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FIFTY-FIFTH SEASON, 1935-1936

CONCERT BULLETIN of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra INCORPORATED

Dr. SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, Conductor

RICHARD Burgin, Assistant Conductor

with historical and descriptive notes

By John N. Burk

COPYRIGHT, 1935, BY BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Inc.

The OFFICERS and TRUSTEES of the

BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Inc.

Bentley W. Warren President Henry B. Sawyer Vice-President Ernest B. Dane Treasurer

Allston Burr Roger I. Lee Henry B. Cabot William Phillips Ernest B. Dane Henry B. Sawyer N. Penrose Hallowell Pierpont L. Stackpole M. A. De Wolfe Howe Edward A. Taft Bentley W. Warren

G. E. JUDD, Manager C. W. SPALDING, Assistant Manager

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[50] Contents

Title Page ...... Page 49

Programme ...... 53

Analytical Notes:

Mozart Symphony in E-flat major ... 55

Dukas "La Peri," Danced Poem .... 62

Strauss "Death and Transfiguration" ... 78

Strauss "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" . . 84

The First Critics of "Till" ...... 86

Entr'acte:

Prunieres "Farewell to Dukas" . . . . 71

Frederick Pickering Cabot, first President of the Boston Symphony Orchestra .....= 65

The Next Programme ...... 89

Events in Symphony Hall ...... 90

Concert Announcements ...... 91

Teachers' Directory ...... 93-96

Personnel ...... Opposite page 96

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[52] FIFTY-FIFTH SEASON, NINETEEN HUNDRED THIRTY-FIVE AND THIRTY-SIX

Second Programme

FRIDAY AFTERNOON, October 18, at 2:30 o'clock

SATURDAY EVENING, October 19, at 8:15 o'clock

Mozart Symphony in E-flat major (Koechel No. 543)

I. Adagio; Allegro

II. Andante

III. Menuetto; Trio IV. Finale: Allegro

Dukas "La Peri," Danced Poem [1865-1935]

INTERMISSION

Strauss "Death and Transfiguration," Tone Poem, Op. 24

Strauss "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, after the Old-fashioned Roguish Manner — in Rondo Form," Op. 28

The works to be played at these concerts may be seen in the Allen A. Brown Music Collection of the Boston Public Library one week before the concert

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[54] SYMPHONY IN E-FLAT MAJOR (K. 543)* By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Born at Salzburg, January 27, 1756; died at Vienna, December 5, 1791

he careful catalogue which Mozart kept of his works shows, for T the summer of 1788, an industrious crop of pot-boilers — arias, terzets, piano "for beginners," a march — various pieces written by order of a patron, or to favor some singer or player. Between these there are also listed:

June 26 — Symphony in E-flat major July 25 — Symphony in G minor August 10 — major

How clearly Mozart realized that within about six weeks he had three times touched the highest point of his instrumental writing, three times fixed within the formal symphonic periods the precious distillation of his inmost heart — this we cannot know, for he did not so much as mention them in any record that has come down to us. They were intended, ostensibly, for some concerts which never came to pass; but one likes to believe that the composer's true intent was

Last performed at these concerts March 9, 1934.

About Music . . .

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[55] mingled with musical phantasy far past all thought of commissions or creditors. The greatest music must, by its nature, be oblivious of time and occasion, have its full spread of wing, and take its flight entirely to the personal prompting of its maker. Mozart must have appeared to his acquaintances in the summer of 1788 a figure quite incongruous to any such sublimities — "a small, homely, nervous man," writes Marcia Davenport with inescapable de- duction, "worrying about his debts in a shabby, suburban garden." And comparing this picture with his music — the very apex of his genius — the writer can well wonder at "the workings of the infinite." Musical Vienna in 1788 (and long afterwards) was probably un- conscious of incongruities. The three great (destined to be his last) were closed secrets to the public who beheld a famous but impecunious young man of thirty-two adding three more to the forty- odd symphonies he had been turning out with entire facility from the age of eight. Some have conjectured that Mozart was spurred to this triumphant assertion of his powers by the excitement attendant upon the produc-

tion of "Don Giovanni" in Vienna in May, 1788, following its more highly successful production at Prague in the previous October. Others have found in the more clouded brightness of the G minor Symphony the despondency of a family man harassed by debts, pursued by his

