Evening star., 1946-12-01
Books on Music

pictures of famous people: roy
atty, writer's, sculptors and paint
ers beside musicians and compos-
ers. Descriptions of places and
events help to lengthen 1t con-
siderably which is forgivable for
the intimate view it gives OF the
milieu of great musicians de-
velopment. BY far the most
poignant chapters are those deal
ing with his contacts with NaZi-
ism.
Walter Damrosch's daughter
has written the gayest book OF
the year. AS a precocious child
in q gifted household, she gives
inside information of how 1t op-
Grated and many behind-the-
scenes events, all viewed from her
position as the second OF four
lively daughters. 1t is cleverly
written, amazing to an outsider
in its revelation of the turmoil
of an artistic family life and
amusing in its keen appraisal not
only of her parents but of many
of the celebrities frequenting
their home.
Another behind-the-scenes
book is S. Hurok's "Impresario'
written in collaboration with
Ruth Goode. Here are brought
back those great personages OF
the operatic, concert and ballet
world who formed such q bril-
liant coterie q generation ago
and whose careers were entrusted
to Mr.. Hurok. Including also
tales of artists now under his
management, it Is book by
which a vivid picture is gained OF
celebrities through the anecdotes
and personal information the au-
thor possesses.
The trend to present the re-
nowned of the music world to the
public from their most human
side is carried out also in the
Letters of Composers" an an
thology covering the years from
1908 to 1945 which is edited and
put out by Gertrude Norman and
Miriam Lubell Shrifte. This Is a
revealing book on the character.
methods of thinking, aspirations,
conditions of working, philosophy
and intellectual interest of men
of every nationality and era.
Most important also Is the In
clusion of letters of many OF to-
days composers.
The eminent Herbert Wein-
stock has produced another BIZ
ography of Handel which Is note
worthy for its painstaking In
vestigation. 1t presents Handel.
however, almost exclusively in
his role as impresario with valu-
able information of the back
ground and production of all his
operas and oratories. Somehow.
the book fails to strike note OF
realism for its pedantic weigh
ing of accepted stories. its rather
dry notation of events and con-
Germ with historical happenings
rarely allows the personality OF
Handel to emerge with any vivid
ness.
Karl Geiringer's Haydn, .
Creative Life in Music on the
contrary, makes the composer .
living personality. This Is a
much needed history of a man
who has not been the subject suf-
ficiently of deep research. Many
new facts regarding Haydn's life
are brought to light by the au-
thor, who, as curator of the COLI
lection of the Society of Friends
of Music in Vienna, had access to
hitherto untouched material.
The personal experiences of
Berta Geissmar in her Two
Worlds of Music" are an an
swer to questions musicians on
this side of the Atlantic have
asked regarding conditions dur
ing the Hitler regime. DR.. Geiss-
mar was Furtwaengler's secretary
and manager of the Berlin Phil
harmonic Orchestra. She tells of
the rich musical life before Hitler
came to power and its deterior-
alton afterward. OF Jewish par
entage, she was suspected by the
Nazis and was finally forced to
take refuge in England, where
she became general secretary to
Sir Thomas Beecham and organ