Boston Symphony Orchestra Concert Programs, Season 87, 1967-1968
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w~^3 T ^»"«| :,:>" ,: i | <-\,~.,„s-- 11 ;-;:: ; ::;:|.:::4^< ,•*// / „~~-4 " 8" X " •sty.- .„ .*«:/«.•... v. \>. I ' ** f- < .^V^^ia <. J : icjfjf $& 1 *-r^ ^ ^^..sW,.wWJv/-^; | >^ r 1 / BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA /// FOUNDED IN 1881 BY HENRY LEE HIGGINSON mm III. \ 'it \ v \ i ; .,-<'"/ : : :.:. .-.- / . II X: Af.J imf/J If I 1 m >,#» 'if /,< . .....^ ' -;?&» -Jf \,M / %!;.\ EIGHTY-SEVENTH SEASON 1967-1968 Exquisite Sound From the palaces of ancient Egypt to the concert halls of our modern cities, the wondrous music of the harp has compelled attention from all peoples and all countries. Through this passage of time many changes have been made in the original design. The early instruments shown in drawings on the tomb of Rameses II (1292-1225 B.C.) were richly decorated but lacked the fore-pillar. Later the "Kinner" developed by the Hebrews took the form as we know it today. The pedal harp was invented about 1720 by a Bavarian named Hochbrucker and through this ingenious device it be- came possible to play in eight major and five minor scales complete. Today the harp is an important and familiar instrument providing the "Exquisite Sound" and special effects so important to modern orchestration and arrange- ment. The certainty of change makes necessary a continuous review of your insurance protection. We welcome the opportunity of providing this service for your business or personal needs. We respectfully invite your inquiry CHARLES H. WATKINS & CO. Richard P. Nyquist — Charles G. Carleton 147 Milk Street Boston, Massachusetts Telephone 542-1250 OBRION, RUSSELL & CO. Insurance of Every Description EIGHTY-SEVENTH SEASON 1967-1968 BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ERICH LEINSDORF Music Director CHARLES WILSON Assistant Conductor THE TRUSTEES OF THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC. HENRY B. CABOT President TALCOTT M. BANKS Vice-President JOHN L. THORNDIKE Treasurer PHILIP K. ALLEN E. MORTON JENNINGS JR ABRAM BERKOWITZ HENRY A. LAUGHLIN THEODORE P. FERRIS EDWARD G. MURRAY ROBERT H. GARDINER JOHN T. NOONAN FRANCIS W. HATCH MRS JAMES H. PERKINS ANDREW HEISKELL SIDNEY R. RABB HAROLD D. HODGKINSON RAYMOND S. WILKINS TRUSTEES EMERITUS PALFREY PERKINS LEWIS PERRY EDWARD A. TAFT THOMAS D. PERRY JR Manager NORMAN S. SHIRK JAMES J. BROSNAHAN Assistant Manager Business Administrator SANFORD R. SISTARE HARRY J. KRAUT Press and Publicity Assistant to the Manager ANDREW RAEBURN MARY H. SMITH Program Editor Executive Assistant Copyright 1967 by Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc. SYMPHONY HALL BOSTON MASSACHUSETTS TWO MAGNIFICENT RECORDING ACHIEVEMENTS THE BOSTON SYMPHONY UNDER ERICH LEINSDO BOSTON I NILSSON h Wagner SYMPHONY £^ c # IcHOOKASlAN r, LKINSDOKF BKRGQNZf • vobengnn «U^»*//U«* PLAGELLO • n Complete Boston Symphony Orchestra/Leinsdorf Ko'nya • Amara • Gorr Dooley • Mines • Marsh Boston Chorus Pro Musica • Patterson rcaVj The first absolutely complete Verdi Requiem featur Lohengrin on records. four celebrated soloii rca Victor m (m)Jbe most trusted name in sound ^L The Fund for the Boston Symphony The Coal $5.5 million 4.0 million— to match the Ford Foundation challenge grant of $2 million. 1.5 million — to refurbish Symphony Hall and Tanglewood. Why? Last year Symphony income was $3,123,185. In the same period expense was $3,417,283. Result — a deficit for the year of $294,098. When? Now. The Fund has raised nearly $2.5 million in gifts and pledges already. The objective is an additional $3 million pledged by Christmas. A word from Henry B. Cabot A Symphony Orchestra simply cannot be a "paying" proposition. There is always a gap between income and expense, a gap which must be met by gifts from loyal friends of the Orchestra, be they individuals, corporations, or foundations. The problem is that the gap between income and expense has in recent years been growing wider, and so now, with the help and challenge of the Ford Founda- tion, the Orchestra proposes to increase its financial support. To cover this widening gap between income and expense, the Orchestra seeks additional funds for investment and increased annual support. For both, we must turn to you and all in this community who value music. I do not say orchestral music, for although this is a great orchestra, it is also a group of fine musicians who form the heart and core of the musical life of this city. Our goals are to maintain annual giving of at least $325,000 through the season 1970-71, and to raise in addition to our present perma- nent income producing funds of $3.5 million a further $4 million in which case the Ford Foundation will give us $100,000 per season for expenses and $2 million for investment. We also seek an additional $1.5 million for various purposes, principally renovations at Sym- phony Hall and