Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 06, 1950, Winnipeg, Manitoba Page 14 Winnipeg free press saturday May 8, 1950 v Oriel off new study shows Proust As genuine critic of music having succumbed to the Charmot once hearing Andre Maurois speak in English upon contemporary French music As an aspect of his country s civilization one naturally turned with no Little expectancy to that distinguished author s new study of Marcel Proust. The fragments of remembrance of things past pertaining to music bearing in mind the enormous size of this masterpiece and the relatively Small space Given to matters of music one feels justified in describing such references As fragments have of course been written about before by other people especially those phases connected with and involved in the Vintel sonata. But one reason for n. Keen awaiting of m. Maurois vol ume Lay in the fact thut it makes use of source material being Given to the Public far the first time with a Conse quent wondering As to whether it would go into any Iresh detail upon Proust and so far As the writer can recall from previous Reading Only a single unfamiliar forthcoming from incident is m. Maurois pages. It is nevertheless to be accepted one thinks As significant testimony to Proust s natural Iove of music and especially so in that it seems to contradict the error of e. M. Forster in proclaiming the opinion that when dealing with music Proust was a poseur. Of articular incident told briefly the incident in question told briefly is that of the occasion when Proust engaged the Chapel Quartetti to visit his rooms and play for him alone because he de sired to hear the Debussy quart Ette. Surely the fact that Proust constituted the audience and that he could never have entertained the Ideal that future readers either of him or m. Maurois would learn of the happening suffice in them selves to suggest that his affection for music was both deep and genuine exclusive of the other Evi Dence to that effect. M. Maurois also pays Bute to the lucidity with which , us a technically untrained Lover of music Al ways writes of the Art in his role of novelist. This implied distinction Between novelists who Evhen treating of music use a phraseology understandable by a properly trained musician and those whose descriptions of anything musical Are senseless verbiage to a properly trained musician is a Point Well m Ade by m. Maurois. How Proust Able to always write so sanely and sensitively from the musician s standpoint was undoubtedly a remarkable accomplishment on his part proved by the failure of so Many novelists with no More qualifications than a natural love of music Akin to his. Proust s Success Laid to Hahn Reynaldo Hahn it seems undeniable was primarily responsible for Proust s Suc rss in the direction indicated incidentally it is possible that posterity May pet haps Only know the personally fascinating and musically talented Hahn because of his relationship with proud. But bound up with whatever comprehension and appreciation of music Hahn was Able to Imparl so tirelessly to his Friend was Proust s quest for perfection in All the minutiae of remembrance of things Paslas Well As in its formal and structural dimensions. Lacking this there would have been no need for Hahn to play Over to Proust certain pieces or extracts hundreds of m. Maurois does not particular ize on All of Proust s musical ref does not in fact treat the subject As fully As musicians would doubtless like him to have done and he should certainly have stressed one thinks a few marvellously illum native sentences of Proust on Wagner. But he has definitely succeeded in proving that Proust among contemporary novelists has writ ten of music even although to Only a relatively Small degree with a meaning an intelligence and an artistry no musician can mistake. Sharper insight into music for a sharper penetration into musical matters and a covering of considerably More ground than what is to be found in any of Proust s pages it. Is necessary to delve into the novels of Thomas Mann especially As exemplified in that work which is in some ways the modern counterpart to to main Holland s Jean his tremendous Book on the Faust theme. Mann however is an exception among today s novelists in that As a boy he received tech Nical training in music As a violinist and later extended his technical studies to wider and More important musical spheres. How unobtrusively Mann reveals his great knowledge of music there is no need for this writer to Tell. How actual and extensive that knowledge is can be grasped by a Reading of but a few sentences in Bruno Waller s autobiography even had the Reader no supplementary evidence from Mann s novels essays and Short stories. The con Ductor had been playing on the piano some Wagner to Mann. Ami it Mann s comments was that Walter had omitted a note from one chord in the face of such remarkable perception it would he Uston inti info Only were Mann As a novelist to write other than As he docs upon music. As to Mann s opus on the Faust heme one has yet to read any British or american reviews in which what might be called its musical Content has bean at All properly evaluated even Ernest Newman strangely enough dealt Vith the Book mainly from an other Angle than that of its presentation of the life of a musical Genius creating a music of the fun ure. Litique 7.acking on subject because no such critique has a on gently so far appeared the writer although aware of the size of the task has several times Dur mpg. Club Junior musical and choir annual concert tuesday May 9 St. Stephen s Broadway Church at s . Needed for orchestra Clown sense of humor solos by Ruth Wilson