-- Arturo Toscanini and the children of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner--from left Friede line, Verena, Wieland, and Wolfgang-before" the conductor's departure from Bayreuth.
Toscanini at Bayreuth
Can any of your readers tell me what really happened when Toscanini was conducting at Bayreuth in 1931? There seem to be as many opinions as there are authors.
A book on the history of Bayreuth states that Toscanini left before the end of the season, never to return. Apparently he got into a row with Furtwangler during a memorial concert for Siegfried Wagner on August 4.
David Ewen, a Toscanini biographer, says Toscanini merely refused to conduct the memorial concert because when he went to a rehearsal he found the theater crowded with spectators. But Ewen maintains Toscanini remained until the end of the season because Winifred Wagner "placated" him. Ewen also says that Winifred was "as ardent a Nazi as the most rabid storm trooper." In Howard Taubman's biography of the maestro, he says that at the end of the 1931 season Toscanini was furious with Winifred because of her "dabbling in politics, both national and musical," and that if things went on as they had during the summer of 1931 Toscanini would not have returned to Bayreuth even if Hitler had not come to power in 1933.
In your November 1966 issue, Roland Gelat, in an article on the Wagner family, remarked that Winifred came under Hitler's spell when she met him in 1923 and that Hitler was a frequent guest at the Wagner villa during the Twenties and Thirties.
Was Winifred Wagner a Nazi? Did Toscanini know about it before the end of the 1931 season? If so--why? If not, did he confront Winifred at the end of the season and threaten not to return because of her politics?
-James Orr; Toronto. Ont.
FM and You
Many thanks for Mr. Marcus' enlightening January editorial, "WNCN, WEFM, WGKA, WONO, and You." FM is being eaten alive by the "don't give a damn" money men. The editorial was a refreshing and encouraging change of pace.
-Warren W. Keats; Milwaukee. Wis.
The January editorial concluded with the ad vice that "if you should ever want to buy a classical station yourself, please do it for love." For energetic music lovers who can't buy a station, wouldn't there be greater fulfillment in organizing a listener -supported FM station rather than in forcing some reluctant broad caster to continue a classical format? WQED-FM is a listener--supported operation from which Mrs. Kirkpatrick and I derive great pleasure. I do not know whether extenuating circumstances make Pittsburgh or Pittsburghers particularly susceptible to sup porting their own sources of fine arts broad casting, but surely the idea might work well elsewhere.
-Donald N. Kirkpatrick; Ridgway, Pa.
I would like to draw your attention to the situation regarding the only two existing classical-music AM stations in the San Francisco Bay area. I suspect similar conditions exist in other parts of the country.
It is almost impossible to listen to the FM equivalents of these AM stations on a car radio because the changing (from mediocre to nonexistent) VHF propagation conditions make reception very erratic as the car moves.
One of the AM stations, KIBE, Palo Alto, is allowed to run only one kilowatt and must go off the air at sundown, which means as early as 4:30 p.m. in the winter and about 9 p.m. in the summer. The other station is KKHI-AM, San Francisco. I don't know how much power it runs, and it is on the air until at least midnight. However, KKHI-AM is jammed between a couple of 100-kilowatt rock and rollers, and you can often hear the barbaric thumping in the background.
If the federal government were really interested in supporting the arts as is claimed, it could easily do so with little or no cost to the taxpayer by having the FCC authorize KIBE and KKHI-AM to run 100 kilowatts and stay on the air twenty-four hours a day. If those dozens of rock and rollers are allowed to do it, why can't just two classical stations do the same? This is a clear example of discrimination against a minority group.
-James C. Galbraith; Los Gatos. Calif.
It may surprise many concert -music lovers that Nashville, Tennessee, the home of country music, is also the home of a fine concert-music radio station. WPLN-FM celebrated its thirteenth birthday on December 16. It is unique in that it is owned and operated eighteen hours daily by the public library of Nashville and Davison County. Its studios are housed in the public library, and it draws on the recording collections of the library for some of its programming.
A local library station programming fine concert music without commercials is more than I ever expected when I moved to Nashville.
-Laurens A. Blankers; Nashville. Tenn.
The implication of your editorial, that the FCC and the courts be allowed, let alone encouraged, to block format change, is revolting.
Neither the FCC, the courts, nor anyone else has any right or duty to force a radio-station owner into retaining any format. Nowhere is there any law that grants that power. There is. however, a portion of the FCC charter that states, in effect, that that body shall not interfere with programming in any way.
Having an agency control broadcast programming is exactly the same as having one control what the print media may publish. No one tells HIGH FIDELITY it must maintain its emphasis on classical music. Likewise no one should compel any broadcaster to maintain any particular format.
It's time the broadcast media be granted the First Amendment protection to which they are entitled.
-William R. Bird Public Service Director, WPST-FM, Trenton. N.J.
