Evening star., 1949-07-17
Great Spanish
.ViOlinist Plans
Visit in Fall
By Alice Eversmaa

Word comes that the renowned
Spanish violinist. Juan Manen.
will arrive in this country next
fall to give recital on Novem-
Der 3 in Town Hall. New York.
The name OF this distinguished
artist may not be very familiar
to the concert goers Of today. but
over a quarter of q century ago
he ranked as one Of the most
celebrated violinists of the time.
In fact. ne was acclaimed sue
cessor to the great Sarasate. not
only by reason Of his Spanish
origin. but also because Of his
brilliant style OF playing.
He Is now. 66, with a career in
terrupted by two wars. But
during that time he has been
busy in other fields and Is now
equally famous as composer and
conductor. He Is one OF the few
violinists who have been inter
ested In other branches Of the
music art besides that Of per-
former. and in this respect he can
be linked with Rachmaninoff.
whose piano recitals were matched
by his composing and conducting.
Manen also subscribes to the idea
introduced by jose Iturbl Of ap-
pearing Is both soloist and con-
ductor on the same program.
Here Before at Age sf ,.
Mr.. Manen made his only other
visit to this country at the age
Of . when hs stopped by, 20 10
speak. after . tour Of South
America. He was 70 proficient also
as q pianist that he might have
chosen that instrument for
career but preferred the violin.
Using sarasate's violin, pre-
sented to him after Sarasate's
death, the young virtuoso played
continuously in Europe with great
success. Ninety appearances were
made in Germany alone.
Most Of his concertizins was
confined to Europe except for .
tour Of India and Australia and
his youthful visit to the Americas.
His recital on November will
be. in reality. his debut here as .
mature artist. A few weeks later
he will give another program
featuring his own compositions
for violin. incidentally. he has
not written exclusively for his in
strument. While symphonic and
piano works from his pen are
many, his operas. four in num-
Der, have been performed fire.
quently in Spain and abroad.
Some 10 years ago his Nero and
Acte' was staged lavishly in Hell
sinki under the direction Of the
famous Finnish singer. Aino
Ackte, who became manager OF
the Finnish Opera after aban-
doing her public career. Another
opera, Castle in Spain" and .
ballet. Rosario Ia Tirena," had
wide success.
Outstanding Artist When 10.
He began composing when Is.
his first work published when Is.
BY the time he was 20 he was
looked upon as one OF the most
outstanding musicians In Europe.
Weingartner. Mengelberg and
Hasselmans frequently performed
his symphonic work. Nova Cata.
lonia." and the concerto, "Juven-
tus."
He was born in Barcelona and.
like other Catalonian composers,
made full use of the rich folk lore
Of the province. For the first time.
he and his compatriots. Enrie
Morera. Lus Millet and Jaime Pa
hissa. have succeeded in raising
the folk music Of Catalonia to an
art plane thereby enriching the
entire music OF Spain.
Another prominent European TO
arrive in this country is the noted
French composer. Olivier Mes
siaen. who began his teaching
schedule week ago at the Berk-
shire Music Center. His stay will
be limited to the Summer School
duration after which he will re-
turn to France where he Is organ
ist of Trinity Church and profess
sor at the Conservatoire. The as
year-old composer. leader Of the
young group which call itself, La
Jeune France" speaks no English
and mis- lesson instructions are
made through an interpreter.
Messiaen. whose deep religious
feeling impregnates his writings.
spends his mornings finishing the
ten-movement symphony commis-
stoned by Koussevitzky. He was
first made known to the Washing
ton public when DR.. Kinder pre-
sented his Les Offrandes Ou-
bliees" in 1910. In l947, the San
Francisco Orchestra under Pierre
Monteux played "L'Ascension" II,
Constitution Hall. DR.. Kousse-
vitzky will perform this work on
August s. Messiaen spent year
in a Nazi concentration camp dur
ing the war where he wrote his
Quartet pour Ia An du temps"
which a chamber music group II,
Tanglewood will perform on July
"a.