Two Berkeley Professors: Arthur Bliss and Albert Elkus

N. WILLIAM SNEDDEN - ARTICLE - Two Berkeley Professors: Arthur Bliss and Albert Elkus N. William Snedden Independent 1. The Early Years in California: 1923-25 Introduction Arthur Bliss’s first visit to the USA as a young man of 31 took place in April 1923, accompanying his American father Francis, step-mother Ethel, and their children Enid, Cynthia, and Patrick. They sailed from Southampton to New York on the SS Aquitania; by coincidence Gustav Holst was also on board. Francis, aged 75, wanted to return to the place of his birth before re-settling with Ethel on the Pacific coast in Santa Barbara.1 For many years Francis had directed the Anglo-American Oil Company of John D. Rockefeller in London. Upon arrival in America the Bliss family stayed in Manhattan with Francis’s cousin Lorenzo Daniels, a wealthy merchant.2 From 1923 till 1931 Arthur journeyed to the USA on alternate years (see Table 1.1), staying with his father at 15 School House Road ‘Paradero’ in Montecito, Santa Barbara. Situated close by was ‘Casa Dorinda’, the famous 80-roomed mansion estate of William Henry Bliss (no relation), completed in 1919 and named after William’s wife Anna Dorinda Bliss (née Blaksley). The likes of Paderewski, Heifetz and Mischa Elman gave recitals there, including Arthur and the tenor Lawrence Strauss in a performance for Anna Bliss in October 1924. Francis was an avid and sophisticated art collector (as was Arthur), acquiring works by Manet and Zorn. He also held a large collection of etchings by the French painter Alphonse Legros (1837-1911) and by the ‘cowpuncher artist’ John Edward Borein (1872-1945).3 In common with H. G. Wells, Francis appreciated the British 1 TWO BERKELEY PROFESSORS: ARTHUR BLISS AND ALBERT ELKUS watercolourist Frank Morley Fletcher (1866-1949) who was director of the Santa Barbara School of the Arts from 1924 till 1930. Table 1: Ship passenger records for Sir Arthur Bliss 1923-1941 Sources: <Ancestry.co.uk> & <libertyellisfoundation.org> From To Ship Arrival Particulars Two years of travel between New York, Boston, Philadelphia, San 27 Apr Francisco, and Santa Barbara; Southampton New York Aquitania 1923 married Trudy Hoffmann on 1 1 June 1925 27 Jun New York Southampton Orbita Married couple return to England 1925 Three months, initially at Lake Mohonk (NY), moving on to Santa 30 May Barbara presenting Barbara Liverpool New York Cedric 1927 (daughter) to her grandfather, 2 Francis 27 Aug New York Plymouth Carmania Bliss family return to England 1927 4 Aug Liverpool New York Adriatic One month at Lake Mohonk (NY) 1929 3 9 Sep New York Liverpool Albertic Bliss family return to England 1929 4 Aug Southampton New York Olympic Two months in Santa Barbara 4 1931 9 Oct New York Southampton Majestic Bliss family return to England 1931 Three months initially, later extended to two years due to onset of WW II. Travels between 4 Jun Southampton New York Georgic New York, Stockbridge, 1939 Moosehead Lake ME, Boston, 5 Chicago, and Berkeley Bliss returns to England alone, via Toronto and Montreal, taking Bristol 30 Jun Québec Bayano up his appointment as Director of Avonmouth 1941 Overseas Music at BBC 2 N. WILLIAM SNEDDEN Bliss’s name appeared in the press shortly before his arrival in America, with The New York Clipper reporting he had agreed to join the board of the newly formed League of Composers.4 The paper also announced a series of concerts for the 1923-24 season devoted to works from various nations to be given by the League at the Klaw Theatre in mid-town New York. Bliss soon found himself in quite an awkward position as guest at the welcome reception organised by the League where he learned members of the rival International Composers’ Guild (ICG) had regarded him as having joined the ranks of the ‘enemy’.5 Apart from this, the reception party given at the MacDowell Club of New York City was a very pleasant affair, with the young and wealthy present dancing to a set of waltzes improvised by the pianist Harold Bauer on themes from Wagner operas. In his address before the League, Bliss stated he was going to California with his father where he was ‘planning some interesting musical experiments with film’ but would be returning to New York in the autumn to conduct two of his compositions.6 Bliss was interviewed at length for the Pacific Coast Musical Review, resulting in an article published on 1 September 1923. In this, Bliss is quoted as saying that America had impressed him sufficiently to write an ‘American Symphony’, remarking ‘it will not be a bit romantic, but will have to do with machinery, with America as a modern country’. He presented the interviewer (unnamed) with a booklet on his Colour Symphony written by Percy Scholes.7 Bliss was also in Los Angeles for a few days around this time to hear Hollywood Bowl concerts and to see Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks with the aim of writing music for the screen, as previously mentioned. However, Chaplin was out of town and Fairbanks ‘as hard to reach as the Emperor of China’.8 Another article worth highlighting