| Contents |
Volume 2. Introduction: Brian the contemporary / Malcolm MacDonald -- Fundamental principles. The sanity of spring lambs (1923) ; Emotion in modern music (1930) ; Fundamental principles (1935) ; Beliefs and deceits (1936) ; When and what is new (1936) ; Musical manifestoes (1938) Strauss and Mahler. Richard Strauss. Hallé concerts: 'Ein Heldenleben' and 'Eroica' (1907) ; Richard Strauss (1910) ; Richard Strauss conducts Strauss and Mozart (1910) ; Richard Strauss and the 'Alpine Symphony' (1923) ; Die Frau ohne Schatten (1931) ; The Richard Strauss Festival (1936) ; Strauss conducts the Dresden Orchestra (1937) ; Gianni Schicchi and Salome (1937) ; Operatic broadcasts (1938) -- Gustav Mahler. Gustav Mahler's Eighth Symphony: the Symphony of a Thousand (1930) ; Mahler's Eighth Symphony (1930) ; The Mahler revival (1930) ; Mahler's Ninth Symphony (1934) ; Mahler and Schoenberg (1934) ; Gustav Mahler (1946) ; Letter to Sir Adrian Boult (1947) -- Schoenberg [Schönberg] and Berg. Schoenberg. A Schönberg biography (1925) ; Arnold Schönberg (1927) ; Still as death! (1927) ; Schönberg: Triumph at the BBC National Concerts (1928) ; Schönberg in person (1928) ; Schönberg's Pellas (1931) ; Arnold Schönberg's Violin Concerto (1940) ; Schönberg's Fourth String Quartet (1941) -- Alban Berg. Wozzeck (1934) ; Berg the musician (1936) ; Berg and Wozzeck (1936) ; The Berg Violin Concerto (1939) -- Busoni, Respighi, Hindemith. Ferruccio Busoni. Busoni on the radio (1921) ; Reflections on Dent's Busoni (1933) ; Busoni's Piano Concerto (1934) ; Busoni, Mahler and Boult (1934) ; Busoni's letters (1938) ; Busoni and Bax (1939) -- Ottorino Respighi. Respighi and Bach (1933) ; Miniature scores by Respighi and Pizzetti (1934) ; 'The Sunken Bell' (1935) ; Ottorino Respighi (1936) -- Paul Hindemith. Germany's new star (1923) ; 'Das Unaufhörliche' (1933) ; Thoughts on Hindemith (1934) ; Mathis der Maler (1939) ; Hindemith the teacher (1939) -- Dohnányi and Bartók. Ernö Dohnányi. Dohnányi and the pengoes (1927) ; Ernst von Dohnányi (1927) ; The Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra (1939) -- Béla Bartók. Béla Bartók (1927) ; Béla Bartók (1929) ; Bartók the scholar (1931) -- Nordic music. Edvard Grieg (1932) ; Danish music (1936) ; Yrjö Kilpinen (1935) ; Royal Philharmonic Society (1931) ; The Sibelius boom (1934) ; Sibelius in performance (1934) ; Jean Sibelius (1935) ; Sibelius' Third Symphony (1937) ; Sibelius and Brahms (1938) -- French composers. A French concert. César Géloso, composer ; Un cercle français (1938) ; The theories of Claude Debussy (1929) ; [A Debussy biography] (1933) ; Debussy (1937) ; Debussy encore! (1937) ; André Messager: 1853-1929 (1929) ; Death of Alfred Bruneau (1932) ; Dukas' Symphony in C major (1933) ; Paul Dukas: the man (1935) ; Paul Dukas and his works (1935) ; Paul Dukas' 'La Péri' (1935) ; Albert Roussel (1937) ; A Ravel concert, twice (1928, 1929) ; Maurice Joseph Ravel (1938) ; Maurice Ravel (1936) ; Women composers in France (1936) -- A Russian group. Alexander Glazounoff [Glazunov], 1865-1936 (1936) ; Sergei Rachmaninoff [Rachmaninov] (1930) ; Rachmaninov's recollections (1934) ; Nikolai Medtner (1928) ; Sergei Prokofiev (1931) ; 'Les Noces' (1929) ; Stravinsky at the BBC concert (1929) ; The Rite of Spring (1929) ; Two new Stravinsky works (1931) ; Stravinsky's chronicles (1936) ; Recent Soviet music (1934) ; Dimitri Shostakovich (1936) -- Miscellany. D'Albert and popularity (1932) ; Ernest Bloch (1934) ; Appreciation: and after (1937) ; August Bungert (1937) ; Modern chamber concert (1927) ; Contemporary chamber music (1928) ; The promenades (1930) ; 64th Festival of German music (1934) ; Contemporary music festival (1938) ; Falla and Stravinsky (1931) ; Arthur Honegger (1934) ; Janác̆ek's sinfonetta (1928 and 1933) ; Some works by Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1928) ; Wilheim Kienzl (1937) ; Wilhelm Kienzl: Composer and critic (1937) ; Korngold, Bittner, Strauss and the rights of dead composers (1931) ; Franz Lehár's 'Friederike' (1929) ; Emanuel Moór: musician and inventor (1931) ; Puccini and Italian Opera (1933) ; Max Reger (1932) ; Othmar Schoeck (1934) ; Schoeck again (1934) ; Franz Schreker and the state (1934) ; The suppression of music (1934) ; Death of Franz Schreker (1934) ; The mazurkas of Szymanowski (1932) ; Siegfried Wagner (1930) -- The new world. America in the future? (1932) ; Music in Paris (1929) ; Edgar Varèse (1939) ; The American pedagogue (1932) ; An American song (1932) ; Steam devils and other Americans (1933) ; Sousa the march king (1930) ; John Philip Sousa (1932) ; Victor Herbert (1938) ; America aggressive (1936) ; 'Composers with tin cups' (1937) ; Composers in America (1938) |
| Abstract |
In this second volume of selections from the author's journalism, the maverick English composer directs his enquiring mind at the music being composed in France, Germany, Italy and elsewhere in the first half of the twentieth century. Richard Strauss figures prominently among the composers discussed, beginning with reviews of Hallé and Queen's Hall concerts in 1907 and 1910. But even Strauss was not treated as lavishly as another whose music clearly fascinated the author clearly: Arnold Schoenberg. From Gurrelieder to the Violin Concerto, the author emerges as one of Schoenberg's most sympathetic and understanding champions among the English critical fraternity in the inter-War period. Other composers featured include Bartók, Berg, Busoni, Debussy, Dohnányi, Dukas, Glazunov, Grieg, Hindemith, Kilpinen, Lehár, Mahler, Messager, Puccini, Rachmaninov, Ravel, Respighi, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Sousa, Stravinsky, Szymanowski, Tailleferre and Varèse, as well as figures now obscure such as Alfred Bruneau, August Bungert, César Géloso and Wilhelm Kienzl. Among the author's writings on American music, a selection of which rounds off the book, is an interview with 'the March King', John Philip Sousa, whose music the author wholeheartedly enjoyed. Over 160 different items written over the four decades between 1907 and 1945: articles, reviews and extracts from the author's column 'On the Other Hand' in Musical Opinion, make up this volume. The author's open mind makes him an illuminating and entertaining guide to the music he is writing about. The editor's introductions and annotations provide the background to each piece and cast light on the author's more obscure references. |