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[56] landlord. Mozart was indeed in bad financial straits that summer. Celebrated for his , much sought as virtuoso, as an orchestral conductor, as a composer for every kind of occasion, yet for all these ac- tivities he was scantily rewarded, and the incoming florins were far from enough to keep him in a fine coat and proper coach for his evenings with the high-born, and still provide adequate lodgings for him and his ailing Constanze. Unfortunately for the theory that Mozart wrote his G minor* Sym- phony when dominated by his financial distress, he finished his en- tirely gay E-flat symphony on the very eve of writing the second of his "begging" letters to Herr Michael Puchberg, friend, fellow Mason, amateur musician, and merchant. The first letter asked for the loan of 2,000 florins, "at all events, I beg you to lend me a couple of hun- dred gulden, because my landlord in the Landstrasse was so pressing that I was obliged to pay him on the spot (in order to avoid anything unpleasant) which caused me great embarrassment." Puchberg sent the two hundred, and Mozart, answering on June 27, and asking for more money, is careful to impress his creditor with his industrious in- tentions: "I have worked more during the ten days I have lived here than in two months in my former apartment; and if dismal thoughts

* Koechel lists only one other symphony by Mozart in a minor key- -the early symphony in G minor, No. 183 (1773).

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[57] did not so often intrude (which I strive forcibly to dismiss), I should be very well off here, for I live agreeably, comfortably, and above all, cheaply." Mozart was telling the strict truth about his busy ten days: listed under the date June 22 is a Terzet, and under June 26 a march, piano , and adagio with fugue, for strings, together with a piece of more doubtful bread-winning powers (from which the "dismal thoughts" are quite absent) — the Symphony in E-flat. Mozart had recently acquired his position as "Chamber Composer" to the Emperor Joseph II. But the post, which had been held by the Chevalier Gluck until his death the year before, was as unre- munerative as it was high-sounding. Mozart's emperor was glad to pare the salary of two thousand florins he had paid to Gluck to less than half — the equivalent of two hundred dollars — in Mozart's case. He expected little in return — no exquisite symphonies or operas to set Austria afire — a fresh set of minuets, waltzes, or country dances for each imperial masked ball in the winter season was quite sufficient.

Hence the oft-quoted line which Mozart is supposed to have sent back with one of the imperial receipts: "Too much for what I do— not enough for what I can do."

Posterity can more easily agree with Otto Jahn's characterization of the E-flat symphony as a "triumph of euphony — full of charm," and the "Jupiter" as "striking in dignity and solemnity," than his description of the G minor as "full of passion" — of "sorrow and com- plaining." Early commentators seem to have found a far greater diver- gence of mood in the symphonies of Mozart than our present world. Nageli soberly and earnestly reproached Mozart with an excess of "cant- abilitat." "He cannot be termed a correct composer of instrumental music, for he mingled and confounded 'cantabilitat' with a free instru- mental play of ideas, and his very wealth of fancy and emotional gifts led to a sort of fermentation in the whole province of art, causing

it rather to retrograde than to advance, and exercising a very power-

ful influence over it." Spokesmen of the later time when romance unabashed was the fashion extolled this very quality. E. T. A. Hoffmann called this sym- phony the "swan song" of Mozart's youth. "Love and melancholy breathe forth in purest spirit tones; we feel ourselves drawn with inexpressible longing towards the forms which beckon as the clouds to another sphere." Wagner's more factual imagination seems to ac- knowledge Mozart as a primary source of his own emotional art: "The longing sigh of the great human voice, drawn to him by the loving power of his genius, breathes from his instruments. He leads the irresistible stream of richest harmony into the heart of his melody,

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[59] as though with anxious care he sought to give it, by way of compen- sation for its delivery by mere instruments, the depth of feeling and ardour which lies at the source of the human voice as the expression of the unfathomable depths of the heart." Wagner also discerned a "marked relationship" between this sym- phony and the Seventh of Beethoven. "In both," he wrote, "the clear human consciousness of an existence meant for rejoicing is beautifully transfigured by the presage of a higher world beyond. The only dis- tinction I would make is that in Mozart's music the language of the heart is shaped to graceful longing, whereas in Beethoven's con- ception this longing reaches out a bolder hand to seize the Infinite. In Mozart's symphony the fullness of feeling predominates, in Bee- thoven's the manly consciousness of strength."

Mozart uses no in his E-flat symphony, only one , and. , bas- soons, horns, and in twos. Jahn finds the blending of clarinets with horns and productive of "a full, mellow tone" requisite for his special purpose, while "the addition of the [flute] gives it clearness and light, and trumpets endow it with brilliancy and freshness." The delicate exploitation of the clarinets is in many parts evident, particularly in the trio of the minuet, where the first carries the melody and the second complements it with arpeggios in the deeper register.

