Tftoyal Conservatory of Cmusic of TORONTO
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tftoyal Conservatory of CMusic OF TORONTO MONTHLY BULLETIN NOVEMBER, 1948 Conservatory Symphony Senior School Awards The following scholarship awards in The Royal Conservatory Symphony the Senior School of the Conservatory Orchestra began weekly rehearsals Octo¬ have been announced for the academic ber 4th, under the Principal’s leader¬ year 1948-49:— ship. The Orchestra was founded by Massey Harris Scholarship: Jean Ham¬ Frank Welsman in 1906, and is the ilton, St. Thomas, Ont., piano. Robert oldest symphonic organization in Tor¬ Simpson Company Scholarship: Patricia onto. Mr. Mazzoleni has been the con¬ Lewis, Regina, piano. E. P. Taylor ductor since 1934. Membership is made Scholarship: Carol Wright, Trail, B.C., up of advanced students of the Con¬ piano. Council of Jewish Women servatory. Scholarship: Andrew , Benac, Toronto, This season the Orchestra will be violin. Andre* Dorfman Scholarship: dividing its rehearsal time between prep¬ Lois Marshall, Toronto, voice. aration for public performances, con¬ Senior School Scholarships: Doreen certo readings with student soloists, and Stanton, Edmonton, piano; George Pyper, manuscript readings of works by student Toronto, violin; Anton Diel, Westmount, composers. The idea of using the P.Q., voice; Erica Zentner, Regina, orchestral rehearsals as a sort of “work¬ violin; Albert Marson, Toronto, voice; shop”, where student composers may Mario Bemardi, Kirkland Lake, Ont., have the valuable experience of hearing piano; Marguerite Gignac, Windsor, their own work in orchestration as it voice; Mary Alice Rogers, Hamilton, progresses, is in line with the Conserva¬ voice; Marian McLennan, Detroit, piano; tory’s policy of fostering original work Mario DeSotto, Windsor, violin; Jean by young Canadians. Yet another in¬ Patterson, Calgary, voice. dication of the way this policy is being carried out is found in the re-organiza¬ • tion, after some seasons’ lapse, of the Conservatory’s classes in the study of Five O’Clocks chamber music, where, besides gaining a reading and playing familiarity with The Conservatory’s annual series of works of the standard repertoire, the five o’clock recitals of chamber music student performers will have an oppor¬ will begin on Wednesday, November tunity of trying out, and the composers 24th. The first program will be given of hearing, original works by students. by the Parlow String Quartet, and will feature the first performance in Toronto • of Benjamin Britten’s String Quartet No. 1. The concerts were initiated during Orchestral Scholarships the war years in a series of benefit per¬ formances given by faculty members in The Mina Flavelle Barrett scholarships aid of Dame Myra Hess’s National Gal¬ for the current season were announced lery Concerts. Since tire war they have by the Principal last month. These expanded into a regular series held bi¬ awards were instituted two years ago weekly during the winter season in the to promote and maintain the high stan¬ Concert Hall. dard of orchestral playing in Toronto, The complete 1948-49 series is as fol¬ and are open to students of woodwind lows: and brass instruments who contemplate November 24th—Parlow String Quartet. making orchestral playing their profes¬ December 8th— sion. The Conservatory feels proud to Bela Boszormenyi-Nagy, pianist. reflect that five of the past winners have January 12th— already become permanent members of Greta Kraus, harpsichord. the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Cornelius Ysselstyn, ’cello. The 1948-49 awards went to: Harlan Gordon Day, flute. Green, Dewberry, Alta, (flute); John Perry Bauman, oboe. Edward Hutchings, Barrie, Ont. (oboe); January 26th-Norah Drewett, pianist, and Don Johnson, Toronto (trumpet); Carl Geza de Kresz, violinist. Edward Kaye, Toronto (violoncello); February 9th—Parlow String Quartet. John Drewniak, Toronto (violoncello). February 23rd—Lubka Kolessa, pianist. NOVEMBER 1948 PAGE TWO Music Publishing in Canada: A Discussion Three prominent Canadian musicians, ings of important works, large and small. affiliates of the Conservatory, present I must take off my hat to the C.B.C., their views on the state of publishing which has already given remarkably in this country and the outlook for the strong support to Canadian composers young Canadian composer who is eager in all these fields, though I am unable to have his works made available to a to understand why so many of the works large public. recorded have not appeared on the open Sir Ernest MacMillan: market. A Canadian government body an¬ There is a great deal more and better alogous to the British Council, which has music being written in Canada now than done so much to make the works of twenty, or even ten, years ago. This British composers known throughout the is a most encouraging sign and it is world, could work wonders. Failing this, natural that there should