1939: Music

The tension and uncertainty that prevailed in Europe before the outbreak of war were hardly conducive to great musical activity. The declaration of war in September drastically contracted musical life in all countries immediately concerned and even neutral countries, faced many handicaps in their attempts to carry on musical activities. Everywhere in Europe today effort is being made to resume performances but these must be on a restricted basis owing to various difficulties—mobilization of members of performing staffs, difficulties of engaging foreign artists and obtaining scores.

Opera.

America on the other hand has shown and continues to show increasing musical activity. One trend in American musical life which has become very apparent in the course of the year is the interest in and support of operatic performances. Although the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York City still remains the chief center, there is evidence of a decentralizing force at work. One proof of this may be deduced from a review of the season's activities of the Metropolitan itself which shows a widening orbit as the result of an increasing demand for opera in various parts of the country.

In addition to the usual New York run, the company visited nine different cities in some of which several performances were given as is shown in the following: in Philadelphia: Rosenkavalier, Aida, Manon, Tosca, Rheingold, Walküre, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung, Louise, Barber of Seville; in Hartford: Otello, Die Meistersinger; in Newark, N. J.: Barber of Seville; in Baltimore: Tosca, Walküre, Thaïs; in Boston: —Falstaff, Tristan und Isolde, La Bohème, Lohengrin, Walküre, Louise, Aida, Meistersinger, Thaïs, Tannhauser, Rigoletto; in Cleveland:—Otello, Louise, Walküre, Thaïs, Manon, Lohengrin, Tosca, Lucia di Lammermoor; in Rochester, N. Y.: Manon; in Dallas, Tex.: Manon, Otello, Tannhauser, La Bohème; in New Orleans: Aida, Bohème, Carmen, Lohengrin. In all these cities the opera houses were sold out for each performance. Nashville, Tenn. has put in its bid for a visit from the Metropolitan next season. In 1939 the repertoire of the company included also the following operas: Elektra, Salome, Hänsel und Gretel, Parsifal, Fidelio (revival), Mignon, Lakme, Boris Godunoff (revival), Orfeo et Euridice (revival), Don Giovanni, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Simon Boccanegra (which opened the season in New York), Il Trovatore, Traviata and Amelia Goes to the Ball. The whole season comprised twenty-one weeks and in New York City alone, one hundred and twenty-five performances were given.

On the west coast the San Francisco Opera Company had its seventeenth season. This company has been housed for the last seven seasons in the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House. This edifice is admirably designed and constructed from the point of view of architectural artistry, of location, of technical resources of the stage and the excellent sight line from every seat in the auditorium. The facilities of the interpreters and the production and the convenience and comfort of the public have been well considered. The director of the company is Gaetano Merola. Although the season depends as regards both time and casts upon the Metropolitan since many of its singers are drawn from the personnel of the New York organization, there is every reason to believe that an independent company may eventually materialize.

In St. Louis, Mo., the Civic Grand Opera Association, a non-profit organization under the leadership of Laszlo Halasz, had its usual spring and fall seasons. Here, too, many of the singers were imported from the Metropolitan but some local artists also took part. In Philadelphia, a local opera company under the musical direction of Sylvan Levin, began its career with a performance of La Bohème. The Chicago City Opera Company had its fall season and a call for funds brought many loyal music lovers rallying to its support.

Opera in English and specifically American opera have found champions in two new ventures. The Musicomedians of San Francisco presented performances in January in Palm Springs, Calif., under the direction of Erich Weiler. Their repertoire included Gian-Carlo Menotti's Amelia Goes to the Ball; an 18th century opera by the French composer, Grétry, The Two Misers; Franz Schubert's The Women's War and Rossini's Bruschino or It's a Wise Son. Following the intent of their slogans 'Opera You Can Understand' and 'Music to Amuse,' the Musicomedians presented their comic operas in idiomatic American English.

In May, the American Lyric Theatre, Incorporated, under the musical direction of Lee Pattison and with the cooperation of the League of Composers, made its debut in New York. This is a non-profit organization established for the purpose of giving support, encouragement and production to musical, dramatic and choreographic art in the form of lyric drama at prices within the reach of the general public. Works by American composers and librettists comprised this first season which included The Devil and Daniel Webster, a folk opera by Douglas Moore, libretto by Stephen Vincent Benet, Susanna, Don't You Cry a musical romance based on Stephen Foster melodies, by Clarence Loomis, libretto by Sarah Newmeyer, and also three ballets presented by the Ballet Caravan—Billy the Kid, music by Aaron Copland, Pocahontas, music by Elliott Carter, and Filling Station, music by Virgil Thomson.