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[61] a

"LA PERI: POEME DANSfi" By Paul Abraham Dukas

Born at Paris, October i, 1865; died there, May 17, 1935

For the dancer Mile. Trouhanova, in 1910, composed a "danced poem" of a Persian monarch in quest of the flower of immortality, which at length he forfeits for the more ephemeral charms of the peri who holds it. The piece was performed at the

Chatelet in April, 1912, with the dancer for whom it was written.* The self-castigating Dukas looked upon this as a commissioned piece and was even once on the point of destroying it, according to the testimony of his friend, Henry Prunieres.f For the twenty-five years that remained of his life, the composer gave not another sizable work to the world — this despite the fact the composer was alert and industrious to the end.

* It was revived at the in 1921, with Anna Pavlowa as the Peri, and Stowitts the Iskender. When Mile. Trouhanova yielded her exclusive rights, the piece was first heard in concert form at a Lamoureux concert, November 23, 1913. The first performance in con- cert in the United States was by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Alfred Hertz, conductor, at San Francisco, on January 7, 1916. There were performances by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, October 25, 1918; October 12, 1923; February 13, 1925; January 27, 1928. t See page 71.

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[63 J Says M. Prunieres of "La Peri": "It is not a ballet, but a . The music creates around the mime an atmosphere of volup- tuous languor. The conclusion, which expresses the distress of the Hero in the face of Night and Death, who surround him, is profoundly moving."

The following story of "La Peri" was related in the programme of the initial Chatelet performance:

It happened that at the end of his youthful days, since the Magi observed that his star was growing pale, Iskender went about Iran seeking the flower of immortality.

The sun sojourned thrice in its dozen dwellings without Iskender finding the flower. At last he arrived at the end of the earth where sea and clouds are one. And there, on the steps that lead to the hall of Ormuzd, a Peri was reclining, asleep in her jewelled robe. A star sparkled above her head; her lute rested on her breast; in her hand shone the flower. It was a lotus like unto an emerald, swaying as the sea under the morning sun. Iskender noiselessly leaned over the sleeper and without awakening her snatched the flower, which suddenly became between his fingers like the noonday sun over the forests of Ghilan. The Peri, opening her eyes, clapped the palms of her hands together and uttered a loud cry, for she could not now ascend towards the light of Ormuzd. Iskender, regarding her, wondered at her face, which surpassed in deliciousness even the face of Gurda-ferrid. In his heart he coveted her. So that the Peri knew the thought of the King, for in the right hand of Iskender the lotus grew purple and became as the face of longing. Thus the Servant of the Pure knew that this flower of life was not for him.

To recover it, she darted forward like a bee. While the invincible lord bore away from her the lotus, torn between his thirst for immortality and the delight for his eyes. But the Peri danced the dance of the Peris, always approaching him until her face touched his face; and at the end he gave back the flower without regret. Then the lotus was like unto snow and gold, as the summit of Elbourz at sunset. The form of the Peri seemed to melt in the light coming from the calix, and soon nothing more was to be seen than a hand raising the flower of flame, which faded in the realm above. Iskender saw her disappear. Knowing from this that his end drew near, he

felt the darkness encompassing him.

The score calls for these instruments: three flutes (and piccolo), two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass , three bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three , bass , a set of three kettle- drums, side drum, bass drum, tambourine, cymbals, triangle, xylo- phone, celesta, two harps, and strings.

Always a Parisian, and of a Parisian family, Paul Dukas is said to have been of Jewish and Alsatian extraction. Musically self-taught as

[64 ] FREDERICK PICKERING CABOT FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 1918-1932

WITH FAITH AND UNDERSTANDING HE CARRIED ON THE IDEAL OF HIS KINSMAN THE FOUNDER

[65J a boy, he entered the Paris Conservatory in 1882, where he studied piano with , harmony with Theodore Dubois, and composition in the class of , the same class which was set agog in 1883 by the youthful Debussy. In 1888 he took the second "grand " for a cantata, "Velleda." Obtaining no prize for his cantata "Semele" in the following year, Dukas forswore music for the time being and entered upon his military service. But the composer who was later to be so reticent about his new scores was far more fertile in his youth. He had written three over- tures at this time, of which the earliest, "" was brought forward by Lamoureux, January 23, 1892. His Symphony in C major and his scherzo "L'Apprenti Sorrier" both had their first perform- ances in Paris in 1897. The in E-flat minor was com- posed in 1899-1900, and there was a set of piano variations on a theme of Rameau (1902). After sketching and discarding two operas, he completed his setting of Maeterlinck's "Ariane et Barbe-Bleue" which was produced at the Opera Comique, May 10, 1907, with as Arianne.* A fragmentary piece for horn, an-

* The Metropolitan Opera Company mounted this opera March 29, 1911, with Geraldine Farrar in the leading part. The piece was revived at the Paris Grand Opera last summer.