Tanglewood. If we accomplish these purposes, we will add $6 million to income producing funds, $1.5 million for construction and renovation, and will have established a wide base for annual contributions. The Trustees of the Orchestra have set a target of $1 million as their share of the Fund. Attainment of the total goal depends upon the thoughtful giving of all who love fine music. (KB Hu m At the / Boston Symphony Concerts / this year, these Pianists MALCOLM FRAGER GARY GRAFFMAN play only simple Splendor So right for this new season—our the TEINWAY paisley wool kaftan outlined with gold braid. Petite, Small, Medium, IN MASSACHUSETTS AND NEW HAMPSHIRE Large. $135.00 NEW STEINWAYS AVAILABLE ONLY FROM 416 BOYLSTON STREET 54 CENTRAL STREET BOSTON 02116 WELLESLEY M. STEiNERT & SONS KEnmore 6-6238 CEdar 5-3430 162 BOYLSTON STREET • BOSTON! ALSO WORCESTER and SPRINGFIELD JOHN N. BURK We report with great sadness the death on 6 September of John Naglee Burk, who re- tired at the end of the 1965-66 season after forty-eight years of service with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. During thirty-two of those years he was the Orchestra's official historian and program annotator. John Burk was born in San Jose, California in 1891. His father, a gifted amateur, had been a pupil of Franz Liszt, and passed on to his son his great love of music. John Burk was educated for a time in Switzerland, where he learned to speak fluent French, and went on to Harvard and majored in English. He founded The Harvard Musical Review with Roger Sessions, the distinguished composer, and was graduated in 1916. After two years as assistant to H. T. Parker on The Boston Transcript, he came to Symphony Hall as publicity director. On the death of Philip Hale in 1934, he became program annotator and editor, and during the years he wrote for the Orchestra, his notes became known throughout the world for their scholarship and lucidity. Michael Steinberg wrote in The Boston Sunday Globe in October last year: "By his writing, John Burk has earned the gratitude, not just of the Boston Symphony, but of that orchestra's large public. We have, all of us, been the beneficiaries of his conscientious scholarship and his fastidious style. He is a man sensitive to words, to their precise meanings, and to their most subtly elusive flavors as well. Proceeding from a clear and disciplined intellect, his essays are shapely and forceful." Mr Burk wrote several books: Clara Schumann, The Life and Works of Beethoven, Mozart and his Music, Letters of Richard Wagner—the Burrell Collection; and edited Philip Hale's Boston Symphony Programme Notes. He also extended M. A. De Wolfe Howe's Boston Symphony Orchestra for the period between 1914 and 1931. He received an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia in 1950, and three years later was named a member of the Harvard Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. John Burk was a man of extraordinary gentleness and modesty, and was known to his friends for his occasional and charming absent-mindedness. He lived during the last years of his life in Boston and at his country home in Rockport. Francis W. Hatch has paid a tribute in which Mr Burk's colleagues at Symphony Hall and the Orchestra's subscribers will surely wish to join: "The program notes prepared by John Burk will rank as classics in the field of musical history. For over thirty years, his weekly program feature has added to the enjoyment of musical scholars. The passing of John Burk is indeed the end of an era." MM FASHION INDIVIDUALISTS invariably look to Stearns for their every fashion choice/ One could very well be this Originala . from our Designer collection. Coats, all stores. BOSTON: At the start of The Freedom Trail, 140 Tremont Street, 482-0260. CHESTNUT HILL: 232-8100. SOUTH SHORE PLAZA: 848-0300. 1 Contents Program for 28 and 29 September 1967 1 Future programs 57 The soloists 38 The members of the Orchestra 41 John N. Burk — an obituary 7 Program notes by Conrad L. Osborne Der fliegende Hollander — Overture 12 Die Meistersinger — excerpts from Act III 16 Die Walkure — Act I 20 The ring of the Nibelungs — a synopsis 32 Records of Die Walkure 36 Your Symphony Hall 46 Tanglewood 1967 50 It is a pleasure +0 announce that our new branch store at 60 Central Street. Wellesley is now open Housed here will be the many famous and ex- clusive collections of gowns, costumes, coats, sportswear, and accessories that we gather from all over the world. We think you will find shopping with us a pleasant experience. BOSTON WELLESLEY This is an executrix. Should you have one? They're not hard to come by. Do you have a sensible wife? A capable daughter? A smart sister? If anybody can watchdog your estate after your death, draw up an inventory of your property and appraise it, document the assets, settle bills and claims, pay expenses, avoid unnecessary taxes and make wise investment decisions, she can.