There is no doubt that the country as a whole is becoming increasingly opera-minded. This is further borne out by the success of a venture of the previous season, a traveling opera company which used phonograph records for the orchestral and chorus parts in order to curtail expense. The company was forced to disband not for lack of support but because of protest from the musicians' union.

Federal Music Project of the WPA.

The activities of the Federal Music Project of the WPA have not only stimulated interest in music but have thrown light on the general interest in music which exists throughout the country. The national director of the Project, Dr. Nicolai Sokoloff, issued a report covering the period from October 1935 to March 1, 1939. This shows that a total of 192,904 programs have been presented before an aggregate audience of 128,268,000 persons. This number includes 23,177 pupils' recitals in predominantly rural areas where the Music Project carries on an extensive educational activity; 16,359 programs by Federal Symphony orchestras with 12,244,000 listeners; small orchestras and bands gave 90,731 programs heard by 75,000,000 persons; choral groups gave 11,659 performances and of grand operas, chamber operas, operettas and musical comedies, there were 727 presentations. In general the programs show an enriched and broadening scope and many examples of musical literature seldom cultivated have been made accessible to concert audiences at nominal prices of admission. The American composer has been well represented on these programs, a total of 4,294 compositions by 2,034 Americans having been performed. Of these, 1,114 are contemporary. The Composers Laboratory Forums have continued their activity giving composers an opportunity to present their works before interested audiences.

During the past year in the New York district the following composers were represented: Ernest Bloch, Arthur Shepherd, Roy Harris, Lazare Saminsky, Charles Haubiel, Herbert Inch, Fred Jacobi, Morris Mamorsky, Henry H. Huss, Amadeo di Filippi, Norman Cazden, Herbert Haufreucht, Rudolph Gruen, Nicolas Berezowsky, Harrison Kerr, Elie Siegmeister, Robert Gross, Werner Josten, Henry Brant, Isadore Freed, Ross Lee Finney, Harold Brown, Sam Morgenstern, John Duke, Frederick Hart, A. W. Binder, Elliot Griffis, Lehman Engel, Gail T. Kubik. In addition, works of composition students from the following music schools and universities were presented: 11 from the Eastman School of Music, 15 from Hunter College, 7 from New York University, 4 from Vassar, and 4 from the Women's College of the University of North Carolina. The works included 50 songs, 45 piano pieces, 24 quartets, 17 choral numbers, 10 pieces for violin and piano, 4 for viola and piano, 6 trios, 3 pieces for two pianos, 2 cello solos, a piano quintet, a double quartet with piano, a wood wind quartet, a ballet, and one piece each for the following combinations,—flute and piano, cello and piano, double bass and piano, harp and piano.

The celebration of National Music Week in New York was inaugurated by a concert under the auspices of the Composers Forum Laboratory of works by former Guggenheim fellows in composition. The program consisted of the Second Symphony of Roy Harris, Copland's Outdoor Overture (originally written for the New York High School of Art and Music), Prologue by William Schumann, Concertino by Walter Piston and a Concerto for two pianos by Paul Nordoff. The fifth season of the Forum began in November operating under the co-sponsorship of the Music Division of the New York Public Library and the Juilliard School. According to Horace Johnson, project director, 'this new association will greatly enlarge the scope of the laboratory's activity by offering a wider field of operation as well as increased working facilities.'

Dr. Sokoloff's report also showed that from 1935 to 1939 in 96 centers in New York City alone, 467,424 music classes had been attended by 7,655,039 persons. Special projects were continued such as the collection of classical and semi-classical music for which twelve copyists were employed in New York. They made copies of full parts for performance of old music that existed only in original manuscript or in full score. The copied parts were reproduced on a printing machine, a gift of the Rockefeller Foundation in the New York Public Library. Each score has the exact timing of performance. In Philadelphia, Edwin A. Fleischer has financially sponsored a WPA project to copy unpublished orchestral and chamber music by American composers. His purpose is to build up a collection of American works since 1900 which will be housed in the Free Library in Philadelphia and which will be available on loan for performance. The criteria for choice of the works of the collection have been as follows: the success of performed music; prize pieces or pieces that have been commissioned; music written by winners of the Prix de Rome, Guggenheim fellows, etc.; music discovered to be of worth though not yet performed.