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[»7] other for voice, a "Prelude Elegiaque" and "La Plainte au loin du Faune" in memory of Debussy — these chance occasional works, to- gether with "La Peri," likewise commissioned, complete the scanty list of Paul Dukas.

He has contributed critical articles to magazines from time to time. He took the orchestral class at the Conservatory from 1909 to 1912. Dukas deserted this stronghold of hidebound and "lamentable tend- encies," as Ferroud* calls them, for the doctrines of the Schola Can- torum. Later he looked with favor upon the ways of Debussy. Never, M. Ferroud hastens to add, did Dukas subject himself to sectarianism, but maintained his distinct and individual mode of expression — a condition summed up by this writer as "refractory compliance." In this way, having given the world a lyric drama, a scherzo, and a ballet of the first order, the composer remained musically silent for a quarter of a century — a living admonition to any pupil with a lurking weakness for "over-facile expression."

The following works of Dukas were performed at the Symphony Concerts in Boston:

1904. October 22, "'The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (Mr. Gericke conductor).

Pierre Octave Ferroud: "A Note on Paul Dukas" (Chesterian, July-August, 1935).

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[69] 1905. December 2, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (conducted by M. d'Indy).

1907. February 9, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (Dr. Muck conductor).

1909. April 17, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (Mr. Fiedler conductor).

1913. March 1, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (Dr. Muck conductor). 1914. February 14, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." !9i5- December 10, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."

1918. March 1, Symphony, C major. October 25, "La Peri" (Mr. Monteux conductor).

November 29, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (Mr. Rabaud conductor).

1920. April 9, Overture to "Polyeucte" (Mr. Monteux conductor). 1921. April 22, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." 1923- October 12, "La Peri."

December 7, Overture to "Polyeucte."

!925- February 13, "La Peri" (Dr. Koussevitzky conductor). October 23, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." 1928. January 27, "La Peri."

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T7°] FAREWELL TO PAUL DUKAS By Henry Prunieres

What a delightful person was this great musician! I recall with emotion the memory of conversations when, in his work-room on the Rue Singer, with windows opening over shaded gardens, he would turn back to the years of his youth, speaking to me of Debussy and Albeniz. "They were so nice," he would say — "they were artists those two!" And he dwelt upon the artistic probity of Debussy, who preferred to eat less and live in discomfort rather than to give to the world a work like the opera "Rodrigue et Chimene" which did not satisfy him, but would have helped him out of embarrassment. What was most striking in Dukas was his horror of attaching im- portance to himself. We know the part he played in the formative development of the two greatest masters of the Spanish school: Albeniz and . The latter has never missed a chance to recall

how precious the advice of Dukas had been to him, and how it had helped him to find himself during his stay in Paris. Dukas was an-

noyed when these things were repeated to him. "No, that is absurd —

he came to see me, we joked and that is all." And he would begin to praise de Falla, that born artist, so noble, so proud, so generous; or

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TWO SERIES OF An Ideal Introduc

Monday Evenings at 8.15 o'clock

OCTOBER 28 DECEMBER 30 JANUARY 27

FEBRUARY 10 MARCH 2 APRIL 20

The programmes of this series will be drawn from the masterpieces of the symphonic repertory. The Opening Programme —

Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, "Eroica" Dukas "La Peri," Danced Poem Strauss "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks"

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CONCERTS EACH Orchestral Music

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NOVEMBER 5 DECEMBER 17 FEBRUARY 4

FEBRUARY 25 APRIL 7 APRIL 28

The programmes will be divided according to the

greater composers of each nation. The first will be de- voted to three German masters of the symphony:

Haydn Symphony in G major, No. 88 Mozart Symphony in E-flat major (K. 543) Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major

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[73] his beloved Albeniz whom he remembered with such a glow of tender- ness. Time passed quickly listening to him. I can still see him striding across his studio, stopping, starting, opening a score to exemplify his point, or sitting at the piano to strike some chords, then resuming his promenade — always with a cigarette in his lips, a gleam in his eye, and a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth under the ruddy moustache. His words were charming, always carefully chosen. And what radiant good will! How his face lighted when he spoke of his pupils! He was never the proud and disdainful master of his youthful contingent. He took them seriously and never ceased wondering at their abilities. "You know," he would say to me, "they are extraor- dinarily gifted. You never know what they will do, but they have an astonishing sense of harmony, of the orchestra, and how they play the piano! They transpose anything at sight from the score! In my time at the Conservatory, there was no such musicianship — It is surprising, I assure you." And he would speak to me with enthusiasm of some of his pupils who were now really beginning to produce. What was most surprising with him was the unusual and fortunate mixture of satiric wit and good faith. It would have been hard to find a finer spirit, more deeply idealistic, more bent upon rendering service. At the same time he judged people at a glance; with indulgence cer- tainly, but without missing any of their little traits, their weaknesses,

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[74] their ridiculous sides. His critical sense was keen, and unlortunateh he applied it first of all against himself and his own work. He seemed to have been relatively satisfied with his "Ariane et Barbe-Bleue," but since 1907 he no more than consented to tolerate some commissioned productions, and to these he attached no im- portance. No one has seen the great symphonic works over which he has labored for years at a time.

