Evening star., 1937-01-23

attention was called 10 InLS neg
iected composition when 1t was given
In its entirety over the radio IN
Cracow in the form of an historical
concert. Also very recently the piano
version was found in the Library OF
Congress by the princes great-great-
granddaughter by marriage. the pres
ent Ambassadress of Poland, Countess
potocka. The mother OF the Am
bassador, Countess Roman Potocka' is
the great-granddaughter OF Prince
Radziwill
Prince Radziwill was one OF those
plamorous characters who. in addltlon
to the culture commensurate with MS
station in life was also highly gifted
musically. Moreover, he was ardentiy
devoted to his avocation and de-
veloped his talents to the greatest
degree. Specializing as a cellist, ne
later took to composition, and wrote
many songs with piano and cello
and cello and guitar accompanlmentS.
He was friend of all the great artists,
among them Chopin and Beethoven,
whose quartets he played with en-
thusiasm and whose endeavors ne
supported financially with untlrlng
zeal.
At ONE time Prince Radziwill was
"A destined by Frederick the Great
to be King Of Poland and with that
objective in view, Frederick sanctioned
his marriage with his niece, Princess
Louise of Prussia, daughter OF Fred
erick's brother, Prince Ferdinand. The
brother of his wife, Prince Louis Fer
dinand, was also a cellist Of note and
friend of Beethoven, who dedicated
the two cello and piano sonatas of
opus to him. The bond of music,
shared by the great Frederick, knit
these princely musicians closely to-
gether.
The prince was long identified with
Prussian court life (although his pro-
posed kingship never came about ,
which he varied by an extensive &C
quaintance among the most celebrated
composers of his time. He was devoted
to Beethoven and once made the long
Journey to the home of Prince Galitzin
for the sole purpose of hearing per-
formance of the Mass in B." He was
also one of seven who. in answer to
Beethoven's appeal, contributed the
necessary funds to insure the publica-
tion of the mass. The great master, in
recognition of his devotion. dedicated
I. fv, n IN 11Hf m his
patron. The prince later became
governor of Pozen.
Besides being an instrumentalist of
superior ability, Prince Radziwill also
was a singer, and with this double
viewpoint, he was ably prepared to set
the drama Faust" to music. He was
a close friend of Goethe and many
times consulted with him regarding
the composition he had in mind. Less
theatrical than Gounod's version. it
took the form of an oratorio with the
four principal characters, and chorus
interspersed with declamatory pas
sages. The completed score requires
639 pages and contains 25 numbers.
During the lifetime of the prince
only portions of the work were repro
duced. the first hearing of some num-
bers being had at the Singakademie in
Berlin on May /, 1910. The choruses
were given separately in 1916 and three
scenes in 1880. 1t was not until Octo-
ber, 1888, six months after the COM
poser's early death, that public per-
formance of the entire work was pre-
sented by the Singakademie and the
Koenigliche Kapelle. 1t was published
in November, 1885.
AS WAS natural, the prince has
given special prominence to the
reIlo thro1pho,,t the work and in the