinstein, Director, 3411 Enclid Avenne, HEn. 4040

155 DR. RODZINSKI IN A,S GUEST conductor of the Chicago Opera Company on Thanksgiving night, Dr. Rodzinski presented ’ “Salome” with Rose Pauly in the title rôle. Cecil Smith, music critic of the Chicago Daily Tribune, wrote of the performance as follows : Thanks to Dr. Rodzinski’s staggering mastery of the score, to Miss Pauly’s exceptional self-command and equally exceptional operatic gifts, and to the high merit of the other principal artists, this revival of “Salome” was absolutely electric. The huge audience responded, after the final curtain, with one of the greatest ovations Chicago has seen and heard in a decade. And nobody whose memory reaches back to an earlier operatic era could deny that the excitement of great opera was re­ created in Chicago again Thursday night. Dr. Rodzinski has conducted many fine performances at Ravinia, but never one to match his “Salome.” To call his projection of the score inspirational is to belittle the wonderfully calculated certainty with which he re­ lated tempi, nuances, accents and orchestral colors to the drama which unfolded on the stage. In physical action, “Salome” is at times so static as to amount to little more than a costume cantata. Yet in these visually motionless passages Dr. Rodzinski created irresistible movement with the score. And when, as in Salome’s final colloquy with the head of Jokanaan, the stage action took on greater realism, the orchestra reinforced and pointed up the action all the more fully. The opera orchestra glowed with a tonal beauty it has not attained to for many years, and it was difficult to believe that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, or Mr. Rodzinski’s own Cleveland Orchestra, had not been secretly spirited into the pit.

Herman Devries wrote as follows in the Chicago Herald- American: Chicago has seen several performances of “Salome” in the past twenty-five years, but it remained for the great conductor and the equally great singer-actress to expose the real beauty of the score. . . . The Chicago Opera Orchestra fairly scintillated under the magic wand of a conductor who completely revolutionized the playing of the men until our opera orchestra became a symphonic body of highly expert virtuosos.

156 Suite from the Ballet, “The Incredible Flutist” Walter Piston Born January 20, 1894 in Rockland, Maine Now living in Belmont, Massachusetts First Performance in Cleveland Walter Piston wrote his score for the ballet, “The Incredible Flutist,” in collaboration with the American dancer, Hans Wiener, for performances by the Boston “Pops” Orchestra and Hans Wiener’s dancers at the “Pops” con­ certs in Symphony Hall, Boston, May 30 and 31, 1938. Arthur Fiedler con­ ducted; setting and costumes were by Marco Montedoro. The success of the work resulted in another pair of performances under the same auspices on May 29 and 31, 1939. The ballet has also been performed in Providence, Rhode Island, on November 22, 1938, and in Rochester, New York, on April 28, 1939, and April 26, 1940. Hans Wiener’s choreography was used for the Boston and Providence performances. In Rochester, Thelma Biracree invented her own. The Suite received its first public performances under Fritz Reiner in Pittsburgh, November 22 and 24, 1940. It is about half the length of the entire ballet, and includes the following episodes, in this order: Introduction (Lento). Siesta hour in the market place, entrance of the vendors. Dance of the vendors (Allegro moderate, 2-4). Entrance of the customers (short transition). Tango of the four daughters (Moderato, 5-8, espressivo). Arrival of the circus, and circus march. Solo of the Flutist (Lento, 3-4, flute solo). Minuet (short) — dance of the widow and the merchant.

MiMc SeJuMce. If distance prevents a personal call, we can assure you prompt, efficient service by mail in any desired MUSIC FOR— Operettas Harp Cantatas Piano Band and Orchestra Music Violin Choruses for Boys, Girls, Mixed Voices Records and Phonographs Rhythm Band Instruments Musical Instrument Accessories Open a Charge Account with LYON C& HEALY 1005 Huron Road Cleveland

157 Spanish waltz. Eight o’clock strikes. Siciliano (Andante, 6-8) — dance of the Flutist and the merchant’s daughter. Polka finale. The following summary of the action of the ballet appeared in the magazine, “Dance,” August, 1938: “The siesta is over. With a hearty yawn and a wide stretch the village shakes off its drowsiness. First to wake up, the apprentice opens the shop, and life begins its uneventful flow. The merchant’s daughters demonstrate their father’s wares to the shoppers. The busybody and the crank have their argument. But what is this? A march is heard! The band, the circus band, marches in, followed by the people of the circus. They’re all here: the barker, the jugglers, the snake dancer, the monkey trainer with her monkeys, the crystal gazer, and, of course, the main attraction, the Flutist. The Flutist is a remarkable fellow, an incredible fellow. He not only charms snakes; he also charms, believe it or not, the snake dancer. He is so romantic, the Incredible Flutist, and perhaps just a bit promiscuous, for he also charms the merchant’s daughter, and they meet at eight o’clock that very evening. “When the clock strikes eight, young couples are all over the place, and love is in the air. Even the prudish, rich widow cannot resist the charged atmosphere and grants the merchant that kiss he’s been begging for well nigh two years. But they don’t fare so well. Their sustained embrace is discovered, and the poor rich widow faints right into the arms of her bewhiskered boy friend. But the Incredible Flutist hies to the rescue. A little dancing, a little fluting, and the widow comes out of her swoon, none the worse for wear. And then — the band strikes up; the spell is broken; the circus, Incredible Flutist and all, leaves the village.”

