Evening star., 1927-05-29
BY HENRIETTA STRAUSS.

BERLIN, May, 1927.-All Germany
is preparing for festivals, especially
music festivals, for music seems to be
the natural, one might almost say
official, expression of a German
Spring. Just now, for instance, the
whole countryside is lyrical with bios
SONS, and from the larks that haunt
tie meadows of Bremen with winged
flights OF song to the bands of chant
ing school children that string the
highways Of Baden, the whole country
side sings. Even here in Berlin, where
TIE trees on Inter den Linden are al
ready thick with green leaves, l have
seen hard headed business men in q
tea room like that of the Bristol, for
getting the sophisticated atmosphere
of the fashion they have come to
watch, forgetting even their coffee
and cake and ices. as. with chairs
drawn close to the three-piece orches'
ira, they sentimentaliZe with violin or
cello over an air from Carmen" or
Faust"
Small wonder, then, that music festi-
walls are to be found in every district
and corner of Germany. from the fac
tory.dotted plains Of Prussia to the
banks of the Rhine.
and from the quaint townscapeS Of
Bavaria to the pine-studded hills of
the Black Forest Or that, beginning
in March, to honor the centenary of
Beethoven's death, they should last
until October. In many cases they
will overlap not only each other but
the innumerable historical festivals
which also dot the German Summer
season and which run, in the main, to
old miracle" plays.
M ,x,,sn ....I
be having her important festivals at
the same time. Thus the first three
weeks of June in Germany will see
Beethoven festival in Heidelberg, Han
del festival performances in Gottin-
gen and historical chamber music con-
certs at Bruchsal in the Prince Castle
of compositions performed there some
200 years ago; two historical celebra-
tions in Rothenhnrg. .Tnne 5 and g.
consisting, respectively, Of pastoral
dance" on the market place and of
festival play, Der Meistertrunk"
"Whit Sunday plays" at Nordeney on
the very same days, as also in Schwa.
bisch- Hall (Wurtemberg), where an
other historical festival play, State
meister Buschler." in a newly-built
festival hall. which has been added to
the four-centuries.oid "Neubau." while
every Sunday until August in Neu-
stadt (Rhenish Palatinate) will see a
mystery play in the Convent of the
Sacred Heart, the largest open-air
theater in Germany, and on June 5,
in Nordlingen, Bavaria. the famous
historical play, "Anno 1884" And. in
the meantime, while all this is going
on, Vienna will be having festivals of
various kinds. including folk dances
and historical series OF operettas,
June to 20.
June 80 ushers in the important
international festival of modern music
at Frankfort -auMain, going into the
first week of July, conflicts with
Mozart week at WurZburg, a Saenger-
woche at Nurnberg and a festival play
at Landshut, THE Landshut Wedding.
1475." Fortunately, the festival OF
modern chamber music, which. spon-
sored until now by Donsueschingen,
will be held this year at Baden-Baden,
takes place July Is to II, inclusive,
for after that and through August
there will be a rivalry between the
two great German festivals-that or
Wagner at Bayreuth. which has It's
f1ftieth anniversary this season, and
that of Wagner and Mozart at Munich
and an additional rivalry between
these two with the equally famous fes-
tival at SalZburg, Austria, where MO-
zart performances by the Vienna
Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra
alternate with Shakespearean and
miracle plays, directed by Max Rein
hardt. Trailing along bravely through
out these same months will be various
small musical and historical festivals
at Wurzburg and Heidelberg again,
Schwabisch.Gmund (Wurtembergl