The case of Paul Dukas is unique. Foolhardiness, sickness or some grave infirmity have at times hindered an artist from continuing his work, but Paul Dukas has enjoyed until the age of 70 an excellent health. His mental function has never given the slightest sign of lessen- ing. He appeared in his conversations as alert, as discerning, as deep as he had ever been, but certainly an aversion overtook him at about the age of 42, not against writing music, for he never ceased to pro- duce it, but against delivering it to the public. The only works which he has consented to have printed since "Ariane et Barbe-Bleue" are pieces which seemed insignificant to him: the ballet "La Peri," which he was on the point of burning up; "La Plainte au loin du Faune," which I forcibly took from him in 1920 for the tomb of his dear friend, Debussy; the superb melody which I induced him to write in homage to Ronsard. I must say that I am very proud of having ex- tracted from him the last pieces which he committed to the world.

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[75] 1

The work was completed — he was copying it and I could come the next day to get it. When I returned — a change of scene. It wasn't going very well. He had to begin over again — and I am still wonder- ing how I was able to obtain these pieces while Durand is still waiting for the "Violin Sonata" and the "Overture" which were composed for him and repose in the bottom of a drawer beside all the symphonic and chamber works which he has written for the last 30 years. Dukas loved to say that everything would be destroyed at his death. I can not conceive of such a sacrilege coming to pass. That works should not be given to the printer against his will, that I understand. But let no one destroy blindly these sheets which doubtless include some masterpieces. It is so easy to entrust them to the National Library with an interdiction against copying or publication before 50 years have passed. At that time one can tell whether the works deserve to survive. I have an entire confidence in the value of these last works. Anyone examining the little pieces which he composed for the Revue Musicale will see to what a point his harmonic sense had grown, how melodic and fluid his had become. It is impossible that works like his symphony on the "Tempest" of Shakespeare, which I have seen him working upon for so long, should not be worthy of the NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY of MUSIC ^= WALLACE GOODRICH, Director FREDERICK S. CONVERSE, Dean

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[76] ! : author of "L'Apprenti Sorrier," the "Sonata," and "Ariane et Barbe- Bleue."

I confidently believe that the great soul of Paul Dukas will reveal itself in these unknown works, and I predict for them a fame to which their writer would not have dared to aspire. I place my hope in the in- telligent and devoted companion who knew how to surround the existence of the master with a happy and beneficent calm. She can not permit masterpieces to be destroyed.*

This is not the time to fix the importance of the published works of Paul Dukas. The number of his compositions is unbelievably limited. One could make an inventory of them on ten fingers. But

there is a compensation in their quality which commands an ardent admiration for Paul Dukas, the Degas of music. — La Revue Musicale, June, 1935.

* At the moment of going to press, I receive from Mme. Paul Dukas a letter which informs me that Dukas himself burned all his unpublished manuscripts a few days before his death

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[77] — TOD UND VERKLARUNG" ("DEATH AND TRANSFIGURA- TION"), Tone Poem, for Full Orchestra, Op. 24* By

Born at Munich, June 11, 1864

When "Death and Transfiguration" first appeared, in 1889, an unrhymed poem was printed in the score, giving a more ex- plicit story than Strauss, always reticent about such matters, usually attached to his symphonic poems. The verses were unsigned, but were soon discovered to be from the pen of none other than Alexander Ritter, the militant champion of Wagner and Liszt, who had recruited the youthful Strauss at Meiningen to the cause of "programme music." The verses, it was found out, were actually written after the music had been composed, and were inserted in the score as it went to the printer. The analysts forthwith questioned the authenticity of the words as a direct guide to the music. But surely Strauss and Ritter

* "Tod und Verklarung" was first performed from the manuscript, the composer conduct- ing, at Eisenach, June 21, 1890, when his "Burleske" was also first heard. Anton Seidl gave the first American performance with the Philharmonic Society of New York, January 9, 1892. Emil Paur introduced it at the Boston Symphony concerts, February 6, 1897. The most recent performance here was December 9, 1932.