The Federal Writers Project while compiling a state guide to Kentucky discovered the existence of a unique annual festival at Benton, Ky., known as the Benton Big Singing. The songs of the festival were taken from a collection made by William Walker in 1835 known as 'The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion.' The last edition appeared in 1854. With the collaboration of the WPA, a new edition of the book was made.

Music at the New York World's Fair.

The New York World's Fair was the scene or the sponsor of several musical events both official and unofficial. Outstanding was the series of concerts by the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in the World's Fair Music Hall. The first concert was directed by John Barbirolli with Mayor La Guardia of New York taking the baton for the opening fanfare composed for the occasion by Dubensky. Rodzinski conducted a program of Polish music; the Rumanian concert was directed by Enesco, the Scandinavian by Olav Kielland, the Brazilian by Burle Marx, the Swiss by Schelling and Ganz, the British by Sir Adrian Boult. Late in September, the N.B.C. Symphony Orchestra conducted by Georg Schneevoigt gave a program devoted entirely to compositions by Jean Sibelius. This concert was under the auspices of the Finnish Government and the World's Fair.

Special mention may be made of the concert in the Special Events Building by the Vermont State Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alan Carter. The program offered Dubensky's 'Anno 1600,' McBride's 'Show Piece,' John Alden Carpenter's 'Danza' and Tchaikowsky's Fourth Symphony. The evolution of the modern American dance orchestra was demonstrated in programs given by various prominent jazz organizations such as Paul Whiteman's and Duke Ellington's. A number of concerts were given by school bands, orchestras and choruses coming from high schools in different parts of the country.

On May 7, at the Court of Nations, the first Folk Festival of the Fair was held, in which dancers and singers of about sixty different nations took part. Representative music of several foreign nations could be heard at the various pavilions. There was the Coldstream Guards Band at the British pavilion; the carillon at the Dutch. At the Soviet pavilion, thirty-five sound films were shown introducing current Soviet music—symphonic, operatic excerpts, chamber music and folk songs. From Finland came the Finlandia Male Chorus directed by Heikki Klemetti. On Aug. 25, 26, 27, the American Welsh Committee sponsored the International Eisteddfod and Gymanfa Gam at the Fair.

The great fountain displays in the Lagoon of Nations were accompanied by music specially composed by Robert Russell Bennett. Several exhibits had commissioned music, such as Kurt Weill's score for the 'Railroads on Parade' at the Railroad Building, Hanns Eisler's music for the film at the Petroleum exhibit, Vittorio Giannini's symphony for the opening program of the International Business Machines, Ferde Grofe's 'Ode to Freedom' performed at the Ford exhibition on July 4. William Grant Still was commissioned to do the music for the show in the Perisphere. Aaron Copland composed scores for Ralph Steiner's housing film 'The City' shown at the Science and Education Building and for Remo Bufano's marionette show at the Hall of Pharmacy. At the Gas Exhibits Incorporated, the American Puppet Opera Company presented a repertoire of seven grand operas with puppets and recordings of the vocal and orchestral parts.

At the WPA Building, weekly programs were given by the Composers Laboratory Forum at which the following composers were represented: Dr. Edgar Stillman-Kelly, Ross Lee Finney, Elie Siegmeister, Roy Harris, William Schumann, Aaron Copland, Morris Mamorsky, Henry H. Huss, Werner Josten, Lazare Saminsky, Paul Creston, John Duke, Frederick Jacobi, Bernard Wagenaar, Charles W. Cadman. Concerts by special organizations such as the Lehman Engel Madrigal Singers and Juanita Hall's Negro Melody Singers took place in the WPA Building.

At the Temple of Religions programs of choral music were presented by choirs of St. Thomas Church, The Brick Church, Temple Emanu-El, The Paulist Fathers Choir and the Pius X Choir. The organ in the Temple was loaned by Mr. John Hausserman, Jr.

In conjunction with the Fair, during May the Metropolitan Opera Company performed a special Wagner cycle at the Metropolitan Opera House. In the operas of the Nibelungen Ring the important roles were sung by the same singers throughout. Kirsten Flagstad was Brünnhilde; Lauritz Melchior, Siegfried; Friedrich Schorr, Wotan; Arnold Gabor, Alberich; Kerstin Thorborg, Fricka.

International Congress of the American Musicological Society.

The World's Fair was indirectly responsible for an event of very special musical importance. This was the first International Congress of the American Musicological Society held Sept. 11 to 16 in New York City with headquarters at the Beethoven Association. Since it was believed that the World's Fair would attract many visitors to the Congress it seemed wise to arrange the meeting here this year.

