/ W^mmii^J ^ xm^^ f. VJHf BOSTON ^- SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC. FIFTY-FIFTH SEASON ^| 1935-1936 P>] 1 VICTOR RECORDS We would like to direct your attention with strong em- phasis to these extraordinary recordings, which mark a real advance in the development of Victor higher fidelity recording. Both emotionally and intellectually they place in your hands exceedingly desirable entertainment. Song Recital (Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf) Mme. Lotte Lehmann . M 292 $7.50 Porgy and Bess (Gershwin) Lawrence Tibbett—Helen Jepson and Chorus . C 25 6.50 Symphony No. 1 in E minor (Sibelius, Opus 39) Eugene Ormandy—Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra—M 290 10 00 The Twenty-Four Preludes (Chopin, Opus 28) Alfred Cortot M 282 8.00 Symphony No. 40 (Mozart) Koussevitzky—London Philharmonic Orchestra . M 293 6.50 Concerto No. 2 (Beethoven, Opus 19) Arthur Schnabel — London Philharmonic Orchestra—M 295 8.00 M. STEINERT & SONS 162 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass. TEL. HANCOCK I9OO BOSTON MUSIC CO. 116 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass. TEL. HANCOCK 1 56 Charles W. Homeyer & Co., Inc. 498 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass. NEXT TO HOTEL BRUNSWICK SYMPHONY HALL, BOSTON HUNTINGTON AND MASSACHUSETTS AVENUES Branch Exchange Telephone, Ticket and Administration Offices, Com. 1492 FIFTY-FIFTH SEASON, 1935-1936 Boston Symphony Orchestra INCORPORATED Dr. SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, Conductor Richard Burgin, Assistant Conductor Concert Bulletin of the Fourth Concert TUESDAY AFTERNOON, February 25 with historical and descriptive notes By John N. Burk COPYRIGHT, 1936, 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 [1] <d wM comAwnu ib to te\ (otdcdeb aA (bxeccdtwr- md memaae ^yanm a& t_J.wtAiee ow ab I zyvLanw tieawb a m commete o?wani%ation ename t€b to ou&y- Icient and ArwnAt ber-wice. Old Colony Trust Company 17 COURT STREET, BOSTON <tAlliedwith The First National Bank of Boston [2] To the~ Friends of the Boston Symphony Orchestra: addition to the renewals in membership that Inmay be counted upon I estimate that each year we must expect to enroll at least 100 new Friends of the Orchestra who are willing and able to give $100 apiece or a correspondingly larger number of new members if their gifts are in smaller amounts. These additions to our mem- bership will be needed to offset losses due to deaths and to changes in residence or in individual circumstances that inevitably occur. It would stimulate the success of our effort if those members who have not yet enrolled would do so promptly and if all members would take an active part in interesting their friends to help in providing the financial support that our Orchestra requires. Over $40,000 is still needed. Edward A. Taft, Chairman of Friends of the Boston Symphony Orchestra To enroll as a Friend of the Orchestra, simply make out a cheque or sign a pledge card to Boston Symphony Orchestra, for whatever amount you care to contribute, and mail it to E. B. Dane, Esquire, Treasurer, 6 Beacon Street, Boston. Gifts to the Orchestra are deductible donations under the Federal Income Tax Law. [3] —Cljanbltr Si Co.— TREMONT AND WEST STREETS Choose Navy -with -Print for your Early Spring Costume Two and Three Piece Dresses in Silk Crepe or Sheer Wool 22 .75 Wise fashion, to favor the flattering combina- tion of a smart navy jacket dress with a gaily- printed silk blouse — a perfect undercoat cos- tume now, a versatile suit when Springs rolls around. Redingotes with long sleeved printed silk dresses under beautifully tailored navy crepe coats — are also featured at this special price. Sizes 36 to 44 Fourth Floor [4] SYMPHONY HALL, BOSTON Boston Symphony Orchestra Dr. SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, Conductor FOURTH CONCERT of the TUESDAY AFTERNOON SERIES TUESDAY AFTERNOON, February 25, at 3.00 o'clock RICHARD BURGIN, Conducting Programme Rameau Ballet Suite (Edited by Felix Mottb I. Minuet from "Platee" II. Musette from "Les Fetes d'Hebe" III. Tambourin from "Les Fetes d'Hebe" Berlioz Excerpts from "The Damnation of Faust" Minuet of the Will-o'-the-wisps Dance of