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[78] must have been too intimately associated at this time not to have a clear understanding.

It was Ritter who had goaded the brilliant young musician to set his back firmly upon symphonies and sonatas, and fly the banner of "Musik ah Ausdruck." Assuming that the older man could hardly have done more than help the younger one to find himself, the fact remains that Strauss, embarking upon programme music with the "fantasia," "A as Italien," in 1886, made quick and triumphant prog- ress with three symphonic poems: "Macbeth," "Don Juan," and "Tod und Verklarung," all within the space of three years.*

The work divides naturally into four parts:

1. In a dark room, silent except for the ticking of the clock, is a dying man.

He has fallen asleep and is dreaming of childhood.

2. The struggle between life and death begins anew.

3. He sees his life over again. He remembers childhood, youth, and the striv-

ings of manhood after ideals that are still unrealized.

4. From heaven comes to him what he had vainly sought upon earth, "Welterlosung, Weltverklarung": "World-redemption, world-transfiguration."

* Strauss wrote of Ritter : "His influence was in the nature of the storm-wind. He urged me on to the development of the poetic, the expressive in music, as exemplified in the works of Liszt, Wagner and Berlioz. My symphonic fantasia, 'Aus Italien,' is the connecting link between the old and the new methods." TRAVELING? CONSULT WHITCOMB TRAVEL BUREAU Information — Reservations — No Service Charge

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[79] The poem of Alexander Ritter has been paraphrased as follows:

A sick man lies upon his mattress in a poor and squalid garret, lit by the flickering glare of a candle burnt almost to its stump. Ex- hausted by a desperate fight with death, he has sunk into sleep; no sound breaks the silence of approaching dissolution, save the low, monotonous ticking of a clock on the wall. A plaintive smile from time to time lights up the man's wan features; at life's last limit, dreams are telling him of childhood's golden days. But death will not long grant its victim sleep and dreams. Dreadly it plucks at him, and once again begins the strife; desire of life against might of death! A gruesome combat! Neither yet gains the victory; the dying man sinks back upon his couch, and silence reigns once more. Weary with struggling, reft of sleep, in the delirium of fever he sees his life, unrolled before him, stage by stage. First, the dawn of childhood, radiant with pure innocence. Next, the youth who tests and practices his forces for manhood's fight. And then the man in battle for life's greatest prize: to realize a high ideal, and make it all the higher by his act — this the proud aim that shapes his course. Cold and scornful, the world heaps obstacle after obstacle in his path: if he deems the goal at hand, a voice of thunder bids him "Halt!" — "Let each hindrance be thy ladder," he thinks. "Higher, ever higher

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[8o] ! mount!" And so he climbs, and so he urges, breathless with hallowed

fire. All that his heart had ever longed for, he seeks it still in death's last sweat — seeks, but never finds it! Though now he sees it more and more plainly; though now it looms before him, he yet can ne'er embrace it wholly, ne'er put the last touch to his endeavor. Then sounds the iron stroke of Death's chill hammer; breaks the earthly shell in twain, enshrouds the eye with the pall of night. But now from on high come sounds of triumph; what here on earth he sought in vain, from heaven it greets him: Deliverance, Transfiguration

"Death and Transfiguration" had a wide vogue in its early days.

Biilow admired it with reservations — "a very important work in spite of sundry poor passages, and also refreshing." Professor Niecks, dis- cussing programme music, considered it "the most musical of all Strauss' programmes." Ernest Newman, in his book of 1908, praised this tone poem as Strauss' nearest approximation to "a perfect fusion of matter and style," truly symphonic in thematic development, show- ing "quite a Beethovenian unity and breadth of conception." Mauke

pointed out that here, if anywhere, Strauss heeded the ways of Liszt, and made his score upon the model of "Tasso." The piece, for the

benefit of its earlier hearers, was minutely dissected, thematically

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[81] catalogued bit by bit. Wilhelm Mauke, Strauss' most industrious analyst, wrote a description sixteen pages long, with twenty-one examples in notation. Max Steinitzer disapproved Mauke's "un- Straussian distillations."

The tone-poem is dedicated to Friedrich Rosch and scored for three flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, , two bassoons, double-, four horns, three trumpets, three trom- bones, tuba, a set of three kettledrums, two harps, gong, strings.

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[82] UNIVERSITY EXTENSION LECTURES on the BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PROGRAMMES

Various composers and artists will give a series of lectures on the programmes of the concerts of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the Lecture Hall of the Boston Public Library at 5.15 p.m. on the Thursdays preceding the concerts. The course is offered by the Division of University Extension, Mas- sachusetts Department of Education, in co-operation with the Boston Public Library. Richard G. Appel of the Music Divi- sion of the Boston Public Library, and Professor Alfred H. Meyer of the Boston University College of Music, are in charge of the course.

