r BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
FOUNDED IN 1881 BY HENRY LEE HI
SEVENTY-SEVENTH SEASON I 957" I 958 Sanders Theatre, Cambridge [^harvard University] Boston Symphony Orchestra
(Seventy-seventh Season, 1957-1958) CHARLES MUNCH, Music Director RICHARD BURGIN, Associate Conductor PERSONNEL Violins Violas Bassoons Richard Burgin Joseph de Pasquale Sherman Walt Concert-master Jean Cauhape Ernst Panenka Alfred Krips Eugen Lehner Theodore Brewster Albert Bernard George Zazofsky Rolland Tapley George Humphrey Contra-Bassoon Norbert Lauga Jerome Lipson Richard Plaster Vladimir Resnikoff Robert Karol Reuben Green Horns Harry Dickson Stagliano Gottfried Wilfinger Bernard Kadi 11 off James Vincent Charles Yancich Einar Hansen Mauricci Joseph Leibovici John Fiasca Harry Shapiro Earl Hedberg Harold Meek Emil Kornsand Paul Keaney Roger Shermont Violoncellos Osbourne McConathy Minot Beale Samuel Mayes Herman Silberman Alfred Zighera Trumpets Stanley Benson Jacobus Langendoen Leo Panasevich Roger Voisin Mischa Nieland Andr£ Come Sheldon Rotenberg Karl Zeise Armando Ghitalla Fredy Ostrovsky Josef Zimbler Gerard Goguen Clarence Knudson Bernard Parronchi Trombones Pierre Mayer Martin Hoherman Manuel Zung Louis Berger William Gibson Samuel Diamond Richard Kapuscinski William Moyer Kauko Kahila Victor Manusevitch Robert Ripley Josef Orosz James Nagy Winifred Winograd Melvin Bryant Flutes Tuba Lloyd Stonestreet Doriot Anthony Dwyer K. Vinal Smith Saverio Messina James Pappoutsakis William Waterhouse Phillip Kaplan Harps William Marshall Bernard Zighera Leonard Moss Piccolo George Madsen Olivia Luetcke Jesse Ceci Noah Bielski Oboes Timpani Alfred Schneider Ralph Gomberg Everett Firth Joseph Silverstein Jean Devergie Harold Farberman John Holmes Basses Enclish Horn Percussion Charles Smith Georges Moleux Louis Speyer Harold Thompson Henry Freeman Clarinets Arthur Press Irving Frankel Gino Cioffi Henry Portnoi Manuel Valerio Piano Pasquale Henri Girard Cardillo Bernard Zighera John Barwicki E\) Clarinet Library Leslie Martin Bass Clarinet Rosario Mazzeo Victor Alpert SEVENTY- S EVENTH SEASON, 1957-1958
Boston Symphony Orchestra
CHARLES MUNCH, Music Director Richard Burgin, Associate Conductor
CONCERT BULLETIN
with historical and descriptive notes by
John N. Burk
The TRUSTEES of the
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Inc.
Henry B. Cabot President
Jacob J. Kaplan Vice-President Richard C. Paine Treasurer Talcott M. Banks Michael T. Kelleher Theodore P. Ferris Henry A. Laughlin Alvan T. Fuller John T. Noonan Francis W. Hatch Palfrey Perkins Harold D. Hodgkinson Charles H. Stockton C. D. Jackson Raymond S. Wilkins E. Morton Jennings, Jr. Oliver Wolcott TRUSTEES EMERITUS Philip R. Allen M. A. DeWolfe Howe N. Penrose Hallowell Lewis Perry Edward A. Taft
Thomas D. Perry, Jr., Manager Norman S. Shirk James J. Brosnahan Assistant Manager Business Administrator Leonard Burkat Rosario Mazzeo Music Administrator Personnel Manager
SYMPHONY HALL BOSTON 15 TANGLEWOOD LENOX, MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Symphony Orchestra CHARLES MUNCH, Music Director BERKSHIRE FESTIVAL There will be six week-ends of concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons—each week principally devoted to one composer. Only portions of the programs are here listed.
