I have divided my transcription the present Paris Letter by Sir Lennox Berkeley into two halves as the total length was exceeding 1500 words. This letter, like the others in the series, gives an important and interesting insight to the musical scene in that city during the years 1929 -1934. This was at the time when the British composer was studying music with the redoubtable Nadia Boulanger.A very large audience assembled at the Salle Pleyel on December 17 for the first performance of Stravinsky's violin concerto. As this work has already been played in London it is unnecessary to attempt any description of it here; it will suffice to give an account of the impression that it made in musical circles in Paris. All the critics agree that it is a real concerto in the more specialized sense of the term, and all comment upon the extraordinary brilliance of the violin writing. One feels grateful to a composer who has taken the trouble to make such an exhaustive study of the resources of the instrument for which he is writing. As for the music itself, most people consider the new concerto a big work and think that Stravinsky is very much on the right lines in setting his face against all sensuous and sentimental appeals, in bringing music back to the sterner classical style, and in making for pure aesthetic feeling only. Some critics, however, consider that Stravinsky is too much preoccupied with technical problems, and that he lays too much stress upon the execution of musical conjuring-tricks. The concerto was received with great enthusiasm, and the solo part was admirably played by Dushkin.
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Some time before this we had an orchestral concert of the works of Prokofiev. His Fourth Symphony, performed then for the first time, is particularly interesting to those who saw his ballet 'Le Fils Prodigue,' as he has here made use of the same themes, developing them at greater length than was possible in the ballet. The other novelty was an arrangement for string orchestra of the ‘Andante’ movement from his new string quartet, and the programme was completed by the delightful Classical Symphony, a suite from the ballet ‘Le Pas d' Acier,' and the First Piano Concerto -the solo part being played with great brilliance by the composer himself. Without having any startling originality Prokofiev’s music continues to have a strongly personal flavour, and is full of life and colour.
A new musical society called La Sérénade has been founded in Paris with the object of giving performances of modern chamber works. Its first concert was certainly nothing if not modern. The programme consisted mainly of first performances of works by the younger school of composers, who were represented by Milhaud, Rieti, Sauguet, Markevitch and a young and, I think, hitherto unknown Italian composer, Leone Massimo. Rieti's work was perhaps the most successful of these, and Sauguet's had considerable charm and lightness of touch. Markevitch's harsh and dissonant style does not seem to adapt itself well to chamber music, and when he is deprived of the weight of the orchestra and its variety of colours, his music is very arid. Massimo's work (a serenade for two violins) may look well on paper, but it was most tedious to listen to.
Earlier in the season, three concerts given under the auspices of Mrs. Coolidge attracted a great deal of attention. Two chamber concerts revealed new works by Prokofiev, Frank Bridge, Tansman, Malipiero, Raymond Petit and Hindemith. Of these Prokofiev’s work (a string quartet) and Hindemith's (a concerto for piano, two harps, and brass band) were the most striking. The former would seem, as far as one could tell at a first hearing, to be a work of the first order, as happy in its inspiration as in its technical accomplishment; while the latter is most original and interesting from every point of view - particularly from that of instrumentation. A third concert was entirely devoted to the music of Monteverdi and Lully - the first part of the programme consisting of madrigals, for one or for two voices with the accompaniment of strings and harpsichord, by Monteverdi, and in the second part, a performance of fragments from Lully's operas 'Cadmus' and 'Alceste,' The concert was wholly delightful, consisting as it did of music that one so seldom hears, but that one hopes will now be more frequently performed, thanks to Malipiero's editing of Monteverdi, and Henry Prunières's work on Lully. The centuries have certainly not robbed Monteverdi of his freshness and purity, nor have they tarnished the extraordinary vigour and richness of Lully, and one feels ashamed of the unwarranted neglect which they have suffered in the past.
Transcribed from ‘The Monthly Musical Record’ March-April 1932 with minor edits.With thanks to the Sir Lennox Berkeley Estate for permission to reprint this article.
Some time before this we had an orchestral concert of the works of Prokofiev. His Fourth Symphony, performed then for the first time, is particularly interesting to those who saw his ballet 'Le Fils Prodigue,' as he has here made use of the same themes, developing them at greater length than was possible in the ballet. The other novelty was an arrangement for string orchestra of the ‘Andante’ movement from his new string quartet, and the programme was completed by the delightful Classical Symphony, a suite from the ballet ‘Le Pas d' Acier,' and the First Piano Concerto -the solo part being played with great brilliance by the composer himself. Without having any startling originality Prokofiev’s music continues to have a strongly personal flavour, and is full of life and colour.
A new musical society called La Sérénade has been founded in Paris with the object of giving performances of modern chamber works. Its first concert was certainly nothing if not modern. The programme consisted mainly of first performances of works by the younger school of composers, who were represented by Milhaud, Rieti, Sauguet, Markevitch and a young and, I think, hitherto unknown Italian composer, Leone Massimo. Rieti's work was perhaps the most successful of these, and Sauguet's had considerable charm and lightness of touch. Markevitch's harsh and dissonant style does not seem to adapt itself well to chamber music, and when he is deprived of the weight of the orchestra and its variety of colours, his music is very arid. Massimo's work (a serenade for two violins) may look well on paper, but it was most tedious to listen to.
Earlier in the season, three concerts given under the auspices of Mrs. Coolidge attracted a great deal of attention. Two chamber concerts revealed new works by Prokofiev, Frank Bridge, Tansman, Malipiero, Raymond Petit and Hindemith. Of these Prokofiev’s work (a string quartet) and Hindemith's (a concerto for piano, two harps, and brass band) were the most striking. The former would seem, as far as one could tell at a first hearing, to be a work of the first order, as happy in its inspiration as in its technical accomplishment; while the latter is most original and interesting from every point of view - particularly from that of instrumentation. A third concert was entirely devoted to the music of Monteverdi and Lully - the first part of the programme consisting of madrigals, for one or for two voices with the accompaniment of strings and harpsichord, by Monteverdi, and in the second part, a performance of fragments from Lully's operas 'Cadmus' and 'Alceste,' The concert was wholly delightful, consisting as it did of music that one so seldom hears, but that one hopes will now be more frequently performed, thanks to Malipiero's editing of Monteverdi, and Henry Prunières's work on Lully. The centuries have certainly not robbed Monteverdi of his freshness and purity, nor have they tarnished the extraordinary vigour and richness of Lully, and one feels ashamed of the unwarranted neglect which they have suffered in the past.
Transcribed from ‘The Monthly Musical Record’ March-April 1932 with minor edits.With thanks to the Sir Lennox Berkeley Estate for permission to reprint this article.
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