musicians and women Nave temperaments with a capital t. So has the Bassoon says scottish born John hempseed who plays the biggest woodwind instrument in the Winnipeg symphony Orch estra. Tell me what Are the tempera mental qualities of a he said when asked to explain. They Are exactly applicable to the Bas the troublemaker in his life is a Rosewood Kohlert Bassoon trom Czechoslovakia. It has antecedents As old As eve almost. Wind instruments of the same Type were used As far Back As 000 . Its sound passage is very Long and that made the instrument an awkward one in Olden Days. Modern bassoons Are More compact because the pipe is doubled Over. The player s difficulties be Gin with or. Hemp seed says. His Bassoon has the German Heckel fingering system the one most generally accepted today. An alternative system in France. A tremendous problem Are the Reeds which or. Hempseed makes himself almost from scratch. Bad tone is another bugbear for which the Only cure is Many hours of practice. The Bassoon must be babied Al so because its Large area makes it sensitive to degrees o heat and humidity likewise it is subject to the mood of the Ayer very said this one. The Clown. The Curn Bassoon is the orchestra s it can produce Low tones. Almost like a growl and these wind instrument at the age of 14 years after he moved to Winni Peg from Scotland. Iti Ien. My Wor Ries started. I had been intrigued by the Bassoon and had been led time be Nas met Nis Fate the to believe it was a difficult instr _ ment. Now i am More than Ever convinced that it or. Hempseed says he owes a great Deal to the Canadian Broad casting he began do ing radio work immediately Ana they allowed me to come in there actually knowing nothing about the Bassoon and gain experience at their he played in a John hempseed Banjo player in the Kelvin Lii Tell school orchestra. He graduated to clarinet and saxophone and played in dance bands very his saxophone instructor the late j. A o Donnell came to the con Are used for comic so. J i he instrument has one saving Grac Eiduson one Day that i and tongued the saxophone a.-, 1 should blowing and longing a has sense of humor. Remarked the Sandy haired player it helps if the musician has one a far cry from the Bassoon is the twanging hanj3 but oddly enough or. Hempseed s first experience on the producing end of music was As Cream of contest crop tune up for May Climax the time draws near for the Semi final and final concerts in this year s annual scholarship con no the past few months been on he verge of attempting such an novel with Jean Chris certs music teachers association win i Thoy Are Barbara Ferg Gladys lerp rellion of a which perhaps Only Ophe can be favourably compared. But some unexpected develop , subsequent to the pub Ishing of the Book in England and Tro Hably unknown to the majority of american readers have Arisen and so far having been unable to obtain published copies of the documents of the Case he prefers to wait until the features of them can be incorporated into an at tempted appraisal of Mann s achievement. It appears that Arnold Schonb Cufr was More or less parts of Mann s work Ami re purged Mann s somewhat in the nature of a Raric Turc of and no insult to himself. Exactly How distressed was the composer can be gauged by the Exchange of correspondence that Fol Ower Schoenberg one under stands challenged Mann to a Duel. So far As the writer knows this delightful correspondence has up till now been published in its Ori Ginal German Only in Holland and. Seems to be quite in procure Able. Refers to episode of caplet Quartetti to revert by Way of conclusion to Proust and Maurois is it Worth May is and 29 in Young United Church at 8.30 . 29 singers from 29 Young singers violin its and pianists selected during fall auditions to participate in the be blowing and longing soon. I had the natural Throat construction for he said. It was because of his insistence that i really struggled and got i first he started work the big of the Manitoba registered events. Preliminary concerts in february a panel of adjudicators chose 17 who will compete at the last two ape. Branch. These will be Wel Sof Jey Johnston. Victoria Jakimovich Moyra Wilson. Patricia Irwin Max tie Miller Douglas Stewart Ken Lames Hodges Margaret Gary Harman Patricia new Ballet called unjust to Canadian Folk tradition Dan Mcgrew has been shot Over and Over again for the past Many decades. He was done in again this week by the Winnipeg Ballet. So Fras we know it is the first Csc orchestra conducted by Geoffrey Waddington in Winnipeg summer symphony orchestras and for a Short time in a woodwind quintet organized by Martin Fleisher. He studied on 4fcs own with very frequent trips to Minneapolis for lessons under Syd Cunnington minnea Polis symphony bassoonist of course Way laying every Bassoon player who Ever even approached came the War and the Bassoon was stowed away while its owner took up flying. After five years in the Royal Canadian air Force toe of a dancing shoe. It is a pity that what lingers Over from this Effort is not the memory of dangerous Dan nor of the Man who stumbled in from the creeks. What is brought away is immense admiration of the High kicking qualities of the Ballet chorus. In other words Dan did not meet his just desserts As a hound of hell in an elemental clash of passion. He died rhythm magically and with a certain Tec. Dance acquiescence. Now this is regrettable for Dan Mcgrew is part of Canadian Folk lore. His roots Are sunk deep in our history. If his spirit wanders it is not found in Honky tonks. It lingers along the trial of the ninety eight. Doubtless the Dawson dance Halls were cheap tawdry places