July 4, 5, 6 Series X (Theatre) BACH CHARLES MUNCH Programs include: Suites, 1, 2, 3, 4; Art of Fugue; Piano Concerto in D minor
(Lukas Foss) ; B Minor Mass—conducted by G. Wallace Woodworth. {Sunday in the Music Shed)
July 11, 12, 13 Series Y (Theatre) MOZART CHARLES MUNCH Programs include: Piano Concerto in major, K. C 467 (Seymour Lipkin) ; Two-Piano Concerto in E-flat, K. 365 (Lukas Foss and Seymour Lipkin) ; Choral works conducted by Hugh Ross; Sinfonia Concertante (Ruth Posselt, Joseph de Pasquale). (Saturday evening concert in the Music Shed)
July 18, 19, 20 Series A (Shed) BRAHMS CHARLES MUNCH and PIERRE MONTEUX Programs include: Symphony No. 4; Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor (Leon
Fleisher) ; Requiem (Hilde Gueden, Soprano; Donald Gramm, Baritone).
July 25, 26, 27 Series B (Shed) DEBUSSY and RAVEL CHARLES MUNCH and PIERRE MONTEUX Programs include: Debussy, "La Mer"; Ravel, "La Valse"; Rachmaninoff,
Piano Concerto No. 3 (Byron Janis) ; Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto (Zino Francescatti).
Series C (Shed) August 1, 2, 3 WAGNER CHARLES MUNCH and PIERRE MONTEUX Soloist: MARGARET HARSHAW, Soprano Programs include: Siegfried Idyll; Prelude and Love Death; Siegfried's Rhine
Journey; Immolation Scene; Liszt, Piano Concerto No. 1 (Leonard Pennario) ; Piston, Viola Concerto (Joseph de Pasquale).
August 10 Series D (Shed) 8, 9, BEETHOVEN CHARLES MUNCH and PIERRE MONTEUX
Programs include: Piano Concerto No. 5 ( Eugene Istomin) ; Ninth Symphony.
(Programs subject to change) Address: FESTIVAL OFFICE, Symphony Hall, Boston 15, Massachusetts
1*1 SEVENTY-SEVENTH SEASON • NINETEEN HUNDRED FIFTY-SEVEN -FIFTY-EIGHT
Sixth Program
TUESDAY EVENING, April 8, at 8:30 o'clock
Handel Suite for Orchestra (From the "Water Music") (Arranged by Sir Hamilton Harty) I. Allegro
II. Air III. Bounce IV. Hornpipe V. Andante espressivo VI. Allegro deciso
Mozart Symphony in C major, "Linz," (K. 425)
I. Adagio; allegro spiritoso
II. Poco adagio
III. Menuetto IV. Presto INTERMISSION
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1, in D minor, Op. 15
I. Maestoso
II. Adagio
III. Rondo: Allegro non troppo
SOLOIST GARY GRAFFMAN Mr. Graffman uses the Steinway Piano
The Cambridge concerts are televised and broadcast simultaneously by Station WGBH (TV-FM).
BALDWIN PIANO RCA VICTOR RECORDS
[3] SUITE FOR ORCHESTRA (from the WATER MUSIC)
Born in Halle, February 23, 1685; died in London, April 14, 1759
Arranged by Sir Hamilton Harty*
Handel's Water Music was probably composed and performed in parts in 1715 and 1717. The original autograph has been lost. A suite from the music was published by John Walsh in 1720, and another version, differently arranged, in 1740. The full suite of 20 movements was published in the Samuel Arnold edition (1785-1797), and appeared in the complete works as edited by Chrysander. Sir Hamilton Harty, arranging a suite of six movements in 1918, and then per-
forming it at the Halle Concerts, has scored it for 2 flutes and piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings (published in 1922). The Suite was introduced at these concerts December 22, 1949, and repeated April 17, 1953. Suites from the Water Music, derived from Chrysander, have been per- formed by this Orchestra December 11, 1885, October 21, 1887, December 21, 1900, and March 18, 1927.
