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78 WINNETKA TALK December 15, 1928 Music News and Events Music World Pays | Tribute to Great Master--Schubert By Rutheda L. Pretzel The centenary year of the death of | Franz Schubert, Austrian composer, has brought more than a little atten- tion to the man and to his works. Tt will be recalled that he was born in 1797 in Vienna, and passed his whole life there, dying in 1828. He is buried | beside his contemporary, Beethoven. The two musicians lived in the same ate in the same taverns, but because | of Beethoven's formidable character, | Schubert was afraid of him, and the | two came together only at Beethoven's | death-bed. Olin Downes in the "New York Times Magazine," says of them: "Of all the artists of that time, they are the most complementary to each other, the most inevitably associated in a perspective of the period. Separately they are divergent. Together, they city, walked in the same streets and appear as the halves of the soul of their epoch, expressing in a mysterious synthesis all that was idealistic, heroic, and beautiful in the early nineteenth century. Today they lie side by side-- the brooding, passionate Beethoven, the warrior, the prophet of the new age, and Schubert, the poet, the hum- ble, wistful dreamer, the sweetest of singers, the simplest of souls." Created Romantic Music Schubert created German romantic concert music, just as Weber created German romantic opera. He was hardly known as an instrumental com- poser by his contemporaries and suc- cessors, being over-shadowed by the giantic figure of Beethoven. His fame is founded on the lied, a type of com- position that had been little cultivated, although it may be traced back to the minnesingers. The romantic lied of Schubert is a musical composition to a certain extent independent of the poem for which it is written. Here all the romantic elements converge in a great art form, and one finds intensi- fied individuality in its most direct and ideal form of expression. In his in- strumental compositions, one finds the two fundamental characteristics of ro- mantic music, the activity of modula- tion inherent in the harmony, and the stressing of color sense. In Beethoven we find the severe organic unity, single- ness of idea, monumental massiveness, but Schubert shows variety of ideas, fanciful visions, change. The individ- ual human being with his particular joys and sorrows is expressig his own consciousness. Life Story Appears An authoritative life-story of the great composer has recently been pub- lished by Newman Flower, and in his book, written after two years of re- search, Mr. Flower says that Schubert wrote more than six hundred songs, the best of which have never been equaled, several remarkable symphon- ies, a great deal of fine chamber mu- sic and a mass of lighter music during the 31 years of his life, but his total earnings were only about 575 pounds. A man of little business sense, and not famous during his life, Schubert was unable to command fair prices from publishers for his compositions. Dia- belli and Haslinger, publishers, flatly refused to pay anything for the "Erl- King," declaring that, since Schubert was unknown to music-sellers, it would hardly pay them to engrave the score. A small group of appreciative friends 1797 -- Franz Schubert -- 1828 gave a charity concert for the com- bai Avliheda L. poser, introducing the "Erl-King," and one friend, Sonnleithner, had it and other songs engraved at his own ex- pense. Even when the songs became popular Schubert's receipts were small, because publishers knew Schubert sel- dom hand money and considered him- self lucky to sell his songs at any price. Not a Weakling Mr. Flower shows that Schubert was no "sentimental weakling," but that he was "virile and passionate," and "fond of wine and good company." "He was a complex character, as those who know the wide range of his music would expect." Bauernfeld, one of Schubert's intimate friends, said that he "has the right mixture of the ideal and real," and Anselm Huttenbrenner said, "Over a glass of wine or punch, Schubert was most talkative. His musical judgments were sharp, and he always hit the nail on the head. In this way he resembled Beethoven, who could be very sarcastic at times. If at a society gathering music was dis- cussed with knowledged, Schubert would listen with pleasure, and rarely interrupted. But if an ill-informed amateur made statements which proved his ignorance, Schubert's patience broke at once. He would go up to the jabberer and exclaim hotly: "You'd better be quiet. You don't understand that, and you never will understand tl MARY McCORMIC RECITAL Mary McCormic, world famous opera star and concert soprano, will appear in recital at the Studebaker theater Sunday afternoon, December 16, under auspices of Bertha Ott, Inc. Where to Go for Tickets for the Horowitz Recital Tickets for the Vladimar Horo- witz recital to be given in the New Trier gymnasium Wednesday eve- ning, December 26, will be on sale in all Wilmette and Kenilworth drug stores, and may also be obtained at the Winnetka State bank and at the Hubbard Woods pharmacy. Regular subscribers to the Artist- Recital series are assured of first choice of seats for the recital, it is announced. All seats will sell at $2.50, except in the balcony, which is to be reserved for students, at $1.50. Mrs. Harry Street is in charge of ticket sales in Winnetka, Mrs. Sid- ney Bartlett, in charge of sales in Hubbard Woods with headquarters at the Hubbard Woods pharmacy. Mrs. Dwight C. Orcutt has charge in Glencoe, and Mrs. Everett Harris, in Wilmette. |Opera Tickets Are ldeal Xmas Gifts, We Are Reminded "'Say it with song' this Christmas." That is this is a new Christmas gift suggestion voiced at headquarters of the Chicago Civic Opera company. "Santa Claus is on his way to Chi- cago with a bag full of gifts for the opera lovers of this city, continues the suggestion. "Holiday week will be a gala week indeed at the Auditorium. The first performance of "I'he Marriage of Fig- aro' revived this season for the first time since 1911, has been scheduled for Christmas Eve. 'Der Rosenkavalier,' re- sumed in the standard repertoire this vear, will receive its first presentation during Christmas week. "Mary Garden, favorite of thousands of opera goers throughout the country, will make her first appearance during the holidays in an opera which will be announced in the near future. "For the New Year's Eve gala the first performance of 'Norma, revived this season with new scenery and cos- tumes, has been scheduled, with Rosa Raisa in the title role and Charles Marshall as the Pollione. It will be Mme. Raisa's first appearance of the season, "On New Year's Day the second per- formance of 'Don Giovanni' is an- nounced "So why not opera seats for holiday gifts?" Mozart Works to Feature Chicago Opera Repertoire Two Mozart works have been in- cluded in the standard repertoire of the Chicago Civic Opera this season. One, "Don Giovanni," was presented two years ago with outstanding success. The other, "The Marriage of Figaro," has not been presented at the Audi- torium since 1911. Few, indeed, are the companies which can give the Mozart compositions ade- quate productions, for Mozart was prodigal in his use of voices, and both these works demand three sopranos of stellar abilities. While Mozart was an Austrian, his operatic compositions belong properly in the Italian repertoire. They were constructed around Italian librettos, and had their first presentatiens in that language. Most of them were origin- ally planned for the intimate Redout- ensaal in the imperial palace at Vienna, and even today, when a Mozart season is given by the Vienna State Opera, it is produced in this lovely little theatre. Columbia School Pupils in Recital December 15 Miss Ruth Raz of the Columbia School of Music will present her pu- pils in an "ensemble program" Satur- day afternoon, December 15, at 3 o'clock, in the Recital hall of the school. The following program will be given: ¥Yalses Noble... ora .. Schubert 'Tis ~Bvening: 5a: &a 005 Tschaikowsky Sonatina D Major ............ Schubert Trio--piano, violin and cello-- Pergolese .......: EE Rn, Kreisler Children's songs TOY -BYMPDROMY iors isnt 5s vx sais Haydn The vocal pupils of Marion Capps Stew- art will assist in the program. GIVE JOINT RECITAL Michel Wilkomirski, violinist, and Vera Mirova, dancer, will appear in joint recital at the Playhouse Sunday afternoon, January 16, under direction of Bertha Ott, Inc.