SYMPHONY HALL, BOSTON HUNTINGTON AND MASSACHUSETTS AVENUES Telephone, Commonwealth 1492 FIFTY—NINTH SEASON, 1939-194o CONCERT BULLETIN OF THE Boston Symphony Orchestra SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, Conductor RICHARD BURGIN, Assistant Conductor with historical and descriptive notes by JOHN N. BURK COPYRIGHT, 1939, BY BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Inc. 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 ALVAN T. FULLER RICHARD C. PAINE JEROME D. GREENE HENRY B. SAWYER N. PENROSE HALT OWELL EDWARD A. TAFT BENTLEY W. WARREN G. E. JUDD, Manager C. W. SPALDING, Assistant Manager ( 289 ) Complete FIDUCIARY SERVICE /^INDIVIDUALS The fiduciary services of Old Colony Trust Company available to individuals are many and varied. We cite some of the fiduciary capacities in which we act. Executor and Administrator We settle estates as Executor and Administrator. Trustee We act as Trustee under wills and under voluntary or living trusts. Agent We act as Agent for those who wish to be relieved of the care of their investments. The officers of Old Colony Trust Company are always glad to discuss estate and property matters with you and point out if and where our services are applicable. Old Colony Trust Company 17 COURT STREET, BOSTON Member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ^Allied w/'MThe First National Bank ^Boston [ 290] ,1 FIFTY-NINTH SEASON - NINETEEN HUNDRED THIRTY-NINE AND FORTY Seventh Programme FRIDAY AFTERNOON, December i, at 2:30 o'clock SATURDAY EVENING, December 2, at 8:15 o'clock IGOR STRAVINSKY Conducting Stravinsky "Jeu de Cartes" (Card Game, Ballet in Three Deals) (First performances at these concerts) Stravinsky Capriccio for Orchestra with Piano Solo I. Presto II. Andante rapsodico III. Allegro capriccioso, ma tempo giusto (Played without pause) Stravinsky Suite from the Ballet "Petrouchka" The Juggler — Russian Dance — Petrouchka — Grand Carnival — Nurses' Dance — The Bear and the Peasant playing a Hand Organ — The Merchant and the Gypsies — The Dance of the Coachmen and Grooms — The Masqueraders INTERMISSION Stravinsky "Symphonie de Psaumes," for Orchestra with Chorus I. Psalm XXXVIII (Verses 13 and 14) II. Psalm XXXIX (Verses 2, 3 and 4) III. Psalm CL (Entire) CECILIA SOCIETY CHORUS, Arthur Fiedler, Conductor SOLOIST JESUS MARIA SANROMA STEINWAY piano This programme will end about 4:30 on Friday Afternoon, 10:15 o'clock on Saturday Evening [ 291 ] ROUND TRIP... jDa^zmznt to tkz ^ui ooz and uaarz . in FOUR MINUTES! See our ten electric stairways that provide a round trip, magic carpet style ... an intra -mural Rapid Transit System of our own with stop-overs where you wish, with continuous service up OR down, from the opening of our doors to the closing thereof, daily! Come in and ride this speed-way to shopping in our Annex building! TEN new electric stairways for your convenience! [ 292] IGOR STRAVINSKY The life of Stravinsky has been told in book form by Boris Schloezer (1929), and by Andre Schaeffner (1931). These careful records, amplified by a discussion of the composer's works and style, were evidently written in close touch with their subject. Stravinsky's autobiography, published in French in 1935, and in English translation in 1936, substantiates the earlier books and benefits by the more direct revelation of Stravinsky's personality. Where the writings of his friends attempted to analyze and classify, the composer himself has spoken freely of his particular aims, his opinions, and his artistic beliefs. The following sketch draws upon these books, but mostly upon the autobiography. Stravinsky was born at Oranienbaum, a small coast resort near St. Petersburg, and opposite Kronstadt, on the 17th of June, 1882. This was June 5 by the Russian calendar, whereby the composer was given his name from his patron saint, Igor. He was the third child of Feodor Stravinsky, who was the principal bass singer of the Imperial Opera in St. Petersburg. There was a Polish strain in the family on the father's side, a Ukrainian strain on the mother's. Feodor was an out- standing Mephistopheles in the operas of Gounod and of Boi'to, and customarily took the bass parts in "Russian and Ludmilla," "Boris Godounov," or "Prince Igor." He was a cultured and well-read artist, possessing a large library. The son, until his adolescent years, did not benefit by the experience of his father's activities. When at length FEATURING AMERICAN GOMPOSERS-II Selected Piano Solos Net ERNEST HARRY ADAMS, Concert Impromptu in D-liat CO EDWARD BALLANTINE, Variations on "Mary Had a Little Lamb." in the styles of ten composers 1.00 MARION BAUER, Op. 15. Six Preludes. 75 MRS. H. H. A. BEACH, Op. 15, No. 4. Fireflies. 