Handel's time, parties on the Thames were a favorite recreation In of Londoners in the summer season. R. A. Streatfeild has described
the custom in his Life of Handel (1909) : "The River Thames was then, far more than now, one of the main highways of London. It was
still Spenser's 'silver Thames,' and on a summer's day it must have
presented a picture of life and gaiety very different from its present melancholy and deserted aspect. It was peopled by an immense fleet of boats devoted solely to passenger traffic, which were signalled by passing wayfarers from numerous piers between Blackfriars and Putney, just as one now signals a hansom or taxicab. Besides the humble boats that plied for hire, there were plenty of private barges fitted up with no little luxury and manned by liveried servants. The manners and customs of the boatmen were peculiar, and their wit- combats, carried on in the rich and expressive vernacular of Billings- gate, were already proverbial . . . George I liked the River. When the Court was at Whitehall water parties to Richmond or Hampton Court were of frequent occurrence, and as often as not the royal barge was accompanied by an attendant boat laden with musicians." Handel, serving as Kapellmeister to Georg Ludwig, Elector of Han- over, obtained leave of absence to visit England in 1712. He not only overstayed his leave, but came under the open patronage of the reign- ing Queen Anne, between whom and Georg there was no love lost- Handel, while thus still bound to the House of Hanover, composed his Ode to Queen Anne, and his Te Deum and Jubilate for the hated
* Horn at Hillsborough, County Down, Ireland, December 4, 1879; died February 19, 1941.
[41 Berkshire Music Center
CHARLES MUNCH, Director
The Boston Symphony Orchestra's Summer Music School
JUNE 30 — AUGUST 10
Students — Teachers
Orchestra, Chamber Music, Opera Chorus, Conducting, Composition
Amateurs — Music Lovers
Tanglewood Study Group
2-, 4- or 6-week enrollment
beginning June 30, July 14, July 28
includes admission to Festival concerts
and singing in the Festival Chorus with the BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Write to: S. P. Bossler, Registrar
Symphony Hall, Boston 15, Massachusetts
[5] Peace of Utrecht. When the Queen died in 1714, Georg was crowned George I of England and Handel's position became suddenly pre- carious. He was pointedly ignored by the new monarch and so deprived of his principal opportunities for social recognition and consequent income. But the continuing ostracism of the illustrious Handel would have been likewise a true deprivation to George himself, for he had brought with him from Germany a passion for music which was more enduring than his dislike of a dead queen. It was obviously a question of a propitious moment, and Handel had friends ready to do their tactful part when that moment should come. There are three legends circumstantially related at the time, each claiming the achievement of this act of grace. The Water Music is connected with two of them. One of Handel's true friends was Francesco Geminiani, violinist and composer for the violin, two years younger than himself. Geminiani, so the story goes, was asked to play one of his concertos at Court, and replying, admitted a rubato in his style so incorrigible that no one could be trusted to accompany him and not be thrown off but Handel himself. Handel was accordingly asked, and accordingly reinstated.
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Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation SYMPHONY IN C MAJOR (Kochel No. 425) By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Born at Salzburg, January 27, 1756; died at Vienna, December 5, 1791
This Symphony, generally assumed to be the one which was written at Linz in November, 1783, was first performed on the fourth of that month, at the palace of Count Thun.
It is scored for 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings. The symphony has been performed by this Orchestra November 17, 1882, March
16, 1900, November 19, 1920, and February 7, 1947 (Leonard Bernstein conducting). In Vienna, where Mozart spent the last ten years of his life, composing according to needs, his genius found its full fruition in a quantity of great works. They embrace his finest string quartets and quintets and his piano concertos in numbers; also his five great operas in the buffo style. It must be a reflection on Viennese taste, or lack of musical perception, that he seems never to have been asked to compose a symphony in Vienna. Of the three great symphonies of 1788 there is no record either of commission or performance. Prague, enraptured over Figaro, asked in 1786 for the Symphony which bears its name. Three years earlier, while returning from a visit to Salzburg with Constanze a year after their marriage, he stopped in Linz to visit his friend Count Thun, and there hastily composed a symphony.