The course is offered in three parts of eight lectures each. Charge: $1 for each part or $2 for the three parts; $1 addi- tional for each part for outlines with illustrative music and weekly notices about lecturers; textbook extra.

For further information write University Extension office, State House.

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[83] "TILL EULENSPIEGEL'S MERRY PRANKS, AFTER THE OLD- FASHIONED ROGUISH MANNER, -IN RONDO FORM," for Full Orchestra,, Op. 28* By Richard Strauss Born at Munich, June 11, 1864

At first, Strauss was inclined to let the title: "Till Eulenspiegel's - lustige Streiche, nach alter Schelmenweise — in Rondoform" stand as sufficient explanation of his intentions. Franz Wullner, about to perform the work in Cologne, coaxed from him a letter which revealed a little more:

"It is impossible for me to furnish a programme to 'Eulenspiegel'; were I to put into words the thoughts which its several incidents suggested to me, they would seldom suffice, and might even give rise

to offence. Let me leave it, therefore, to my hearers to crack the hard nut which the Rogue has prepared for them. By way of helping them

to a better understanding, it seems sufficient to point out the two 'Eulenspiegel' motives, which, in the most manifold disguises, moods, and situations, pervade the whole up to the catastrophe, when, after

he has been condemned to death, Till is strung up to the gibbet. For the rest, let them guess at the musical joke which a Rogue has offered them." Strauss finally noted three themes; the opening of the introduction, the horn motive of Till, and the portentous descending interval of the rogue's condemnation. And again, Strauss was persuaded by Wilhelm Mauke, the most elaborate and exhaustive of Straussian analysts, to jot the following indications in pencil in his score: "Once upon a time there was a Volksnarr; Named Till Eulenspiegel; That was an awful hobgoblin; Off for New Pranks; Just wait, you hypocrites! Hop! On horseback into the midst of the market-women; With seven-league boots he lights out; Hidden in a Mouse-hole; Dis- guised as a Pastor, he drips with unction and morals; Yet out of his big toe peeps the Rogue; But before he gets through he nevertheless has qualms because of his having mocked religion; Till as cavalier pays court to pretty girls; She has really made an impression on him; He courts her; A kind refusal' is still a refusal; Till departs furious; He swears vengeance on all mankind; Philistine Motive; After he has propounded to the Philistines a few amazing theses he leaves them in astonishment to their fate; Great grimaces from afar; TilFs street tune; The court of Justice; He still whistles to himself indifferently; Up the ladder! There he swings; he gasps for air, a last convulsion; the mortal part of Till is no more."

* The first performance was at a Giirzenich concert in Cologne, November 5, 1895. Strauss had completed his score in Munich, the previous May. It had been published in September. The first performance at the Boston Symphony Concerts (and in America) was February 21, 1896. The last performance was March 17, 1934.

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[85 ] The rondo, dedicated to Dr. Arthur Seidl, is scored for piccolo, three flutes, three oboes, English horn, small clarinet in D, two clari- nets, bass clarinet, three bassoons, double-bassoon, four horns (with the addition of four horns ad lib.), three trumpets (with three addi- tional trumpets ad lib.), three trombones, bass tuba, kettledrums, snare- drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, a watchman's rattle, strings.

THE FIRST CRITICS OF "TILL EULENSPIEGEL"

The abuse that fell upon the head of "Till Eulenspiegel" when the piece was new is less difficult to understand when one stops to think of the punctilious and well-behaved musical world of 1895 mto which Strauss suddenly dropped his outrageous rogue. The squealing and squirming music, appearing on a typical programme of the nine- ties (its innocuous companions at the first Boston performance, Feb- ruary 21, 1896, were a fantasia, "Midnight at Sedan" by Zollner and a Violin Concerto of Moszkowski) must have had somewhat the effect, as Lawrence Gilman once wrote, of "a lightning bolt at a family reunion." A glance at the newspaper reports of some of the first "Till" per- formances will give some idea of the general consternation the piece must have caused. The first American performances were brought to pass by Emil Paur and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Boston and New York (February, 1896), and in other cities on tour. The "musical joke" had gone the rounds of Europe. The young German composer, "brilliant but erratic," was not without fame and esteem in these cities — but the reviews showed no glimmer of consciousness that a masterpiece had had its first hearing. Most of the critics gave it a grudging paragraph near the bottom of the column, after lengthy dis- sertations on the "novelty" by Zollner and the performance by the violinist Emile Sauret of the concerto of Moszkowski. Most were agreed that Strauss had prodigious skill, however misguided, and all praised the virtuoso performance which Paur led. One critic in Boston referred to the new work as "a trifle from Strauss — a nerve-distracting piece — worth a hearing, however, be- cause of the composer." Another called it "a blood-curdling night- mare," and another " — a musical obscenity, an inexplicable hodge- podge, which should not have been heard at this concert, neither at any respectable concert. The tone picture, with all its abnormal and hideously grotesque proportions, is that of a heavy, dull, and witless

