Ara&^mg of MnBxt • Irnnklyn >> BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCnESTRS FOUNDED [N 1881 DY HENRY L. HICGINSON A SIXTIETH SEASON 1940-1941 Friday Evening, November 22 Under the auspices of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences and the Philharmonic Soqety of Brooklyn Boston Symphony Orchestra [Sixtieth Season, 1940-1941] SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, Conductor Personnel Violins BURGIN, R. ELCUS, G. LAUGA, N. KRIPS, A. RESNIKOFF, V. Concert-master R. GUNDERSEN, KASSMAN, N. CHERKASSKY, P. LEIBOVia, J. THEODOROWICZ, J. HANSEN, E. MARIOTTI, V. FEDOROVSKY, P. TAPLEY, R. EISLER, D. PINFIELD, C. BEALE, M. SAUVLET, H. KNUDSON, C. ZUNG, M. LEVEEN, P. GORODETZKY, L. MAYER, P. DIAMOND, S. del sordo, r. FIEDLER, B. BRYANT, M. STONESTREET, L. messina, s. DICKSON, H. MURRAY, J. ERKELENS, H. seiniger> s. DUBBS, H. Violas LEFRANC, J. FOUREL, G. van wynbergen, c. GROVER, H. CAUHAPE, J. ARTIERES, L. bernard, a. WERNER, H. LEHNER, E. KORNSAND, E. GERHARDT, S. HUMPHREY, G. Violoncellos BEDETTI, J. LANGENDOEN, J. droeghmans, h. STOCKBRIDGE, C. FABRIZIO, E. ZICHERA, A. CHARDON, Y. ZEISE, K. MARJOLLET, L. zimbler, j. Basses MOLEUX, G. JUHT, L. GREENBERG, H. GIRARD, H. barwicki, j. dufresne, g. frankel, i. PAGE, W. PROSE, P. Flutes Oboes Clarinets Bassoons laurent, g. GILLET, F. polatschek, v. ALLARD, R. pappoutsakis, j. DEVERGIE, J. valerio, m. panenka, e. KAPLAN, P. lukatsky, j. cardillo, p. LAUS, A. Piccolo English Horn Bass Clarinet Contra-Bassoon MADSEN, G. SPEYER, L. MAZZEO, R. FILLER, B. Horns Horns Trumpets Trombones valkenier, w. SINGER, J. MAGER, G. raichman, j. macdonald, w. LANNOYE, M LAFOSSE, M. hansotte, l. VOISIN, R. L. lilleback, w. SINGER, J. SHAPIRO, H. GEBHARDT, W. KEANEY, P. VOISIN, R. SMITH, V. TUBA • Harps Timpani Percussion ADAM, E. zighera, b, SZULC, R. sternburg, s. caughey, e. polster, m. WHITE, L. ARCIERI, E. Librarian rogers, l. j. Arahrmg of Huatr • Ironklyn SIXTIETH SEASON, 1940-1941 Boston Symphony Orchestra SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, Conductor Richard Burgin, Assistant Conductor Concert Bulletin of the First Concert FRIDAY EVENING, November 22 with historical and descriptive notes by John N. Burk The officers and TRUSTEES OF the BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Inc. Ernest B. Dane . President Henry B. Sawyer Vice-President Ernest B. Dane . Treasurer Henry B. Cabot M. A. De Wolfe Howe Ernest B. Dane Roger I. Lee Reginald C. Foster Richard C. Paine Alvan T. Fuller Henry B. Sawyer Jerome D. Greene Edward A. Taft N. Penrose Hallowell Bentley W. Warren G. E. Judd, Manager C. W. Spalding, Assistant Manager [1] e^TT THIS the opening concert in Brooklyn of the Sixtieth Season of the Boston Symphony Orches- tra, we wish to pay our tribute to Major Henry Lee Higginson, whose vision laid the foundation of one of the greatest orchestras in the world today. From a group of 60 players in 1881 the Orchestra has increased to 107 members; the season of 20 weeks with 20 concerts, to a season of 46 weeks with over 200 concerts; the total annual attendance from 83,000 to 750,000. These figures, impressive in themselves, testify to the fact that from the beginning the Boston Symphony Orchestra, through its variety of programs and con- certs, and in the range of its prices, has served every group, — rich and poor, young and old. Its public has always been wider than Boston. In a sense it may be regarded as a New England institution. But it is also in a real sense a national institution. This is a distinguished record of success which the city of Brooklyn has been privileged to share for fifty-five years. In the beginning and for 37 years, the heavy financial responsibility of the Orchestra was assumed by Major Higginson alone. With the incor- poration of the Orchestra in 1918 ended the long chapter of the Orchestra as the creation of an indi- vidual and began the new emphasis on the Orchestra as an institution belonging to the public. Today the Society of Friends helps the Trustees to meet the annual deficit by contributions, large and small, and thus make possible the continuance of the Orchestra. Let us seize upon this Sixtieth Season as an oppor- tunity to increase the Brooklyn membership in the Society of Friends to a number truly representative of your city and of your appreciation of what the Orchestra has brought to you these many years. Cheques drawn to Boston Symphony Orchestra and mailed to the Treasurer at 6 Beacon Street, Boston, constitute enrollment without further formality and give to each and all a sense of ownership in this great Orchestra. Society of Friends of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Reginald C. Foster, Chairman I s J Ara&^mg nf MnBxt • Srnoklgtt Boston Symphony Orchestra SIXTIETH SEASON, 1940-1941 SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, Conductor FIRST CONCERT FRIDAY EVENING, November 22 