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[7] Mozart wrote his truly surpassing scores, one is invariably astonished that a triumph of his art, a rare efflorescence of the spirit quite unequalled in kind, could have come into being apparently with entire casualness. Mozart had been assured of a welcome at Linz from Count Thun, father of his pupil in Vienna. "When we arrived at the gate of Linz," wrote the composer to his father, "we were met by a servant sent to conduct us to the residence of the old Count Thun. I cannot say enough of the politeness with which we were overwhelmed. On
Tuesday, November 4, I shall give a concert in the theatre here, and as I have not a single symphony with me, I am writing one for dear life to be ready in time." Mozart was as good as his word — within the five days that remained from his arrival to the hour of the concert a new symphony was written, the parts copied, the piece (presumably) rehearsed. It is small wonder that the experts have found it hard to believe that Mozart at a moment's notice, in a strange house, and in the space of some three days, conceived and completed a full length symphony, replete with innovation, daring and provocative in detail of treatment; the obvious product of one who has taken new thought and gathered new power. As the years pass, the students of Mozart have learned to accept what they will never account for — sudden and incredible manifestations in his development. Andre has doubted whether the symphony written for Linz was the one in C major. He argued in favor of a shorter one in G major (K. 444) and evidently of the same period as more likely. Niemetschek stated that the one in C major was dedicated to Count Thun, but the original score having been lost, there is no positive proof of this. Jahn inclined to this sym- phony, and later authorities, notably Saint-Foix and Alfred Einstein, have finally accepted it, dismissing the other one as the work of Michael Haydn, for which Mozart wrote an introductory adagio.
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[8] —
Jahn discerned the influence of Joseph Haydn in this symphony, particularly the "pathetic, somewhat lengthy adagio" which ushers in the allegro spiritoso. Mozart had until that time never used an intro-
duction to a symphony. But it should also be noted that introductions in the symphonies of Haydn were decidedly the exception until about this year, after which both composers were inclined towards them. The
interrelation of the symphonically developing Mozart and Haydn is always a subject for circumspect opinion. Jahn also points out as Haydnesque the "lively, rapid, and brilliant character of the whole, the effort to please and amuse by turns, and unexpected contrasts of every kind in the harmonies, in the alternations of forte and piano, and
in the instrumental effects." Saint-Foix rejects this thesis on its face value. To begin with, the Mozart who wrote the "Linz" Symphony had reached an ebullient and self-reliant point in his growth — he was in no mood for imitation. "The small number of symphonies written by Joseph Haydn in the years 1780-1783, which might have had some connection with the 'Linz' Symphony, actually show none. It might be more reasonable to suppose a definite effect of this symphony upon the subsequent ones of Haydn."
[copyrighted]
JORDAN HALL KE 68664
Friday Evening, April 1 1 at 8:30 DEMETER ZACHAREFF presents
L^narleA IfJ g g /-^etremont VIOLINIST LEON POMMERS at the Piano
Program—Vitale: Chaconne; Bruch: Concerto; Franck: Sonata; Saint-Saens: Rondo Capriccioso; Gluck: Melodie; Corelli- Kreisler: Air and Variations; Glazounov: Meditation;
Wieniawski : Scherzo-Tarantelle.
Latest Critical Comments on Petremont—for his Carnegie Hall Recital, Feb. 10, 1958:
"Musician of unusual gifts . . . warmth, sensitivity, sophisticated technical polish
. . . maturity . . . fingers nimble and accurate . . . tone both sumptuous and lovely." —N. Y. Herald Tribune
"The violinist's tone is sheer magic . . . his playing imaginative ... so eloquent that the concerto was interrupted by applause." N. Y. Times Benefit of the DEXTER SCHOOL Tickets and Mail Orders at Jordan Hall Box Office $1.65, $2.20, $2.75, $3.30 (Tax Included)
[91 Gary Graffman was born in New York City October 14, 1928. His father, a violinist, had been in Russia a pupil of Leopold Auer and in this country served as Concertmaster of the Minneapolis Orches- tra, later becoming Auer's assistant in New York. His son showed remarkable aptitude on the piano and at the age of seven, using a pedal extension, was accepted at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Mme. Isabelle Vengerova. He graduated in 1946, having already made appearances in public with orchestra and in recital. He won the first Rachmaninoff Fund Piano Contest in 1947, the Rachmaninoff Fund Special Award in 1948, and the Leventritt Foundation Award in 1949. He played Prokofieff's Third Concerto with this Orchestra on April 1, 1955.