The history of the American Musicological Society goes back to 1907 when a national section of the International Music Society, a European organization dating from 1899, was founded. This organization including the American branch closed its activities in 1914 with the outbreak of the World War. Shortly after the War the society was reorganized in Europe, but it was not until 1934 that the American Musicological Society was formed as a revival of the earlier organization here. Today there are chapters in New York, Ithaca, Rochester, Chicago, Cambridge, Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore. More chapters are in process of formation. The first president was Otto Kinkeldey, the second was Carl Engel, and the third who now presides is Dr. Carleton Sprague Smith.

The invitations to the Congress were issued through the State Department in Washington, D. C. Special effort was made to bring leading musicologists from Central and South America so that the meeting would have a Pan-American representation. An imposing array of programs including concerts and lectures covered many phases of musicological activity here and abroad. Despite the outbreak of war in Europe only two scholars stated to appear were unable to attend, Yvonne Rokseth of France and Johannes Wolf of Germany.

The Congress began on Monday, Sept. 11, with a welcome to the American and European guests, followed by a concert by the Roth Quartet at which were performed compositions by American composers—J. K. Paine, Arthur Foote, Quincy Porter and Roy Harris. An address by Dr. Smith and a program of ballads sung by Alan Lomax completed the first day. On Tuesday morning a general session was held at which various topics were discussed by Charles Seeger (Washington, D. C.), Dragan Plamenac (Yugoslavia), Edward Dent (England), Knud Jeppeson (Denmark), Curt Sachs (New York), and Otto Gombosi (Hungary). In the evening an interesting program consisting of Puritan Psalmody,—Wesley's Hymns, Billings' Fuguing Tunes, White Spirituals and Folk Songs was presented by the Old Harp Singers of Nashville, Tenn. On the third morning discussions of various aspects of primitive and folk music were presented by George Herzog, Helen H. Roberts, A. M. Buchanan, Roy Lamson, Jr., Samuel Bayard and Alan Lomax. In the evening a concert of 19th and 20th century American music was performed including works by Gottschalk, MacDowell, Sessions and Ives. Thursday morning was given over to a session on Medieval and Renaissance Music. Papers were read by Oliver Strunk, Ernst Ferand, Albert Smijers (Holland), Fernando Luizzi (Italy), Leonard Ellinwood and Raymond Kendall. A concert of medieval music took place at The Cloisters, Fort Tryon Park.

In the evening a concert of unpublished music by Georg Friedrich Handel was directed by J. M. Coopersmith. The topic for Friday morning was Music and Science, various aspects of the subject being presented by Dayton C. Miller, Otto Ortmann, Glen Haydon, Manfred Bukofzer and Davidson Taylor. There was a broadcast by Sir James Jeans from London. An instrumental and vocal demonstration of student work was given at the Music and Art High School, and the evening concert was made up of Hispanic music, illustrating the musical culture of Colonial and Contemporary Latin America. On Saturday morning another general session was made up of various discussions by Francisco Curt Lange (Uruguay), Nemesio Otano (Spain), Alfred Einstein and Paul Henry Lang. A concert of 18th and 19th century American chamber music, directed by Ralph Kirkpatrick, closed the Congress in New York.

Orchestras.

Interest in orchestras and orchestral music continues more and more active throughout the country and in many cities the business interests have proven the most generous and loyal supporters of newly founded organizations. Nearly every large city now has a symphony orchestra with a well established reputation for artistic excellence. The principal organizations in the country today and their directors are as follows: New York Philharmonic, John Barbirolli; N. B. C. Symphony, Arturo Toscanini and guest conductors; Philadelphia, Eugene Ormandy and Leopold Stokowski as guest conductor; Boston, Serge Koussevitzky; Chicago, Frederick Stock and Hans Lange, associate; San Francisco, Pierre Monteux; Cleveland, Artur Rodzinski; Los Angeles, Otto Klemperer; Minneapolis, Dmitri Mitropoulos; Cincinnati, Eugene Gossens; Pittsburgh, Fritz Reiner; Detroit, Franco Ghione and Victor Kolar; Rochester, Jose Iturbi, National Symphony (Washington, D. C.), Hans Kindler; Baltimore, Werner Janssen; Kansas City, Karl Kreuger; Seattle, Nicolai Sokoloff; Dallas, Jacques Singer; St. Louis, Vladimir Golschmann.