is about the promotion of a song recital given on 9 October 1923 at the St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, by the English cellist May Muckle and the Californian tenor Lawrence Strauss. Bliss’s romantic song The Hare, written in 1921 is listed on the programme along with songs by Ravel, Milhaud, Massenet, Richard Strauss, Gabrielle Grovlez, Arnold Bax 3 TWO BERKELEY PROFESSORS: ARTHUR BLISS AND ALBERT ELKUS (I Heard a Piper Piping), and Eugène Goossens (Chanson de Barberine). Importantly, the article states: Interesting numbers by Arthur Bliss, brilliant young Englishman, who will make his debut as guest conductor with the Boston Symphony conducting his greatly discussed ‘Color [sic] Symphony’, will soon be presented, and whose talks at the University of California this summer were illustrated by Lawrence Strauss.9 So it appears Bliss lectured in California as early as 1923 and, undoubtedly, he met up at this time with his good friend the composer and teacher Professor Albert Elkus, later Chair of the Music Department at the Figure 1: Bliss giving a lesson to Helen Goodfield at the Recreation Center, Santa Barbara. University of Image reproduced from California Southland, 8:64 (April 1925). California, Berkeley. On 21 October 1924 Bliss wrote to his friend Ulric Nisbet in England, remarking ‘I have a quaint appointment here [in Santa Barbara] as Director of Music [of the Community Arts Association] which may keep me here for several years’. This was indeed true for (as can be seen from Table 2 below) during his early sojourn to California, Bliss had a full calendar of cultural engagements extending to early May 1925. 4 N. WILLIAM SNEDDEN Table 2: Arthur Bliss Pacific Coast Music Calendar October 1923 – May 1925 Compiled by Snedden, acknowledging Pacific Coast Musical Review Vols. 44-47 and California Southland Nos. 59-65 as the principal source material. Date Venue Performers Programmatic information Blanche Rogers Lott (piano) and members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra: Sylvain Noack Gamut Club, • Conversations (violin), Emile Ferir (viola), Chamber Music • Madam Noy Ilya Bronson (cello), Henri Society, Los • Mozart Trio in E-flat 26 October de Busscher (oboe), Andre Angeles. major, K.498 1923 Maquarre (flute), Pierre First of a series Perrier (clarinet), Alfred • Beethoven Quintet Op. of twelve Brain (French horn), 16 programmes Frederick Morritz (bassoon), Alfred Kastner (harp), and Monnie Hayes Hastings (soprano) Lillian Gustafson (soprano), • Madam Noy 11 Lenox Quartet, and Klaw Theatre, • The Women of Yueh November members of the NY New York City (world premiere) 1923 Philharmonic Orchestra, Arthur Bliss (conductor) • Rout • Ballads of the Four Seasons • The Buckle (from Three Romantic Songs) • Songs arranged by Constant van der Wal & Philharmonic Eva Gauthier (mezzo- 25 February Paul Selig Auditorium, Los soprano),11 Arthur Bliss 192410 Angeles (piano) • Jazz numbers: Alexander’s Ragtime Band (Berlin), Carolina in the Morning (Donaldson), Innocent Ingenue Baby & Swanee (Gershwin) 14th Annual State • Unspecified ‘Trio’ played Convention of Henry Eichheim, Ethel Roe on foreign instruments 30 June-4 Music Teachers’ Eichheim, Arthur Bliss (part of Henry July 1924 Association of (instrumentation Eichheim’s lecture California, Santa unspecified) ‘Some Impressions of Barbara Oriental Music’) 5 TWO BERKELEY PROFESSORS: ARTHUR BLISS AND ALBERT ELKUS • Colour Symphony (final movement) • Set of Act-tunes and Dances (Henry Purcell, arr. for String Orchestra Los Angeles Philharmonic by Bliss) Orchestra, Arthur Bliss • Gluck Iphigenia in Aulis 23 August Hollywood Bowl, (guest conductor) overtureAH 1924 Los Angeles Alfred Hertz (conductor), • Léon Boëllmann Alfred Wallenstein (cello) Variations Symphoniques, Op. 23AH • Dvorak Symphony No. 9, Op. 95 ‘New World’AH (AH denotes works conducted by Alfred Hertz) Miss Ida G. Scott’s Illustrated lecture on ‘Vitality “Fortnightlys” and Importance of Colonial Ballroom 6 October Contemporary European – St. Francis Arthur Bliss (lecturer) 1924 Music’. Bliss played piano Hotel, San works by Vaughan Williams & Francisco Eugène Goossens. The first of ten events late October Community Arts Lawrence Strauss (tenor), Songs by Debussy, Émile 1924 Association of Arthur Bliss (piano) Pessard, Émile Palidilhe, Santa Barbara, El German Romantic ballads, Paseo closing with Bliss’s The Hare. Fortnightly Pops 8 November Community Arts Community Arts Chorus and ‘Mr. Bliss will entertain the 1924 Association of an ensemble, Arthur Bliss Western Division Conference Santa Barbara, El (director) of the Playground and Paseo Recreation Association of America’ 9 November Ditto Performer details unknown Programme of music for two 1924 pianos. Details unknown. 1 December Ditto Henry Eichheim (violin), • Goossens Sonata in E 1924 Chamber music Ethel Roe Eichheim (piano) minor (Arthur Bliss - recital pianist) • Varacini Sonata in E minorERE • Debussy Sonata in G minorERE (ERE denotes works which include Ethel Roe Eichheim as performer) 6 N.

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