Mr. Marcus replies: The point of the editorial, of course, was not that the FCC should be given the power to determine format, but that listeners can and should band together to pool their legal, political, and financial clout to protect their interests. And to the radio stations that have compared HIGH FIDELITY 's freedom with their restraints, no, we are not in the same position that you are: Since broadcast channels, being limited in number, are assigned by the government, the government does in effect determine who can broadcast; and special-interest groups are in the grand tradition, even if they are usually economic rather than aesthetic lobbies. The number of publications, however, is not fixed: anybody can legally print anything, within the bounds of the rights of others.
-Wagner, Saint-Sanes, Gershwin
David Hamilton, in his Nov. review of Sir Adrian Boult's second album of Wagnerian excerpts, suggests that the prelude to Act III of Tannhauser may be the first commercial recording of the original version. I would call his attention to Victor 78-rpm album M-530, in which Leopold Stokowski con ducts a Tannhauser Act Ill prelude that was claimed to be at least based upon the original version (see A Guide to Recorded Music by Irving Kolodin. 1941 edition. Doubleday). In the strange world of Stokowski editions and arrangements, this may actually be the original version.
Patrick J. Smith is definitely wrong, how ever. in his contention that Pierre Dervaux's Angel recording of the Saint-Saens tone poems is the first to include all four on one record. Both Dimitri Mitropoulos (Columbia ML 5154) and Louis Fourestier (Angel 35058) did so. Furthermore, Mr. Smith's disparaging remark about Richard Strauss's ineptitude in larger tone-poem "structure" is uncalled for, in my opinion. Of all its salient characteristics (tone painting. extramusical programs, nationalism. orchestral richness. etc.), structure is among the tone poem's least intrinsic aspects, broadly speaking. Yet despite this, Till Eulenspiegel is a rondo, Don Quixote is a theme and variations. Death and Trans figuration is in sonata form. And indeed, if one is willing to free one's mind from hidebound traditionalism and pedantry, Ein Weldenleben can be viewed as in free sonata form too.
Apropos of Steve Lenius' November letter regarding the original jazz-orchestra version of Rhapsody in Blue, a few facts: He is referring to Ferde Grofe's orchestration, commissioned by Paul Whiteman and performed at the world premiere in Aeolian Hall on the afternoon of February 12, 1924.
This version was resurrected and performed, by means of parts photocopied from the Library of Congress, by Howard Mitchell and the National Symphony Orchestra in Philharmonic Hall on March 3, 1968, with Eugene List as piano soloist. This was believed to be the first public performance of this edition since the 1924 premiere. For the information of any interested conductors, orchestras, or record companies. the copyright owner is New World Music Company.
-Gerald S. Fox; Plainview. N.Y.
EPIE and CU
It has come to my attention that on page 40 of your November issue you refer to the Educational Products Information Exchange Institute as "associated closely with the Consumers Union.- While EPIE and CU certainly enjoy a friendly relationship. the two organizations operate independent of one another. Consumers Union is concerned with assisting the individual consumer of every day products and services of the broadest range. EPIE is concerned only with assisting consumers of educational products. most of whom we serve through schools and colleges.
P. Kenneth Komoski; Executive Director, EPIE Institute Ness York. N.Y.
Mona Paulee Found
Regarding the recent correspondence concerning Mona Paulee's whereabouts, she is currently on the voice faculty at the California State University, Los Angeles. Apparently she has been there for quite a few years.
-Ken Smith; Los Angeles. Calif.
Bruch's Three Violin Concertos
How unknown a large part of Bruch's oeuvre really is may be seen from the September re view of his two-piano concerto. where even Harris Goldsmith mentions "the two violin concertos." Actually, Bruch wrote three.
Back Issues:
Some of your readers may be interested to know that back issues of HIGH FIDELITY may be obtained from this organization, a nonprofit clearinghouse of periodical and book duplicates. We charge a flat fee of $3.00 per issue to cover our handling expenses plus $1.00 per title search fee and postage.
Elaine Austin Kurt--Associate Executive Director
United States Book Exchange. Inc.
3335 V St. N.E.
Washington. D.C. 20018
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High Fidelity. April 1975. Vol 25. No 4 Published monthly by ABC Leisure Magazines. Inc. a subsidiary of American Broadcasting Companies. Inc Warren B Syer, president. I Martin Pompadur. chairman of the board. Claire N Eddings, vice president. High Fidelity Division: Herbert Keppler. vice president. Photographic Publishing Division. Cathleen Alois, assistant to the president.
High Fidelity/Musical America. Edition published monthly. Member Audit Bureau of Circulations. Editorial correspondence should be addressed to:
The Editor, High Fidelity, Great Barrington, Mass 01230
Editorial contributions will be welcomed Payment tor articles accepted will be arranged prior to publication Unsolicited manuscripts should be accompanied by return postage.
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(High Fidelity, Apr. 1975)
Also see:
The Complete Nielsen Symphonies (review, HF mag Apr. 1975)