Teuton. The orchestration of the work is sound and fury, signifying nothing. The very worthiest novelty of the concert was the concerto by Moszkowski." Still another: "A noisy, nerve-destroying, heavy piece of work, weak in ideas and strong in energy; a sketch of Beardsley [86] set to music, crude in color, confusing in design, and utterly unlov- able." A critic of some standing raised a voice of protest: "Strauss seems to have thought he could imitate Eulenspiegel by playing a practical joke on the general public. Why should such things be given at a Symphony concert?" In New York also there was marked applause, which was taken as intended for the performance rather than the piece. One critic called Strauss "a man of enormous talent who says nothing in an unparalleled manner." Two further criticisms shall suffice: "Strauss has made an elaborate and intricate piece of work, very unique and very charming to listen to, though it is often painfully noisy, and its interjectional, spasmodic, jerky character makes it trying to follow in certain portions."

"There was no doubt about the humor of it all; it would have made even a doctor of music laugh. But it was a vast and coruscating jumble of instrumental cackles for all that. — A horrible example of what can be done with an orchestra by a determined and deadly decadent." Similar opinions seem to have been freely expressed in Europe. Dr. Hanslick, who, true to his colors, delivered an invective against each of the Straussian tone poems as it appeared, called "Till" — "frankly a crazy piece, in which each witty idea is followed by another which jumps on its head to break its neck. It is a mistake to look on this immoderate and masterless chase of pictures as an overflowing of youthful creative power, the dawn of a great new art; I can see in it only the exact opposite: a product of subtly calculated decadence." In this way did the word "decadence," compounded of resentment and unease, pursue Strauss for years, until it finally evaporated, like all myths. Behind the impudent and leering Till, some discerned the brazen face of the composer, recklessly and madly bent upon the destruction of every musical principle. It took the passing of a generation to re- veal Strauss as no revolutionist after all, but a deep respecter of the musical tenets, in which he had been thoroughly schooled from child- hood; a routined conductor who knew his orchestra with a special sense, a lover of tradition, impatient only at the complacent stagna- tion into which it had fallen. The first critics of "Till" could hardly miss the more obvious points of its style of pure folk melody. They might have seen that it was an honest rondo as its name implied — a marvelous application of struc- ture to the matter in hand. They might also have realized that Strauss was no Till upsetting the applecart, but a meek follower of the form which Berlioz and Liszt left him, and which he found the most suit- able vehicle for his overflowing exuberance, his greatly enriched in- strumental and harmonic color, his heavy complex of counterpoint. [87] WEST INDIES CRUISES

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[88] FIFTY-FIFTH SEASON, NINETEEN HUNDRED THIRTY-FIVE AND THIRTY-SIX

Third ^Programme

FRIDAY AFTERNOON, October 25, at 2.30 o'clock

SATURDAY EVENING, October 26, at 8:15 o'clock

Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

I. Poco sostenuto; Vivace II. Allegretto III. Presto; Assai meno presto: Tempo primo IV. Allegro con brio

Songs with Orchestra

intermission

Songs with Orchestra

Scriabin "The Poem of Ecstasy," Op. 54

SOLOIST LOTTE LEHMANN

A lecture on this programme will be given on Thursday, October 24, at 5:15 o'clock in the Lecture Hall, Boston Public Library

The works to be played at these concerts may be seen in the Allen A. Brown Music Collection of the Boston Public Library one week before the concert [89] Events in Symphony Hall

LOTTE LEHMANN Soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, October 25 and 26.

THE ORCHESTRA will open the series of six Monday Evening concerts on October 28. The Tuesday Afternoon series begins the following week — November 5. The opening programmes for each series are announced on pages 72 and 73.

LAWRENCE TIBBETT will give a recital in Symphony Hall,

Sunday afternoon, November 3.

ROLAND HAYES will return to Symphony Hall to give a recital on Sundav afternoon, November 10.

E. M. NEWMAN will reach the twenty-fifth season of his "travel talks" when he gives a series of three pairs (November 8-9, November 15-16, November 22-23). The first will cover "Italy," the second "Ethiopia," the third "The South Seas."

[90]