CONCERTO FOR PIANOFORTE NO. 1 in D minor, Op. 15 By Johannes Brahms
Born at Hamburg, May 7, 1833; died at Vienna, April 3, 1897
Brahms composed his First Concerto through the years 1854-58. It had its first performance at Hanover, January 22, 1859, with Joachim conducting, and the composer as soloist. A performance in Boston was announced by Theodore Thomas to be given on December 9, 1871, but was cancelled. The honor of the first per- formance in this city belatedly fell to Harold Bauer and the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, on December 1, 1900. This was Mr. Bauer's first appearance in the United States. The same pianist repeated the Concerto at these concerts in 1914, 1920, and 1925. Artur Schnabel played it at the Brahms Festival in 1930, and Ossip Gabrilowitsch at the Brahms Festival in 1933. There was a performance by Myra Hess, April 15, 1932; by Rudolf Serkin, December 30, 1938; by Claudio Arrau, January 16, 1942; by Rudolf Firkusny, April 18, 1947; by Myra Hess, March 4, 1949; by Solomon, January 12, 1951; by Leon Fleisher, January 29-30, 1954; by Rudolf Serkin, January 20-21, 1956. The Concerto is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.
t must have been with an ever-present consciousness of the great I things expected of him that the youthful Johannes Brahms labored upon his first venture into the orchestral field. The Brahms whom Schumann received into his arms and publicly named the torchbearer of the symphonic tradition was an obscure youth of twenty, and far from ready to meet the requirements of the prophecy which, under the caption "Neue Bahne" Schumann proclaimed on October 23, 1853. Coming after his ten years of virtual retirement from the literary arena, the pronouncement was the more sensational. The world, which has
[10I OPENING TUESDAY NIGHT, APRIL 29 POPSTHE BOSTON ARTHUR FIEDLER, Conductor
73rd Season
The Pops will be given each night except
Mondays in May (including Sunday after- noons and evenings), and nightly except
Sundays through June 28.
Tickets on sale at Box Office two
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(CO 6-1492)
SYMPHONY HALL BOSTON
[n] always contained a plentiful portion of skeptics, was told that one had come "who should reveal his mastery, not by gradual develop ment, but should spring, like Minerva, fully armed, from the head of Jove. And now he has come, the young creature over whose cradle the
Graces and heroes have kept watch. His name is Johannes Brahms." Schumann went further, and ventured to hope: "If he would only point his magic wand to where the might of mass, in chorus and orchestra, lends him his power, yet more wondrous glimpses into the mysteries of the world of the spirit await us." The Jove-born hero must have been more than a little appalled when this lofty obligation was publicly laid upon his sturdy but inexperienced shoulders. Schumann's sanguine predictions had been built upon nothing more tangible than a portfolio of piano pieces in manuscript. But the young pianist from Hamburg had always a stout heart. Indeed, he had in mind a symphony, and probably a sketch or two in his portfolio. Characteristically, Brahms proceeded with infinite care and labor, fully aware that the domain Schumann had pointed out as his inheritance was mighty in precedent, sacred in tradition. He was determined to do full justice to himself, his score, and the expectations of his kindly prophet.
Brahms would never have achieved his first Herculean labor — the labor which at last produced the D minor piano concerto — if he had
HARVARD GLEE € LI IS RAUCLIFEK CHORAL SOCIETY Assisted by the Bach Society Orchestra
Sanders Theatre, Cambridge
Wednesday Evening, April 23, at 8:30 o'clock
Conducted by NADIA BOULANGER PROGRAM BACH Cantata 41: Jesu, Nun Sei Gepreiset MONTEVERDI Madrigals for Voices and Instruments MICHAL SPISAK Hymne Olympique ANTONI SZALOWSKI Petit Concerto (First Performance in the United States) From the French Renaissance and \ Chansons DEBUSSY J LILI BOULANGER Vieille Priere Bouddhique CHARPENTIER Le Bruit Des Tambours, Des Trompettes
Tickets are priced at $5, $4, $3, $2.50, $1.50 and are available at the Harvard Cooperative Society, Cambridge, or by mail from the Harvard Glee Club, Holden Chapel, Cambridge 38. Telephone orders and reservations will be accepted on weekdays from 1 to 5 p.m. at KI 7-8990.