A new organization known as Junior Concerts, Incorporated, had endeavored to coordinate the Cincinnati, Cleveland, Rochester and National Symphony Orchestras on a nation wide scale in order to arrange children's concerts in various communities in which there has hitherto been nothing of this kind. In the past season this organization succeeded in arranging 323 performances specifically for children in 130 communities.

Festivals.

The annual general festivals took place at Cincinnati and Ann Arbor in the spring, at Worcester in the fall. Bach festivals were held at Bethlehem, Philadelphia, Wyoming Valley, Pa., at Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio, at Winter Park, Fla., at Carmel-by-the-Sea, Calif. The Eastman School Festival of American Music was directed by Dr. Howard Hanson at Rochester, N. Y., in April. The Three Choir Festival of New York took place March 31 and April 1 at Temple Emanu-El. It centered on 'American Choral Music—Native, Colonial, New.' The initial address was given by David Stanley Smith, Dean of Music at Yale University. Old Southern chorales, early colonial and Revolutionary hymns, pieces by James Lyon, Andrew Law and Lowell Mason comprised the programs of earlier music. Contemporary composers whose works were performed were Arthur Shepherd, Marc Silver, Dorothy Westra, Elliott Carter, Douglas Moore, Lazare Saminsky, Mabel Daniels, Roy Harris, Roger Sessions and Ernest Bloch. The programs also presented 17th century and Sioux Indian hymns arranged for viola and organ by Miriam Gideon and John Tasker Howard. In May an American Music Festival was held in conjunction with the biennial convention of the National Federation of Music Clubs in Baltimore. In June at Los Angeles, an American Music Festival was held under the auspices of the Native American Composers Society. Twenty-five American composers from all different parts of the country were represented in four programs. In April, an Institute of Music was held at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Me. A series of lectures and concerts offered a survey of the art of music from many points of view. The lecturers included Olin Downes, John Tasker Howard, Otto Kinkeldey, Aaron Copland and Archibald T. Davison. Among the concerts was one program devoted to works by the following American composers—Copland, Samuel Barber, Robert McBride and Walter Piston. The closing concert consisted of choral and orchestral works conducted by Nadia Boulanger. Among the more recently inaugurated festivals, that given at Williamsburg, Va., in the restored Governors' Palace under the direction of Ralph Kirkpatrick promises to become a most interesting institution. In the spring and fall, programs of early eighteenth century music are presented in a setting perfectly arranged in every historical detail to accord with the period. The Berkshire Festival at the Tanglewood Estate near Stockbridge. Mass., took place in August. This fall, announcement was made of the opening of the long awaited Berkshire Music Center. Its first term will extend from July 8 to Aug. 18, 1940. The Center will consist of two sections—The Institute for Advanced Study, 'limited to those who have had a thorough preliminary musical training' and the Academy 'for those with less specific qualifications who wish to increase their knowledge of the art of interpretation and to participate in a stimulating musical experience.' The director of the Center is Serge Koussevitzky.

Mention may also be made of the Annual Tri-State Band Festival of eight years standing held in April at Phillips University, Enid, Okla. Each year more than 5,000 high school students from Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Colorado appear before a number of the nation's leading bandmasters.

Miscellany.

The Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Medals for 1939 awarded for eminent service in the field of chamber music were given to Alphonse Onnou and Hans Kindler.

The Juilliard School of Music selected for publication this year Emerson Whitehorne's Second Symphony. The work was first performed in 1937 by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra directed by Eugene Goosens.

Igor Stravinsky was appointed to the Charles Eliot Norton Chair of Poetics at Harvard University; Alfred Einstein was assigned to the William Allan Neilson Chair at Smith College; Arnold Schonberg was made a member of the faculty of the University of California.

A memorial to Stephen Foster is to be erected on the banks of the Suwannee River at White Springs, Fla. It will consist of an amphitheater and carillon tower and is a gift of the Florida Stephen Foster Memorial Association, a division of the Florida Federation of Music Clubs.

At Linsborg, Kans. (population 2,000), the fifty-eighth annual performance of the 'Messiah' by Handel was given in March. Hagbard Brase conducted for the twenty-fourth time.

Three outstanding musicians died in the course of the year, Lawrence Gilman, Artur Bodanzky and Ernest Schelling.

American Music Played Abroad.

England.

The B. B. C. Orchestra played Emerson Whitehorne's Second Symphony, John Alden Carpenter's Concertino and Anis Fuleihan's Mediterranean Suite. The Bloch Violin Concerto was given its first performance by Josef Szigeti with the Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Sir Thomas Beecham.