PIANIST-TEACHER CARL RIEMENSCHNEIDER STUDIO: 718 The Arcade

THE CLEVELAND TRANSFER COMPANY Cleveland’s Oldest Trucking Company Baggage and Theatrical Specialists 1808 East 22nd Street PRospect 7825

WADE PARK MANOR

Z7« ideal fax. Social tyattcUotii. LUNCHEONS * BANQUETS DINNER DANCES

Free Parking in The Manor Garage to "I CDining Room or Cocktail Lounge Patrons J EAST 107th AT PARK LANE

159 Rhapsodie Espagnole Maurice Ravel Born March 7, 1875 in Ciboure, Basses-Pyrénées Died December 28, 1937 in Paris Ravel’s fondness for Spanish themes and rhythms is not, in his case, an evocation of the pathos of distance, nor a hankering for the exotic. It is, with him, an authentically native form of expression. He was born in the village of Ciboure,' in the Basses-Pyrénées, literally within a stone’s throw of Spain. His mother was a Basque who had lived in Spain. He drank in Spanish culture from his infancy. Ravel’s Spanishly-flavored works, apart from Rhapsodie Espagnole, include the 11 Alborada del Gracioso" and “Pavane pour une Infante Def unte," for piano; his opera, “U.Heure Espagnole"; not to speak of the famous “Bolero." The four subdivisions of the rhapsody need little elucidation. Malagueña is the name of a dance from the vicinity of Malaga. Feria means a fair. In the rhythm of a Habanera almost every measure consists of an alternation of a group of three notes, with one of two notes. The virile humor of the Spanish Rhapsody contrasts interestingly with the lighter and more fanciful accents of Debussy’s “Iberia."

During intermission a visit may be made to the Green Room, off the west side of the Main Floor, where there are displayed exhibits of books, prints, and scores relating to the music played by The Orchestra, together with timely photographs by Geoffrey Landesman.

PROGRAM INTERPRETATION LECTURE Monday, December 2 at 2:30 p. m., Clifton Club, Lake wood Mr. Arthur Loesser will be the Lecturer Program interpretation lectures are sponsored by the Women’s Committee of The Cleveland Orchestra, membership in which is open to all upon payment of annual dues of one dollar.

BALDWIN-WALLACE CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC Faculty of Artist Teachers FOUR YEAR COURSES Ninth Annual Baldwin-Wallace Berea, Ohio Leading to B.M. and B.S.M. Degrees Bach Festival, June6 and 7,1941 For catalog or information, address Albert Riemenschneideb, Director

SERGE NADEJDIN’S Instruction by SERGE NADEJDIN Russian Ballet * Art Doctor For^.^orM Theatres 1220 Huron Road Tel. CHerry 4588,714 Carnegie Hall CARMELA CAFARELLI s%pperr^coONcERvhte1rhpe^st Former Harpist with Cleveland Orchestra Studio: 1846 Taylor Road PO. 2919

The D. O. Summers Company CLEANERS . DYERS • FURRIERS • LAUNDERERS 6220 Carnegie Ave. HEnderson 7220