be also a an organization on the lines of the great demand —much of it, understand- League of Composers in the United ably, on the part of the composers them¬ States, if reasonably well subsidized selves — for increased effort in the pub¬ lication of new music in this country. from private or public sources, might meet the needs of the case. Now, publication means not only printing: it means pushing as well: and Godfrey Ridout: there is always a limit beyond which a Because the concert-going public in publisher, however high-minded, can¬ Canada is so small, and of that the num¬ not be expected to push new works from ber who like and understand contemp¬ which there is likely to be little or no orary music is even smaller, the publish¬ commercial profit. The Canadian market ing of Canadian music becomes hazard¬ is comparatively small and publishers ous. One solution that immediately who are able and willing to undertake occurs to me is for the composer to publication and handling of large works convince a publisher with a world-wide must look abroad for revenue. Some connection to take his music. Then the publishers in Canada have already pub¬ music would be exploited and offered lished a great deal of Canadian music, for sale in countries where the general as a list recently compiled by CAPAC demand for contemporary music is shows. Some of this has been profit¬ larger. In a few cases this is just what able: but a great deal of it has not. is happening. The ambitious composer would do Publication, however nice it is for the well to make his name with small works, composer, does not end the problem. instrumental solos, songs, pieces which The musical layman, who buys music, can be published at small cost and can must be convinced that the music is be expected to achieve more than one good enough. Is it? Time alone will or two performances; extensive orchestral tell. works can hardly be produced unless Barbara Pentland: he has enough leisure to do his own The composer’s lot in Canada would copying or enough money to pay a pro¬ be a happier one if there were more fessional copyist. I dare assert that time simply to compose. Apart from if a collection of well-written art-songs earning a living in other ways, the com¬ by Canadians were compiled, or a col¬ poser must in a sense be his own pub¬ lection of serious short works for the lisher. He must continually provide piano half-a-dozen publishers could be found for it within a week. Many or¬ copies for performers, which he must copy himself in the first place (copyists ganizations such as women’s clubs in are expensive) on special paper, and have the United States and elsewhere are anxious to include such works by Can¬ reproduced at so much a page, and then adians on their programmes. bind, to say nothing of all the corres¬ pondence involved. Copies are frequent¬ But the works we as musicians want ly not returned, and several hundred dol¬ to hear and want to promote are almost lars can be spent annually in this way. never commercially profitable to the pub¬ It is always a matter of astonishment, lisher unless the composer is well known to say tire least, that Canadian publishers - sometimes not even then. What is have lacked the will and initiative to urgently needed is an organization run establish any sort of constructive policy either by or for composers, which would towards this problem, or any responsibil¬ undertake to subsidize the publication ity towards new Canadian music. Some of worthy Canadian music, the duplic¬ large firms have had a toe in Canada ation of scores and sets of parts of or¬ for many years, but have confined their chestral works (which can be done by publishing activities to London and New processes other than printing), and the York. manufacture and distribution of record- (Continued on page 4) PAGE THREE NOVEMBER 1948 bers and students took part: Gerald JSeivA in JSxiel Bales, Dirk Keetbaas, Cornelius Yssels- tyn, Greta Kraus, the Solway Quartet, (Material for inclusion in next month’s Bulletin should reach the Publicity De¬ and the Parlow Quartet. partment by November 12th.) The staff of the Faculty of Music of Principal Mazzoleni visited Sarnia on the University of Toronto entertained September 29th on the occasion of the at a tea on October 1st, in the Recital 20th anniversary meeting of the Lamb- Hall, to meet new and old students of ton chapter of the O.R.M.T.A., where the Faculty. The Undergraduate he was the main speaker. The Principal Association of the Faculty presented a also addressed the Heliconian Club in benefit concert in Convocation Hall on Toronto on October 6th on the subject the 28th of October, as part of the Uni¬ of the Conservatory’s future plans, and versity’s Red Feather Fund campaign. introduced the guest speaker, Bela Alberto Guerrero, pianist; Frances Boszormenyi-Nagy, newly appointed to James, soprano; Edmund Hockridge, bar¬ the piano faculty, who spoke concerning itone; Hyman Goodman, violinist; Dr.