Finland.

Samuel Barber's 'Music for a Scene from Shelley' was the first American work to be played in Finland in a regular symphony concert by the Helsinki Municipal Orchestra, directed by Martti Simila.

France.

The Société des Concerts of Paris gave a concert of works by Americans under the direction of Charles Meunch. The program consisted of Concerto for Orchestra by Walter Piston, a tone poem 'Lilacs' by Edward B. Hill, the Second Symphony of Randall Thompson, the D-minor Piano Concerto of Edward MacDowell, the second and third movements of 'American Sketches' by Frederick Converse and Aaron Copland's 'El Salon Mexico.'

Music in Other Countries.

Mexico.

The eleventh season of the Symphony Orchestra of Mexico began on June 30 under the direction of Carlos Chavez. During the twelve week season Otto Klemperer and Pierre Monteux appeared as guest conductors. One American work was included in this year's repertoire—Copland's 'El Salon Mexico.'

Puerto Rico.

The organization known as the Pro Arte of Puerto Rico, founded in 1932, now has 3,000 members. Payment of a fee of six dollars for a membership ticket entitles the holder to attend the series of fifteen concerts given by the Orquesta Pro Arte, conducted by Augusto Rodriguez who is also leader of the choir at the University of Puerto Rico. Pro Arte has also been active in collecting a library of books on music.

Colombia.

The National Symphony Orchestra of Bogotá, Colombia, was founded in 1936 by its present conductor, Guillermo Espinosa. It has given two series of six concerts each year, the first from March to June, the second from August to December. In addition several special concerts were given including a children's series.

China.

Interest in music has grown tremendously since the outbreak of war with Japan. Li-Fu-Chen, the Minister of Education, has stressed the importance of music in education and efforts are being made to popularize music education and to improve the methods of teaching in the schools. Curricula in music for teachers training schools are being worked out. A committee of fourteen has cooperated with the Minister in sending out questionnaires to determine the needs for musical materials in various localities. Leaders of mass singing have been engaged to lead groups in public squares, in theaters and in factories. Collections of songs have been compiled for use in schools, homes and communities. Choruses and glee clubs are being organized and great enthusiasm has been manifested.

Palestine.

The Palestine Orchestra founded three years ago by Bronislaw Hubermann has, in the course of its existence, given nearly 300 concerts which were attended by about 500,000 persons. In the summer of 1939 the orchestra had the most extensive season since the beginning of its activities. Among the conductors were Dr. Hermann Scherchen, Michael Taube, Otto Selberg, Wolfgang Friedlander, Paul Frankenburger, Bronislaw Sculcz, Marc Lawry and a guest conductor from Finland, Simon Parnet. Concerts were given in Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Rechovoth. During the spring the orchestra played in Egypt. The Jerusalem Broadcasting Service also contributes to the musical life. There is a regular exchange of programs, singers and musicians between Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Palestine and each country has the opportunity to get acquainted with the music of the others. Recent symphonic concerts of the Radio orchestra were conducted by Crawford McNair and Karl Salomon. The Palestine Branch of the International Society of Contemporary Music was founded a year ago and has been active in stimulating local composers and performing their works.

Poland.

Warsaw and Cracow were the scene of the seventeenth Festival of the International Society of Contemporary Music, April 14 to 21. The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Polish Radio Orchestra, the Choral Society of Poznan, the Ballet Society of Poland, various chamber music groups and soloists took part in the programs. A concert of ancient Polish music was sung in the Church of Our Lady and a program of folk songs and dances was given at the Old Dungeon in Cracow. Two programs of orchestral music and three of chamber music presented compositions of contemporary composers from Poland, Belgium, England, Yugoslavia, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Holland, Japan, Egypt, Argentina and Sweden.

Switzerland.

At Lucerne, the Second International Festival took place from Aug. 3 to Aug. 29. Toscanini conducted the Verdi 'Requiem' and also two orchestral programs. Other orchestral programs were conducted by Ernest Ansermet, Fritz Busch and Sir Adrian Boult, and an outstanding chamber music program was played by the Busch quartet. Rachmaninoff, Horowitz, Casals, Hubermann, Albert Ferber and Alexander Kipnis appeared as soloists on various programs. The solo quarter for the 'Requiem' consisted of Zinka Milanov, Kerstin Thorborg, Jussi Bjoerling and Nicola Moscona.