The Baton: Vol. 10, No. 5
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Published by THE I NSTITUTEOF MuSICA L A RT OF THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL OF MUSIC FRANK DAMROSCH, DEAN Easter, 1931 15 CENTS A COPY THE BATON Appearances of faculty members, alumni and pupils are featured FORTISSIMO in these columns. tlj* ftahlfc The Institute of Musical Art presented its annual on March 7. He played a program of Beet- concert at Carnegie Hall on March 6. The pro- hoven's sonatas. gram included Berlioz' Benvenuto Cellini Over- George Boyle, also of the piano Faculty, presented ture, by the orchestra; "Ah, fors' e lui" from La the sixth Artists' recital on March 14. He played Traviata by Verdi, sung by Evelyn Schiff; his own Concerto in D minor, his wife, Pearl Boellmann's Variations Symphoniques for violon- Boyle, giving the orchestral part on a second piano. cello with Harvey Shapiro as soloist; Variations Phyllis and Karl Kraeuter, both Artist Graduates, Symphoniques for piano by Franck, with Jeanne gave the seventh Artists' recital on March 27. Mills at the piano; and Brahms' Symphony No. Miss Kraeuter is a 'cellist and her brother a vio- 1 in C minor by the orchestra. linist. They were assisted by Emanuel Bay at Mischa Levitzki, probably the most famous of the the piano. Institute's former students, created such a sensa- Sainuel Gardner, of the violin Faculty, led a program tion when he appeared as soloist at the Roxy Con- of ensemble music given by his class at the Insti- cert on March 1, that the "no encore" rule was tute on March 25. Members of the class, which broken. He played two! "He gave a superb is voluntary, are: rendition of the Liszt E flat concerto." First violin, Samuel Carmell, Sidney Brecher, Mr. Levitzki left New York two days later for Mary Mclntyre, Robert Gross, Emery Erdelyi. the Pacific Coast and sailed from San Francisco Second violin, Louis Kievman, Susan Ripley, on March 11 for Australia, .planning to give two Arnold Clair, Louis Entin, Dvera Weiss. concerts in Honolulu on the way. This will be Viola, Irving Kolodin, Keith Davis, Jane his second tour of Australia and New Zealand. Stoneall, Sandy Jones. At its conclusion in August he will go to Egypt; 'Cello, Ralph Oxman, Walter Potter, Geraldine in October he will begin a series of concerts in the Widmer, Helen Taylor. Near East and Europe, after which he will return Piano, Henrietta Holtzman, Eugene Kuzmiak. to the United States. Flute, Robert Bolles. Naoum Blinder, violinist, Evsei Beloussoff, 'cellist Bernard Wagenaar's Divertimento was performed (both members of the Institute's Faculty) and on February 21 at the second of the American Emanuel Bay gave a chamber music concert at Composers' Concerts of the present season, and Hunter College on March 11. the twentieth of the six seasons in which these Georges Barrere, who teaches concerts have been sponsored flute at the Institute and who by the Eastman School of leads the Barrere Little Sym- laton Music at Rochester, N. Y. phony Orchestra, gave a flute Published Monthly Mr. Wagenaar, who is a recital at Hunter College on 120 CLAREMONT AVENUE, NEW YORK member of our theory de- March 4. Copyright, 1931 by THE INSTITUTE OF MUSICAL ART partment "has put together Lorenzo Sansone, teacher of four movements which he French horn at the Institute, Vol. X Easter, 1931 No, 5 calls Cortege, Paspy, Pas- Milton Prinz, 'cellist graduate, torale and Rond o. The and Evsei Beloussoff were Editor-in-Chief Paspy is a sort of satire on among the assisting artists at DOROTHY CROWTHERS the passepied and contains the Beethoven Association Assistant Editor light humorous suggestions." Concert at Town Hall on Sidney Sukoenig, Artist Grad- March 16. ELIZABETH STUTSMAN uate of our piano depart- The Musical Art Quartet, of Editorial Staff ment, has appeared in five whom Sascha Jacobsen, Louis Arthur Christmann recitals in New York City and Kaufman and Marie Roe- Albert Kirkpatrick vicinity recently. He is plan- maet-Rosanoff are Artist Irving Kolodin ning to give two Carnegie Graduates of the Institute, Irene Lockwood Hall concerts early next fall. gave their fourth concert of Joseph Machlis Lamar Stringfield, Artist Grad- the season on March 24. Subscription for Season uate in the flute department Eight Issues, November to June Jantes Friskin, of our piano $1.00 in the Building who has contributed articles Faculty, gav;e the fifth Ar- $1.25 by Mail to THE BATON, has written a Single Copies—15 cents tists' recital at the Institute {Continued on Page 18) THE BATON Th e <L/fr t o f J)([ Q 1 