[12] LIST OF WORKS Performed in the Cambridge Series DURING THE SEASON 1957-1958
Beethoven Symphony No. 3, in E-flat major, "Eroica," Op. 55 II December 17
Symphony No. 7, in A major, Op. 92 V March 25
Brahms Symphony No. 4, in E minor, Op. 98 I November 26 Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 II December 17
Piano Concerto No. 1, in D minor, Op. 15 Soloist: Gary Graffman IV April 8
Bruckner Symphony No. 7, in E major IV February 18 Handel Suite for Orchestra (From the "Water Music") Arranged by Sir Hamilton Harty VI April 8 Haydn Symphony No. 101, in D major, "The Clock" I November 26 Ibert Chamber Concertino for Saxophone and Orchestra Soloist: Marcel Mule III February 4
Mendelssohn Symphony No. 5, in D major, "Reformation," Op. 107 II December 17
Symphony No. 4, in A major, "Italian," Op. 90 III February 4 Mozart Symphony in C major, "Linz," K. 425 VI April 8 Piston Concerto for Viola and Orchestra Soloist: Joseph de Pasquale V March 25 Rameau Suite from the Opera, "Dardanus" IV February 18 Ravel "Ma Mere l'Oye" ("Mother Goose") Children's Pieces III February 4 Roussel Suite in F major, Op. 33 V March 25 Stravinsky "Agon," Ballet IV February 18 Tomasi Ballade for Saxophone and Orchestra Soloist: Marcel Mule III February 4 Wagner Prelude and Love-death from "Tristan und Isolde" I November 26
[13] not been armed with an indispensable weapon which was to stand him in good stead through life — rigorous self-criticism. So, when in 1854 he was ready to show three sketched movements of a symphony (the first even orchestrated) to Clara Schumann and others of his friendly advisers, probably not one of them was more aware than the composer that all was not yet well. He had cast his score into a tran- scription for two pianos, for ready assimilation, and frequently played it over with Clara Schumann or Julius Grimm. In this guise, the traits of the originally pianistic Brahms apparently asserted them- selves. He seemed to be tending toward a sonata for two pianofortes, and yet the work was far beyond the range of the two instruments, as Grimm frequently pointed out. "Johannes, however, had quite con- vinced himself," so relates Florence May, Brahms' pupil and biog- rapher, "that he was not yet ripe for the writing of a symphony, and it occurred to Grimm that the music might be rearranged as a piano concerto. This proposal was entertained by Brahms, who accepted the first and second movements as suitable in essentials for this form. The change of structure involved in the plan, however, proved far from easy of successful accomplishment, and occupied much of the composer's time during two years." The advice of his friend Joachim, who knew a thing or two about concertos, was often sought by Brahms. The original third movement of the projected symphony, having no place in a concerto, was laid aside and eventually used as the number "Behold all flesh," in the German Requiem. The Piano Concerto in D minor, which emerged in 1858 after these transformations, has every
mark of the organism which is held aloft by a Herculean arm, through ordeal by fire and water, to final heroic metamorphosis.
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[i4l 1958 - 1959
Boston Symphony Orchestra
CHARLES MUNCH, Music Director \/
A Series of Six TUESDAY EVENING CONCERTS
at 8:30
October 28 January 20 March 17
December 16 February 3 April 21 \s
THOMAS D. PERRY, JR., Manager
SYMPHONY HALL, BOSTON, MASS.
Applications are now being accepted at the
Subscription Office in Symphony Hall.
[15] No more masterful score has come from a comparative novice in the symphonic and in the concerto field. The wilful composer con- quers both media, welds them into one close-wrought texture. The piano speaks with a true orchestral voice — is identified rather than contrasted with the "tutti." Gone is the easy give and take of Mozart's concertos, the pearly cascades of piano virtuosity which Liszt had provided. Even the Beethoven of the Fourth and Fifth Concertos, in the slow movements of which piano and orchestra exchange com- ments in a thoughtful dialogue, was superseded, from the point of view of organic integration. "A symphony with piano obbligato," Biilow called it — an axiom not to be taken too literally, for a con- certo, formally speaking, it remained. It was not surprising that this bulky and formidable work should have repelled and antagonized many of its first hearers. Even the devoted Clara Schumann was com- pelled to admit a certain perplexity about the rugged and powerful first movement. "Strangely enough," she wrote her young friend, "1 understand why the first movement of the concerto still troubles you; it is so wonderful in detail, and yet the whole is not yet vivifying, though it inspires enthusiasm. But what is the reason of this? I can- not make it out." The composer must have been taken aback by the cool initial reception of the concerto at Hanover, where he appeared as pianist under Joachim's direction, in 1859. [copyrighted]
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