161 Entr’ Acte WALTER PISTON: AMERICAN COMPOSER By George Henry Lovett Smith From the Magazine of Art, February, 1940 The State of Maine has given birth to many poets and authors, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Edwin Arlington Robinson among the rest; but composers have sprung only rarely from her parent soil. John Knowles Paine, who founded the Division of Music at Harvard University, comes to mind as a composer of some merit. But Walter Piston, perhaps her most distinguished master of the tonal art, is the exception rather than the rule, because his grandfather came to Rockland by way of the Mediterranean Sea and the Straits of Gibraltar, shortening his name from the tell-tale Pistone — a Latin epithet that probably gave rise to Yankee disfavor, for the sons of Aeneas were often held in disdain by the sons of the northern sea. The arrival of the Pistones in America is shrouded in mystery. Legend is obliging and will sum­ mon up at will a sea captain cast away on the shores of Penobscot Bay or a modest sailor driven far off the Newfoundland Banks by a relentless east wind and obliged to desert his smack for the land of freedom and the home of bravery. Whatever the condition of the arrival, a fundamentally adventurous spirit cannot be denied this voyager who settled down in Rockland and mar­ ried a native daughter of his new fatherland, thus establishing a precedent for his American descendants. His grandson, Walter Hammer Piston, Jr., was born in Rockland on January 20, 1894, and lived there until his eleventh year. Music was neither one of his childhood pleasures nor bugaboos; there was no piano in the house and no practicing or study of other instruments. Indeed it was not until 1911 that he took any serious interest in music. In that year, at the age of eighteen, while a student at the Mechanic Arts High School in Boston, he began the study of the violin. Music occupied an increasingly im­ portant place in his career from that time on, for he supported himself princi­ pally by his solo and concerted efforts in dance halls, restaurants and theatres — playing the piano,' in which he was self-taught, as well as the violin. During the summer of 1912 he worked as draftsman for the Boston Elevated Railway. To his lasting glory let it be stated that Walter Piston had a part, however slight, in the development of the “articulated” car, a land­ mark in the growth of trolley engineering. As the story goes, the Boston Elevated was in need of modern equipment to replace its antiquated one- truck cars, so a way was found to combine two cars with what was familiarly called a “kitchen” in the middle where the conductor could officiate, gathering his fares and calling out the names of the stops. On these novel demons of the depths of the earth, its surface and the sky, the future composer labored until he enrolled in the Massachusetts Normal Art School where he studied with Joseph De Camp, Ernest Major and other men of distinction in this tem­ porarily chosen field. Upon his graduation in 1916 he renewed his study of the violin with the elevated intention of playing in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. His teachers, Fiumara, Winternitz, and the veteran assistant concert master of the Orches­ tra — Jules Theodorowicz — were a living inspiration to the young man and testimony of the distinction and security afforded by an opulent desk in such a first-class orchestra as the Boston Symphony. Continuation of these studies and that of piano with Harris Shaw were suddenly disturbed by the entry of the United States into the last war. This young man from Maine had always had a natural affection for the sea, and he tried at once to enter the navy as a 163 bandsman. When he enlisted, however, he w’as chagrined to find that he was required to mention the name of the band instrument that he proposed to play. He had never played the saxophone, but, thinking it a reasonable pos­ sibility, he listed it on his application blank and was immediately accepted. On the same day he bought a saxophone and borrowed an instruction book on the recondite problem of saxophone technique from the Boston Public Library. He was admitted to the aeronautics division then stationed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology across the Charles River in Cambridge, where he played in the band and the orchestra, occasionally conducting the former. After the novelty had worn off and the shattering impact of four ill- played and consistently ill-tuned horns had nearly deafened him, he tried to make a polite exit by means of transfer to the ensign school. His musicianship was so valuable to the band, however, that this attempt failed and he re­ mained a “second class musician” until his discharge at the end of the war. The rating of “second class musician” was, according to Mr. Piston, “purely technical.” All this time he had been continuing his study of the violin, and in 1919 he was given an opportunity of realizing his ambition by an event of far- reaching consequences for the city of Boston — the strike of the members of its famous orchestra then under the conductorship of Pierre Monteux. Numerous vacancies had to be filled at once, and Piston was one of the logical prospects. But at this critical moment the innate independence of his State of Maine ancestry counseled him with a still but certain voice that his destiny lay in pursuing his own course and not in obeying the dictates of other musicians — capable, but not necessarily more capable than himself. This was the most important decision in Piston’s career up to this time. Its importance cannot be underestimated, for it gave him both a definite course to follow and confidence in his ability to choose the right one. From this twenty-fifth year onward there is no question of the direction of his life and work. At once he enrolled as a special student in the Division of Music at Harvard University with the intention of studying counterpoint. Dr. Archibald T. Davison noted his ability and the wisdom of his choice, and prevailed upon him to pursue his theoretical studies at Harvard. This was in 1919. From 1920 to 1924 Piston continued his studies at the University as a regular under­ graduate. He must, however, have been exceedingly active, for besides con­ ducting the Pierian Sodality, Harvard’s University Orchestra, he assisted the professors in several courses and actually took charge of the classes in com­ position, advanced harmony and orchestration when the instructors were ill. Upon his graduation in 1924 as an A. B. summa cum laude in music and a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, he received a John Knowles Paine Traveling Fellowship which took him to Paris for two years. It was his expressed determination not to study with Nadia Boulanger. But after looking around for three months and being refused admission to the Conservatoire on the ground that he was too old, he consented to work with Mademoiselle Boulanger as “the best prospect.” Like her first American pupil, Aaron Copland, he had to overcome the belief that only men — and composers — can be adequate teachers of musical theory and composition. But once he had become infected with her persuasive enthusiasm a,nd had been fully impressed with her lightning facility for reading and evaluating any complicated new score, he saw that she belonged to that ideal type of teacher that is so difficult to find — that rare kind that knows how to inspire and encourage the student’s efforts while directing them. Her influence far out­ weighed that of any teacher he studied with in Paris. Back in Boston in 1926, Piston became an instructor at Harvard. His 164 Piano Sonata and Three Pieces for Flute, Clarinet and Bassoon had been per­ formed in Paris that year, and early in 1928 Dr. Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra introduced his Symphonic Piece, following it two years later with the Suite for Orchestra which the composer conducted at the invitation of Dr. Koussevitzky. From 1926 his career has been remarkable not in spectacular outward events but in the steady progress of his thought in the two fields of composi­ tion and theory — the study of the technique of composing. He has been twice elevated by the University: first to the rank of assistant professor, and only recently to that of associate professor, which is a permanent appoint­ ment. In 1935 he received both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a commission for a trio for violin, ’cello and piano from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation. Having recently been appointed an assistant professor, he ap­ plied for the newly instituted grant of a half year’s “presidential leave” made available to assistant professors on their first appointment.- Harvard then established a precedent by making this grant not to a scholar for research but to a composer for composition. This fortunate combination of events pro­ duced the Trio and a well sketched plan of the Symphony, completed in 1937. As a composer he has used the musical material so richly supplied him by a resourceful imagination to create scores of beauty and wit. He has never been content with experiment for its own sake, or with attempts to find new harmonies or rhythms as ends in themselves. He has sought for himself a con­ temporary idiom based on the dissonant counterpoint of twentieth-century common practice, and he has freely expressed his ideas in terms of it. His music has breadth, tenuousness, complexity and simplicity. It shows, also, a notable melodic gift which has reached considerable heights in such works as the Concerto for Orchestra and particularly “The Incredible Flutist.” His style has been called classical; it is on the dry side, but not excessively so; it is concise, witty, economical. In the string quartettes and the Symphony it has reached great powers of emotion and expression. Nicolas Slonimsky has called Piston “a builder of the future academic style.” Certainly he believes that there is a pure, ever-flowing stream of abstract international music, that this stream will absorb the important con­ tributions of the various “movements” that come and go. It is along this stream that Piston moves. An American composer? What else could this man from Maine be? He believes that it is futile to be preoccupied with so weighty a responsibility. An American school will be built by those men, living in America, knowing it and partaking of it, who are true to themselves. It will be built by men who are seeking ever to find what they wish to say and how they wish to say it. In a country so vast as the United States, there must be much music composed, many sections represented, before a national school can be clearly defined. Mr. Piston has asked, “Is the Dust Bowl more American than, say, a comer in the Boston Athenaeum? Would not a Vermont village furnish as American a background for a composition as the Great Plains? The self- conscious striving for nationalism gets in the way of the establishment of a strong American school of composition and even of significant individual ex­ pression. If the composers will increasingly strive to perfect themselves in the art of music and will follow only those paths of expression which seem to them the true way, the matter of a national school will take care of itself. And who can predict the time of its coming? Some say it is already here. Some say it has been here since the turn of the century. Others feel that it will take time to show the true significance of the enormous development of these recent years. But the composer cannot afford the wild-goose chase of trying to be more American than he is.” 165 THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA ARTUR RODZINSKI, CONDUCTOR