b a A Great Career in Retrospect By W. J. Henderson the news of Nellie Melba's death was clef to the high F. The scale was beautifully published February 23rd some authorities equalized throughout and there was not the could tfind no way to speak of her except slightest change in the quality from bottom to to compare her with Adelina Patti. But as they top. All the tones were forward ; there was never had already dome the same thing with Marion even a .suspicion of throatiness. The full, flow- Talley and Lily Pons, the comparison had little ing and facile emission of the tones has never value. Nor did any one first establish the prem- been surpassed, if matched, by any other singer ise that Mime. Patti was the standard by which of our time. The intonation was preeminent in all other singers were to be judged. Doubtless its correctness; the singer was rarely in the when some of the obituary writers went back to smallest measure off pitch. the 1893 files of their own papers they were ,. a. amazed to find that Mme. Melba's debuit was treated in from a third to< two-thirds of a column. Marion Talley received six times as much space and Miss Pons from three to four times as much. The art iof 'ballyhoo had not been fully developed in the g-ay nineties. Nevertheless Mme. Melba enjoyed a long and famous career. Old operagoeris can remember her in the zenith of her glory. Her latest appearances in New York were not to the advantage of her reputa- tion. Mme. Melba made her stage debut at the Theatre de la Monnaie, Brussels, October 12, 1887, as Gilda in "Rigoletto." Dubious state- ments have been made about her age. It was said at the time of her first appearance to be 26. Agneis Murphy wrote a biography which beans out this assertion by giving the year of her birth as 1861. Thus she must have been 32 when she came to the Metropolitan. Whatever the number of years, the voice was in the plenti- tude of its glory and it was quickly accepted as one of the great voices of operatic history. The quality of musical tone cannot be ade- quately described. No words can convey to a W. J. Henderson, when photoviewed and interviewed in music lover wiho did not hear Melba any idea of 1911—"Except for the fact that I consider the operatic taste the soundis with which she ravished all ears. here lower than it was twenty years ago, when there were Maurel used to say of the voice of Tam'ango, many more great singers, the musical advance of New York has been very great." Mr. Henderson is nozv the Dean of "C'est la voix unique du monde." One could American music critics, probably the greatest living authority equally as well 'have said of Melba's: "It is the on singing, and a marvel of open-inindedness on all musical unique voice of the world." This writer never matters. heard any other just like it. Its beauty, its pow- er, its clarion quality differed from the fluty The Melba attack was little short of marvelous. notes of Patti. It was not a better voice, but a The term attack is not a good one. Melba in- different one. It has been called silvery, but deed had no attack; she opened her mouth and what doeis that signify? There is one quality a tone was in existence. It began without ictus, wihich it had and which may be comprehended when she wished it to, and without betrayal of even by those who did not hear her; it had splen- breathing. It simply was there. When she dor. The tones glowed with a starlike brilliance. wished to make a bold attack, as in the trio of They flamed with a wihite flame. And they pos- the last scene of "Faust," she made it with the sessed a remarkable force which the famous clear silvery stroke of a bell. Her trill was rav- singer always used with continence. She gave ishing. On tlhe evening of her debut at the the impression of singing well within her limits. Metropolitan she sang in the cadenza of the mad Her voice was of the full range needed for the scene a prodigiously long crescendo trill which colorature and light lyric roles of the modern was not merely astonishing, but also beautiful. repertoire. It extended from B flat below tlhe Her stacoati were as firm, as well placed, and as THE BATON musical as if they had been played on a piano. ment sang Tosti's "Mattinata," which became in- Her cantilena was flawless in smoothness and separably associated with her lesson scene from purity. She phrased with elegance and sound musi- that time. cianship as well as with consideration for the import Since tihis is not a biographical sketch, it is of the text. In short, her teehnic was such as to unnecessary to follow Mme.