the Sylphs Roussel Symphony No. 3 in G minor, Op. 42 I. Allegro vivo II. Adagio III. Vivace IV. Allegro con spirito INTERMISSION Saint-Saens Concerto for Violoncello No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33 Ravel "La Valse," Choreographic Poem SOLOIST JEAN BEDETTI (A number of paintings loaned by the Boston Art Club, together with music, autographs, and pictures of the composers whose works are in the Orchestra's current repertory, may be seen in the Huntington Avenue Foyer. See page 20) [5] MINUET, MUSETTE AND TAMBOURIN (Edited by Felix Mottl) By Jean Philippe Rameau Born at Dijon, October 23, 1683; died in Paris, September 12, 1764 It was in his fiftieth year (1733) that Rameau, itinerant organist, clavecinist, composer, musical theorist, attained his first perform- ance as a composer of opera, with "Hippolyte et Aricie." The composer had long sought recognition in this field, but an eminent librettist, indispensable to a successful production, would at that time hesitate to honor a composer untried in matters of the theatre. A collabora- tion with the two-edged Voltaire did him no good, for the piece "Samson" was banned on the eve of performance. "Hippolyte et Aricie" was an adaptation by the Abbe Pellegrin of Racine's "Phedre." There followed operas, ballets, divertissements innumerable, and although sharply criticized by the Lullyists for his harmonic and modulatory innovations, Rameau soon became the composer of the day in Paris, thunderously applauded on his every appearance at the opera, ap- pointed the successor of Lully as compositeur de cabinet for Louis XV, and recommended for the badge of nobility. The ballet, "Les Fetes 1 d'Hebe" was produced May 21, 1739. "Platee," in three acts and a OLIVER DITSON COMPANY, INC. 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It has been said against Rameau, no doubt with justice, that he lacked the true dramatic instinct of Lully before or Gluck after him; that he was careless of the librettos he accepted, and was more inter- ested in the treatment of his orchestra from the purely musical point of view than in theatrical effect, or the handling of the voice. He is said to have made the damaging admission that he could set even the Gazette de Hollande to music. And in his old age he remarked one evening to the Abbe Arnaud: "If I were twenty years younger, I would go to Italy, and take Pergolesi for my model, abandon something of my harmony and devote myself to attaining truth of declamation, which should be the sole guide of musicians. But after sixty, one can- not change; experience points plainly enough the best course, but the mind refuses to obey." The defense of Rameau lies in his widespread and clamorous success, based, not upon an easy acquiescence to popu- lar mode, but in harmonic innovation which was courageous as well as engaging, and made him enemies in reactionary quarters. Rameau delved deep in his earlier years into the science of harmony, wrote voluminously and brilliantly upon the subject. He was always ready to put his theory into practice, and in turn to modify that theory to his practical experience. rJJxscover your true oeauiy wiin a ^l/eiva ^ifiaslc ^reaiment! 9 The Velva Mask Treatment is Elizabeth Arden's latest discovery — mask light as a cream, delicate as blanc mange. Try it and you will make a startling discovery, too. Once that fine fretwork of lines is snatched away, and fresher color comes shining through a clearer, younger skin, and contours are restored to firm, smooth, oval curves, u_ you'll discover that — you're beautiful! ©1935BA 24 NEWBURY STREET KENMORE 4784 [8] KDl Cjaiuto Stearns9 New Cruise Shop on the fourth floor CdI Cyaiio: a name for you to conjure with in the next few months. It's your first stop in high adventure after your travel plans have materialized. Here you will find your fashion passport for the play centers of the world . Miami, southern California, Nassua, Bermuda or the Riviera. R. H. STEARNS CO. [9] The minuet from "Platee" is in the brief formal sections, with re- peats, of the period. In the trio, the key of E major is changed to E minor. The musette from "Fetes d'Hebe" adds to the simple orches- tra of the first number an English horn and triangle.