Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-07-21
NEWS OF MUSIC
BY JAMES G. DEANE

BY JAMES G. DEANE
LENOX. Mass.-Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart. who en-
joyed only fieeting popular
esteem in his brief lifetime,
would have been gratified by
the show Of public regard
which was rendered his music
a few days ago in the verdant
Berkshire Hills.
Last week end was a
Mozart week end at Tangle-
wood, the famous summer
home of the Boston SYM
phony Orchestra. Conductor
Charles Munich and his men
devoted three full concerts
to works Of the most cele-
brated of Salzburg's sons.
From the standpoint Of
public reaction, the triple
header could hardly have
been more successful. Two
of the programs, in the
rustic. enclosed theater-
concert hall seating 1900.
were far more than sellouts,
with more rapt enthusiasts
clustered on the green lawn
outside than within. The
third, held in the giant OPEN
air shed, drew more than
5000 persons.
The enthusiasm was APP
parent in effectiveness and
applause, as we'll as at the
boxofflce. One might ac-
curately say, in Broadway
parlance, that the week end
was a smash.
Limited Orchestra Used
The three great final
symphonies which Mozart
dashed off in an incredibly
short few weeks near the end
of his career made up the
program played in the shed.
DR.. Munich used a reduced
orchestra (there were only
two, instead of the BSO's
regular eight, double-basses).
The Munich style of Mozart,
to judge at least by one
Berkshire newspaper re-
viewer, does not appeal to
everyone. His interpretations
tended to extreme briskness,
thus being quite different
from what one is used to
hearing from conductors of
the Viennese school, such as
Bruno Walter. A nearer
might have been reminded Of
Toscanini, except for a
Munich which the late
maestro would certainly have
frowned upon-of perceptibly
slowing things at certain al
most practicable points.
This habit, along with a
general air of slightly nerv-
Gus tension, was in evidence
in both the E fiat and G
minor symphonies. In the
Jupiter" things seemed
more even and relaxed. Per-
haps this was traceable part
ly to an incident just before
the start, when two youth
full music lovers returned late
to front-row seats and drew
q slightly ironic but smiling
bow from the conductor.
which in turn drew a large
laugh from the audience.
Many Lounged Outside
Even with the small-sized
orchestra the quality of the
sheds acoustics was appar-
emily sufficient to carry the
beguiling Mozartian har-
monies out to the hundreds
Of hearers lounging comfort
ably on blankets on the tree
bordered grounds. At the
end many hearers cheered.
For experienced Mozart
listeners the other two con-
certs held more interest. The
first opened with a little
three-movement work for
strings in D. 1856 in the
Koechel catalogue. dating
from Mozart's teens and
sometimes labeled q SYM
phony. sometimes q diver
timento and sometimes a
quartet. ct was apparently
designed to meet whatever
instrumental circumstances
happened to crop up.) The
work sounds like that of a
16-year-old. but in this case
Of course a very talented one,
and the Boston players per-
formed 1t lustrously.
Next on the program came
the much later. and superb,
C minor serenade. X. 388, in
which the BSO's famous
wind section took the spot
light, and after this the
"Haffner" symphony, which
also was originated as q
serenade rather than a
Beethovenian. formal SYM
phony. The eight perform
ers gave q model demonstra-