but they could not forget that they a veterans course the University of he enrolled in in business at Toronto and played in the univer sity orchestra under Hans Gruber. In december 1947 he returned to Winnipeg to resume his work with the Csc this Lime under Eric wild and a year later joined the Winnipeg symphony orchestra As its first bassoonist. Profession or. Hempseed is one of Many symphony spend full players who time on their cannot music. Professionally he is a Salesman jams jellies pickles and canned and it is hard to find time Tor practice. But business and music mix fairly Well when you have t conductor As considerate As Walter Kun Sinunu. He realizes that All his men Are not full time professionals and or. Hempseed thinks the or Chestra has made excellent pro Gress since its inception. It would make a big difference if the symphony were on a p r o cession Al basis however. We need regular practices. Now there is no meeting of the orchestra from one concert to the his role the Bassoon is really and truly a secondary instrument in the orchestra. That makes it. More difficult to play at times. You Are Silling there playing Condary parts and then out of a Clear Blue sky. When you least North the brooding Power of Pas Sion ravaged men the mystery of Ilia Northern lights then the shooting of Dan Mcgrew would still have been a failure but it would not have been a sin against their artistic integrity. It would not have trampled in burlesque a chapter of Canadian history. Were set at the Edge of Ness far far North of Wilder the fifty three. Outside must have sounded the Diapason of the twelve winds. Outside must have raged the Snow homeless cursed for eternity. And these girls. Cheap yes. But was there not a Trace of something More about them the men were they but cake eating boys what about this Man who brought Here a hate that consumed eve. When his hunger for Gold was glutted if the Winnipeg Ballet and its director har set out. To provide Clever amusement Only then there would be no quarrel with the Dan Mcgrew piece. Or if they had not shown themselves Able in the Crucible of their Art to invoke tangibles the spirit of the these occur Maste mentioning when retailing the episode of the caplet quart Ette etc., Maurois says that Proust wished to hear a Debussy quart Ette this of course although highly Irh probably could be a mis take on the part of Gerard hop Kins the translator. Can it be on the other hand an unintended admission on the part of m. Maurois that he is not quite aware of All Hal. Debussy did or did not com dose Winnipeg pianist in Europe gives recital on bbl Freda Trepel Winnipeg Pianis began her concert tour of Europe this week. From Britain comes word of miss Trepel s first programme tuesday in Glasgow and previously an interview and Brief recital broadcast by the bbl. At least one resident of greater Winnipeg heard the programme by Short wave from London. First reports Are that the Clas concert was Well received and the audience particularly enjoyed Sonatina of Walter Kauf conductor the Winnipeg symphony Orch which miss Trepel plans to include in All her european remit Fredn Trepel ass. With her Mother mrs. Elia Trepel the pianist left Winnipeg april 1.2. There will be App Frances in England the Netherlands Switzerland Italy and France before she returns to new York june 21. Alina Rinska and Betty Wilcox. The same adjudicators Anna Hovey Ronald Gibson and Wolf gang Gerson will officiate again at the final concerts and will select a s250 first prize Winner and two runners up to whom smaller awards will be Given. In the words of Doris Mills Lewis member of the contest publicity Eor Smittee these evenings will be pc Ivan Over to works of the romanticist contemporaries quid modern and Ive Are. Very proud of the work blink done on these recital programmes. The incentive Given to music quite frequently. Is used Solo b a s limes the trend is to write More and More for but says modest or. Hempseed my Ideal composer i8 one who writes Only half notes for the Bas soon in slow Tempo and no Library records now records in the Winnipeg Public Library the the dream Man Bury someone Harris and three Folk songs a Mountain maid russian weaving song Marianina italian Sung by boys and girls Ages Soven to 11, in a primary school in the North midlands England. Flocks in pastures Green abiding Bach How far is it to Belle Shaw and Shadow March Rathbone Are Sung by boys and girls Ages seven to 15, in a primary school in the North midlands. Vocal gems from the maid of the mountains Sung by the Colum Bia Light opera company. Chopin scherzo no. 2 in b Flat minor of. 31, played by Irene Scharrer pianist. Orlando Gibbons Ayre Aiman Toye Coranto or. San Ders his Delight hymn tune prelude on song 13, played by Harriet Cohen pianist. Bach sleepers. Wake can Lala no. 140 choral variations orchestrated by Bantock. Played by the of Birmingham orchestra conducted by George Weldon. Faure Pavan of. 50. As per formed by the philharmonic or Chestra and chorus under the i Junior musicians perform tuesday Junior musicians will perform tuesday at s . In St. Stephen s Broadway Church. There will be songs by the Junior musical club choir under Beth Cruikshank and vocal instrumental solos by the following members of the club Junior group Bobby Gold and Robert Ashley piano Gail pen Stone Helmut Rischer violin. In Iier mediate Bill Cuddy piano Klein violin Evelyn Dob Riesin vocal. Senior Edmond Prueger violin Elaine Oakley vocal Moira Wilson piano. Here is the programme for the n of let. Heaven and Earth adore thee Bach Saviour i ulc n heavenly love abiding Mendelssohn Lullaby 1, hotel , . Harbour 1144 opon from . To t . Ondoy ;