Haydn and Bloch, part 1

From four College Radio in Amherst the eastern educational radio network presents the

first in a six part series of programs devoted to the art of a manual for a

man host for this series is cellist Seymour Itzkoff a member of the

Department of Education at Smith College.

The tragically premature death of the cellist Emanuel for human I May 25th

1942 at the age of 39 took from the musical world one of the

most extraordinary talents that we have been privileged to hear. It is true that today when

one thinks of the cello in cellists our first thought is to Pablo Casals because I

was bored musicality and beauty to cello playing. Foreman once wrote of this in a note to

his wife where as a cellist speaking for himself and other cellist Still to come

he related his indebtedness to ghazals for establishing the cello as an instrument of

warmth and interpretive eloquence without Casals who was

26 years appointment senior to point the way to demonstrate the possibilities inherent in the

instrument. There would not have been a man believed the audience for the cello which existed

in his time. The preeminence of Casals as a representative of the

cello is further due to the fact that he is perhaps one of the great humanitarians of our

times. Happily as longevity has long enabled him to communicate not only his musical

ideals but also his dedication to the cause of human liberty and democracy.

His tenacious sacrifices for his Republican Catalonian compatriots answers in

part for the enormous respect he has elicited for the cello

notwithstanding all these important values that the great master Casals has contributed. It

must be asserted that with regard to the expressive and virtuous of possibilities of the instrument itself.

The manual for human has had no peer neither before nor since his passing

before for human there have been no one to do for the cello what the legendary Paganini and Saraswati had

done for the violin.

Namely to create a symbolic standard or bridge to our city to be emulated by all

aspiring instrumentalists. We will try to demonstrate through recordings in this and in

subsequent programs these unique cellist accomplishment of this artist.

Unfortunately for him and made relatively few recordings as with many artist he was

understandably both proud and critical of his work and usually shied away from the recording

studios because he was hesitant as he put it in having any one performance

or any temporary state of his art be inscribed for all eternity.

Those recordings that he did make amply demonstrate the consistently high level of his mastery

of the traditional technical difficulties of the instrument. Difficulties which have often

detracted from its aesthetic possibilities in lesser hands.

The problems of the cello are so unique that a word about them is perhaps in order. The

melodic potentialities of the instrument are of course incomparable. Yet as a solo

instrument melody alone is not enough. There are technical possibilities which

must be exploited. The incipient virtuoso of the cello however has rather

great disadvantages when compared with the possibilities available to the violinist.

The large size and volume of the cello make it a rather cumbersome opponent for the soloist

necessitating an enormous expenditure of physical energy. The reaches and

distances are quite extreme. Making rapid passage work over the thicker and less response of

strings or the more difficult for both hands. The intonation problems of

the left hand in maneuvering over these distances becomes a relatively minor matter when one

considers the even more crucial feats that the bore must perform with a short stocky

stick over the wide arc produced by the cello bridge and on the same aforementioned

heavier and slower vibrating strings. These difficulties

seemingly vanish with women the gruffness of bowl and the fuzzy and opaque

articulation of the left hand which can mar the natural beauty of the cello and is

so prevalent even in the playing of some of our greatest contemporary cellist does

not exist in his repertoire of musical sounds. Often as in his chamber music

recordings with hyper took Primrose. It is difficult to identify the cello when a

duplicate either in repetitions or Unison passages. The range of the higher

instrument for women's achievement of a synthesis of musicality

and technical facility considering the natural obstacles to this and is all the more

amazing. For humans American debut

was with the New York film Monica under Bruno Valter m January 3rd one thousand thirty five

in the Haydn cello concerto. Walter had known both Emmanuel and his

violinist brother Sigmund who was two years older for several years. The three

had formed a piano trio and had given a number of recitals together. In

addition vaulter had conducted performances of the brothers in the Brahms double concerto.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Potter had taken a rather personal interest in the career of the young

cellist. However had it not been for the vigorous urgings of Mrs

Bowater the conductor might have lost the opportunity to be the one to introduce the 33 year

old cellist to the new world.

Flamen had been appearing on the cutting stages of the world including Western Europe the Soviet Union

and Japan for over a dozen years and in fact had been

concertizing throughout Europe since he was nine. He was already

somewhat of a legend. And this is premier was more than the traditional New York debut.

In reviewing the forum in concert in the New York Times on downs duly noted the

impressive caliber of the playing yet was not ready on the basis of one concert to

accord for him a new claim that had followed him wherever he had played.

However with each recital it for him and gave the accolades grew in a steady

crescendo. For this first program in our series we are

going to hear for Yemen in the work in which he premiered on the Bruno Valter the Haydn Cello

Concerto in E major opus 101 recorded in England one year

earlier with Malcolm Sargent conducting an orchestra.

Haydn composers concerto a beautiful blend of style and virtuosity for on time

craft the capable first cellist of the Esterhazy orchestra. The

concerto was really played in succeeding decades and was not heard in England until

1887 when finally published by friends who are good at the

Brussels conservatory the famed cellist Joseph survey took it upon

himself to popularize the work which since has been a staple of the cello

repertoire. For human performance on this recording demonstrates a

smooth and effortless technique. His cello provides a rich and supple

foreground in what is a rather uninflected interpretation.

You will hear the chorus rather thin orchestral sound in the introduction supplanted by

the Clarion like assertiveness of the cello the soloist is then dominant

throughout the relaxation and karma for women is deceptive.

For every note and phrase have been carefully calculated.

Interestingly before women worked out his interpretations away from the cello for the most part

and was able to transfer his intellectual organization of a piece of music

to the instrument with a minimum of actual practice there was little that four

women could not do on the instrument once you determine the course of his interpretation.

Of a performance by 4 a.m. the same concerto with the film on it going to John Barbirolli

several years after his American debut. The New York Times commented as follows.

Never has his performance been more amazing in its combination of vital musicianship and

consummate technique. The audience was his from the moment he put his bow

to the string.

Ooh. Ooh.

Ooh.

Ooh wee.