00 Op. 60. Variations on Balkan Themes 1.50 Op. 130. Out of the Depths (Psalm 130) 50 G. W. CHADWICK, Op. 7, No. 3. Scherzino 00 JULIUS CHALOFF, Prelude in E-flat GO CHARLES DENNeE, Op. 43. Modern Etudes in Waltz Form... 1.25 ARTHUR FOOTE, Impromptu in G minor 50 Op. 37, No. 1. Prelude-Etude for the right hand alone 50 Prelude-Etude for the left hand alone 50 FfiLIX FOX, Fantaisie Lyrique 50 HENRY HADLEY, Op. 22, No. 3. Scherzino 45 EDWARD MacDOWELL, Op. 51. Woodland Sketches 1.25 Op. 55. Sea Pieces 1 .2.") Op. Gl. Fireside Tales 1.25 Op. 62. New England Idyls 1.2.', LEE PATTISON, Op. 4. Told in the Hills. Suite 1.00 THE ARTHUR P. SCHMIDT CO., 120 Boylston St. [293 ] , he was taken to hear "Russian" and "A Life for the Tsar," he was immensely impressed. He had studied piano from the age of nine, and had already seized upon Glinka's scores in the father's library. A per- formance of Tchaikovsky's "Pathetic" Symphony shortly after the composer's death (the young man had had a passing glimpse of the composer in the lobby at the Opera) made an indelible impression upon his imagination. Stravinsky's adoration of Tchaikovsky's music has been lifelong, and always withstood his early training under the aegis of the nationalist "five." Stravinsky dutifully went through school and prepared, according to the wish of his father, for a career in jurisprudence. He did not take part in the school life, nor did he later at the law college find his real interests and his real development. He was avid for the ex- perience of concert and opera which St. Petersburg afforded, and in his most impressionable years was drawn to the musical efforts and discussions of a group of intellectuals and quasi-"liberals" who talked of the "rights of man," opposition to governmental tyranny, and a scientific materialism. Musically speaking, this postulated "realistic expression" and cultivated "popular and nationalistic tendencies and admiration for folk-lore." The works of Moussorgsky met the ideal of this circle, and it is interesting to note that when Stravinsky had We cordially invite you to make use of the facilities afforded by our Sample Room with its large and unique collection of color cards and samples of decorative finishes. EDWARD K. PERRY CO., 655 Beacon St PAINTING AND DECORATIVE FINISHES [ 294] I t has come to my attention that there are many patrons of our Concerts who do not realize that contributions of as little as $5 and $10 are welcomed by the Society of Friends of the Orchestra. We have today about 400 contributors in each of these groups. We would like to have several thousand more for it would not only be an encouraging evidence of the wide range of the Orchestra's well-wishers but also a wel- come assurance to our larger contributors that their generosity is greatly valued and appre- ciated. The release which music gives from the nervous tension of this age in which we live, is a very real social service. Last year more than 200,000 individuals sought something which the Boston Symphony Orchestra alone could apparently give them. It is our aim to continue to render this service by bringing the best in orchestral music within the reach of the greatest possible number of individuals, although it costs us on the average $1,000 more for each concert than is received in revenues. It is the Friends who, in the final analysis, make this service possible. Contributions sent to the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Treasurer's office, 6 Beacon Street, Boston, will constitute your enrollment as a Friend. Reginald C. Foster, Chairman, Friends of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. [295] submitted to and survived the doctrines of the nationalist cult at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Moussorgsky long remained for him the one composer among them whose aims had been congenial to his own. Meeting as a fellow student at Heidelberg the son of Rimsky- Korsakov, he obtained an interview with the famous head of the Petersburg Conservatory in the hope of encouragement toward a mu- sical career. The mildly austere professor was unexcited by his early attempts at composition, but advised him to develop his musical talents. He wisely warned him to do this by individual instruction, rather than by subjection to the doctrinaire routine of the Conserva- tory classes. (The amateur Stravinsky had studied the textbooks of harmony with impatience and rejection, the accepted rules of counter- point with exceeding interest and absorption.) At the Conservatory, Stravinsky learned to admire the uncanny skill of Glazounov in the handling of the symphonic form. The orchestral color of Wagner from which Rimsky-Korsakov had so largely derived was also a model. Rimsky-Korsakov took the young man in hand for instruction in in- strumentation.