DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Horizons, v. 6, issue 1, whole no. 20, September 1944

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Horizons, v. 6, issue 1, whole no. 20, September 1944

Page 10

                    Music for the fan

--Dicressing from usual policy to devote a page to some books about, not of, music

     For a long time, I was quite certain that Hagerstown and surroundings had no resident with any sense of musical values, this impression having come from the worth of music techers' recitals, the programsof the local music club, and such other musical evidences as orgininante in a small town like this one. However, I was wrong--an anonymous donor presented the local library with a complete set of Tovey's "Essays in Musical Analysis".
       Now, to begin with, this set of six volumes has one distinction--the author could not conceivably have chosen a more horrible title. I was scared away for some weeks, myself. But when I finally gathered myself together and opened the books, I found them to be the most fascinating and easy reading imaginable--although very, very learned and sound.
        Sir Francis Donald Tovey, the author, died a year or two ago; he had been called the man who knew more about music than any other single person in the world. These "Essays" consist mostly of his program notes for the concerts of a symphony orchestra in Scotland, complete with copious thematic quotations, plus many additional comments which the taboos of writing program notes kept out of their original form. For the program annotator, iron-clad tradition has it, must always be neutral or favorably inclined toward the work in question in his notes. While Tovey includes in these books only analyses of works he considers great, he adds herein his complete, nothing-but-the-truth opinions on their less satisfactory features.
         The contents of the six books cover most of the modern American symphonic orchestra's repertoire, with the inevitable exception of some compositions occasionally unearthed by enterprising conductors, and the inevitable premieres that cause a great stew between October and April and are never again heard or heard of. In addition, Tovey lamentably takes up quite a bit of space on works that are popular in England, particularly those by Sir Edward Elgar, but unknown to this country.
         If you are looking for books that go a little e farther and a little deeper than the sort of thing Sigmund Spaeth writes in his Modern Library volume on Symphnic music, these are the ones for you. If you already have some knowledge of the works, you'll get even more pleasure out of Tovey--after all, it's much more fun to hear the latest gossip about a friedn, and scandal about a stranger is never too intriguing.
         While not exactly a crusader, the author did have some pet ideas and some very firm opinions. His words on the popular practice of excerptizing Wagner ought to be printed in letters of fire on every Wagnerian score, while his analysis of the concerte form is the only valid one in the English language; he removes the false impressions about this musical hybrid that have caused musicians and public to scratch heads over the fact that none of the classic concertos are written in the textbooks' classic concerto style. His analyses of the symphonies, overtures, and concertoes of Brahms are enough to convert the most stubborn shouter of "Mathamatician!", even if the reader doesn't agree that the "Tragic" overture is good music for "Hamlet".
         Tovey doesn't exactly confine himself to writing about music. In the middle of any given dissertation, he goes off into a discussion of the German verb, "winken", as applied to heavenly bodies; a certain remarkable short story of Jules Verne; the spot where Byron used "lay" instead of "lie"; or a lament on how British sand is very often adulterated with spinach.
         The beautiful bound books, thorough indexed, are published by the Oxford University Press and probably cost more than any FAPA member can afford. But any good library has a set, and if you live near such an institution, you'll do well to look them up.
         ------------------------------
Waich leaves just room to commend Erich Korngold's incrimental music to the movie version of "Outward Bound".

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Music for the fan --Dicressing from usual policy to devote a page to some books about, not of, music For a long time, I was quite certain that Hagerstown and surroundings had no resident with any sense of musical values, this impression having come from the worth of music techers' recitals, the programsof the local music club, and such other musical evidences as orgininante in a small town like this one. However, I was wrong--an anonymous donor presented the local library with a complete set of Tovey's "Essays in Musical Analysis". Now, to begin with, this set of six volumes has one distinction--the author could not conceivably have chosen a more horrible title. I was scared away for some weeks, myself. But when I finally gathered myself together and opened the books, I found them to be the most fascinating and easy reading imaginable--although very, very learned and sound. Sir Francis Donald Tovey, the author, died a year or two ago; he had been called the man who knew more about music than any other single person in the world. These "Essays" consist mostly of his program notes for the concerts of a symphony orchestra in Scotland, complete with copious thematic quotations, plus many additional comments which the taboos of writing program notes kept out of their original form. For the program annotator, iron-clad tradition has it, must always be neutral or favorably inclined toward the work in question in his notes. While Tovey includes in these books only analyses of works he considers great, he adds herein his complete, nothing-but-the-truth opinions on their less satisfactory features. The contents of the six books cover most of the modern American symphonic orchestra's repertoire, with the inevitable exception of some compositions occasionally unearthed by enterprising conductors, and the inevitable premieres that cause a great stew between October and April and are never again heard or heard of. In addition, Tovey lamentably takes up quite a bit of space on works that are popular in England, particularly those by Sir Edward Elgar, but unknown to this country. If you are looking for books that go a little e farther and a little deeper than the sort of thing Sigmund Spaeth writes in his Modern Library volume on Symphnic music, these are the ones for you. If you already have some knowledge of the works, you'll get even more pleasure out of Tovey--after all, it's much more fun to hear the latest gossip about a friedn, and scandal about a stranger is never too intriguing. While not exactly a crusader, the author did have some pet ideas and some very firm opinions. His words on the popular practice of excerptizing Wagner ought to be printed in letters of fire on every Wagnerian score, while his analysis of the concerte form is the only valid one in the English language; he removes the false impressions about this musical hybrid that have caused musicians and public to scratch heads over the fact that none of the classic concertos are written in the textbooks' classic concerto style. His analyses of the symphonies, overtures, and concertoes of Brahms are enough to convert the most stubborn shouter of "Mathamatician!", even if the reader doesn't agree that the "Tragic" overture is good music for "Hamlet". Tovey doesn't exactly confine himself to writing about music. In the middle of any given dissertation, he goes off into a discussion of the German verb, "winken", as applied to heavenly bodies; a certain remarkable short story of Jules Verne; the spot where Byron used "lay" instead of "lie"; or a lament on how British sand is very often adulterated with spinach. The beautiful bound books, thorough indexed, are published by the Oxford University Press and probably cost more than any FAPA member can afford. But any good library has a set, and if you live near such an institution, you'll do well to look them up. ------------------------------ Waich leaves just room to commend Erich Korngold's incrimental music to the movie version of "Outward Bound".