~flr'6,r"®

ECHOES OF GOLDEN AGE
(Continued from page 32)
scene intact, the listener, having enjoyed an almost
flawless rendition of A fors'e lui, is suddenly confronted
with a jarring chord that nullifies Verdi's
carefully conceived modulation from F major to
A-Flat. Aside from this instance of wasted good intentions,
Sempre libera is sung with an impressive
brilliance and technical ease, also with a tendency to
rush tempi, which is characteristic of several excerpts
of the .collection. All in all, the recital could have been
made more interesting by the inclusion of more meaningful
material in place of some of the flute-accompanied
warblings. Still, this memento of one of the
past's great singers is a more than welcome addition
to RCA Victor's excellent series. What other field of
endeavor shows such brazen disregard of the related
values of price and quality? Recitals of McCormack,
Galli-Curci, De Luca, Rethberg, Pinza, Ponselle,
Thomas at $1.981 True, sound savants, frequency
friends and decibel devotees can easily do without
them. But for lovers of the vocal art the recording industry
offers no greater bargain.
-END
SOUIRE OF HANCOCK
. (Continued from page 31)
Traviata (LM-6040) and Gluck's
Orfeo ed Euridice (LM-6136), both
recorded in Rome.
When conducting, Monteux is
the very aritithesis of the flamboyant.
To say that his gestures are
economical is understatement; he is
so thoroughly in command of the
total musical situation that he can
communicate to his players with a
mere Hick of the baton. Subtler
shadings of nuance, phrasing and
dynamics are elicited by an amazingly
supple and expertly controlled
left hand. Few are the conductors
alive who can approach
Monteux's mastery of the craft.
Wedded to this technical supremacy
is an "ear" which is one
of the wonders of the art, and an
awesome knowledge of the repertoire.
Last January Monteux recorded
the Khatchaturian Violin
Concerto (RCA Victor LM-2220)
with the Soviet violinist, Leonid
Kogan. The sessions were exceptionally
arduous since concert presentation
of the score did not precede
the recording.
Monteux and Kogan were relaxing
backstage, Monteux in a chair,
arms folded, eyes half closed. Kogan,
to pass the time, was idly playing
one of the Bach Unaccompanied
Violin Sonatas. Suddenly Monteux
interrupted, "Ab, no. That
should be B-natural." Kogan started
in amazement and by checking the
music the violinist found that for
years he had been playing a B-flat
where the music called for a B­
natural.
If abhorrence of "showmanship"
is characteristic of Monteux on the
podium, this is only an extension of
his attitude in general. At Han-
40
cock, Monteux runs a summer conducting
school which is in session
throughout the month of August.
To the Ecole Monteux come professional
conductors who want to absorb
the musical traditions which
Monteux exemplifies. Harry Ellis
Dickson, Assistant Conductor of the
Boston Pops Orchestra, and Leonard
De Paur, the head of the famed
chorus, are among those who have
attended, along with several well
known conductors from the Broadway
musical stage.
Classes are Monday through Saturday
mornings from 9 until 12:30.
A disarmingly warm and informal
atmosphere prevails, with Monteux
generally appearing in a jacket,
slacks and canvas sneakers. The
ritual is the same each morning:
promptly at nine, Monteux arrives,
whereupon all the student conductors
rise in respectful greeting. "You
make me sick with your standing
up," he says. "Sit down, and let's
get to work!" Of this Monteux has
said, "I try to make them musicianconductors,
not showing-off conductors.
1 am tired of flashes in the
pan who lack a background of musical
training. Who are we little conductors
to touch the great musical
masterpieces? Would you go to a
museum and put a little more red
on the nose of a Rembrandt?"
Monteux gives unstintingly of
himself to those whom he respects.
One of his favorites is the aforementioned
Mr. Dickson, who came
to him at Hancock a few summers
ago with some questions concerning
Bizet's Carmen. "Come back
next week after our school has
closed and we'll go over the opera,"
was Monteux's reply. Go over it they
did, in a six-hour session which
Dickson describes as "fantastic,"
with Monteux singing all the parts,
cautioning that here the tenor will
want to sing his brains out but he
must be kept down, and here Carmen
will want to add some rubato
but she must sing the notes in strict
time, that a subsidiary theme in the
second bassoon part must stand out
clearly in the midst of the full ensemble,
and so forth.
If Monteux is shown here as
something of a saint, he has his difficult
aspects too; he can be very
stubborn and cling tenaciously, unreasonably
to his own way.
Monteux celebrated his 80th
birthday three years ago last April
in characteristic fashion: he conducted
the Boston Symphony Orchestra
in an all-Beethoven concert
for the benefit of the Orchestra's
Pension Fund. Stravinsky and Milhaud
composed special birthday
salutes in honor of the occasion,
and the management of the Orchestra
put on a sumptuous party after
the concert. Some weeks later Monteux
met his pupil-colleague Harry
Ellis Dickson, who had been instrumental
in planning the birthday
celebration.
"There's only one way 1 can reciprocate
for all that you did,
Harry," he said. "When you're 80,
I'll run you a birthday party." "1
don't know about me," say Dickson,
"but I'm sure Monteux will
make it!"
-END
HIFI & MUSIC REVIEW
..