EIGHTH PROGRAM Thursday Evening, December 5, 1940 at Eight-thirty Saturday Evening, December 7, 1940 at Eight-thirty

BELA BARTOK piano

Overture to “Fidelio” Beethoven

Symphony No. 4, “Italian,” in A major, Mendelssohn Op. 90 Allegro vivace Andante con moto Con moto moderate Saltarello

INTERMISSION

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 Bartók Allegro Adagio — presto — adagio Allegro molto

Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Richard Strauss After the Oldfashioned Roguish Manner, in Rondo Form, Op. 28

RUDOLPH RINGWALL will discuss the music to be heard at these concerts on Thursday, December 5, from 3:15 to 3:30 p.m. over STA TION WGAR in Cleveland

DrQTDVrn CT ATC Thursdayevenings,$1.00, $1.25, $1.50, $2.00 and $2.50 IULULIiVLIJ JEill J Saturday evenings, .50, $1.00, $1.25, $1.75 and $2.00 50 cent seats Saturday, 7:30 p. m., Severance Hall only

166 Symphony No. 5, C minor, Op. 67 Ludwig van Beethoven Born December 16, 1770 in Bonn Died March 26, 1827 in Vienna It was Beethoven’s merit that he was able to make music transmit emotional current at a higher voltage than any composer before him. He transformed. .---- the_— symphonyj.^xxwxxj xx^xxxfrom a,a ^.xco.oxxxg,pleasing, coherent, objectively satisfy­ ing tonal design, into a throbbing human drama. He accomplished this, partially,* - ' by\ a.