Programme Vaughan Williams .A London Symphony I. Lento; Allegro risoluto II. Lento III. Scherzo (Nocturne): Allegro vivace IV. Andante con moto; Maestoso alia marcia Allegro; Maestoso alia marcia Epilogue: Andante sostenuto INTERMISSION Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 I. Allegro con brio II. Andante con moto III. Allegro: Trio IV. Allegnro [3] "A LONDON SYMPHONY" By Ralph Vaughan Williams Born at Down Ampney between Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, England, on October 12, 1872 Vaughan Williams composed "A London Symphony" in the years 1912 and 1913 The first performance of the original version was given at an F. B. Ellis con cert in Queens Hall, London, March 27, 1914, Geoffrey Toye, conductor. The com- poser later revised his score, which required almost a full hour to perform, and the revision was first played under the direction of Adrian Boult. A second revi- sion was made in 1920 when the score was published. The score under revision was considerably shortened, particularly in the Finale. The Symphony was per- formed under the direction of Albert Coates at a concert of the British Music Society in Queen's Hall, May 4, 1920. Mr. Coates also was the conductor who made the Symphony heard in America at a concert of the New York Symphony Society, December 30, 1920. The first performance by the Boston Symphony Or- chestra took place February 18, 1921, Pierre Monteux conducting. There was a third revision after the publication of the score with further con- densations which appear in the small score subsequently published. This revision is being followed in the present performances. The Symphony is scored for three flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons and contra-bassoon, four horns, two trumpets, two cornets-a-piston, three trombones and tuba, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, jingles, tam-tam, glockenspiel, two harps, and strings. The score was published with a dedication "To the Memory of George Butter- worth." George S. K. Butterworth, a composer of orchestral pieces and song;> was killed in action in France, August 5, 1916, at the age of thirty-six. THE composer made this statement in the programme of the London performance of 1920: "The title, *A London Symphony,' may suggest to some hearers a descriptive piece, but this is not the intention of the composer. A better title would perhaps be, 'Symphony by a Londoner,' that is to say, the life of London (including possibly its various sights and sounds) has suggested to the composer an attempt at musical expres- sion; but it would be no help to the hearer to describe these in words. The music is intended to be self-impressive, and must stand or fall as 'absolute' music. Therefore, if listeners recognize suggestions of such things as the 'Westminster Chimes,' or the 'Lavender Cry' they are asked to consider these as accidents, not essentials of the music." Mr. Vaughan Williams has been even more laconic about his other symphonies. The early "Sea" Symphony was an exception, because it contained its own descriptive text. But of bucolic episodes in the "Pastoral" Symphony he gave no hints whatever, and his latest is frankly "absolute." When Albert Coates introduced the London Sym- phony in New York he gave out in the printed bulletins of the Sym- phony Society a vivid word picture. The description has been gen- erally quoted since, and taken as having emanated at least in some part from the composer. As spokesman, Mr. Coates had become de- cidedly specific. It was natural to assume some sort of an under- standing "between friends." [4] One recalls controversies in Germany, protests of composers such as Mahler or Strauss, who were wary of sanctioning elaborate eluci- dations as official, and whose friends sometimes made known more than they were intended to. "Programmistic" composers have prob- ably felt that word pictures can be a doubtful aid. If cleverly expressed, they have been known to exceed the function of guide, to draw public and critical attention from music to literature. When Vaughan Williams spoke of his score as "a symphony by a Londoner," he implied clearly enough that it was personal music, music simply of Vaughan Williams which somehow drew into its wake certain everyday sights and sounds. Guiding words could not probe its essen- tial nature. The composer knew, probably, that Londoners would, to the extent of their sympathy with him as an artist, feel the music as he did. Those of other cities and nations would respond less surely to the external earmarks. The following description of "A London Symphony" was made by Percy A. Scholes: I. The First Movement opens with an Introduction of a very quiet character, the chief theme of which recurs at the end of the last movement. There is also here a hint of the Westminster Chimes. The opening theme of the First Movement proper is rapid, resolute, loud, heavy, chromatic.