The Arnold Schoenberg Center in Vienna decided to give Avior Byron the Avenir Foundation Research Grant for a one month research trip in Vienna in order to work on two books that he is writing.
My name is Avior Byron and I am a musicologist, blogger and composer. I write books, articles and a blog about music, performance, research, and theory. Read more at my about page
The violinist Bronislaw Huberman is considered to be one of the greatest violinists in music history. Although his playing is controversial, there were few who did not recognize his greatness as a performer. There is very little academic research on Huberman and his playing. In this paper I will present materials from Huberman’s archive that was not discussed in the literature. I claim that people from different countries and periods conceptualized Huberman’s playing as something that is more than just playing. His performances and interpretations were considered to represent things that are transcendent or even metaphysical. The paper will analyze how important cultural figures, music critics and common listeners, perceived the technique of Huberman, his behavior on stage, his physical appearance, and how he interpreted the scores that he played. The presentation will include listening to historical recordings by Huberman.
Dr. Avior Byron is a musicologist, blogger and composer. Byron published in journals such as Music Theory Online and The World of Music and is currently working on a book on Schoenberg’s Writings on Aesthetics and Interpretation in Performance (Oxford University Press). He received his PhD from University of London (2007) and is currently conducting research on Bronislaw Huberman. Website: www.bymusic.org
L. S. from the Winnipeg Free Press wrote on 18 February 1941: ‘Not to have heard Mr. Huberman would have been to miss a wonderful revelation in the Mendelssohn concerto, from example, of the tender unfolding of the phrase from within; on an instrument that in the language of the bible, became a living soul in the Bach Adagio and Fugue in G minor and the Andante in the Bach’s a Minor Sonata; of Handel performance (the sonata in D major) that seemed a dedication that all that was lovely on earth… The warmth beneath the easy melody could not be missed; the listeners could not help realizing the sum of human experiences that spoke out of this first work on the programme.’
Glasgow Times, on 13 January 1937 wrote the following review on a concert with Szell and the Scottish Orchestra, under the subtitle ‘Human Outlook’: ‘Beethoven’s violin concerto is a great human work, and there is no living violinist with a more human outlook than Huberman … everything combined to provide us with a rare experience in our musical life.’
On 31 May 1937 an news paper in Honolulu Reviewed a concert with Huberman and the pianist Jakob Gimpel: ‘the listener was … deeply stirred by the silken quality of his bowing which was fraught with ineffable charm and literally breathed a spirit of serene meditation… Huberman … satisfies thje poetic carving of his listeners and leaves them serene and satisfied, and conscious of a sublime musical experience.’
The Boston Evening Transcript wrote on 25 March 1937: ‘Schnabel and Huberman portrayed …[Beethoven] in his superb masculinity, a masculinity, by the way, which at will can manifest the tenderness of a woman.’
Reviews of Huberman by Neville Cardus, part II: technique and spirit
Huberman’s technique was an issue that was discussed in various newspaper reviews, and letters from listeners. In the follwing review for The Manchester Guardian, dated 13 December 1933, Neville Cardus discussed this issue in his normal poetic manner, and suggested that Huberman’s technique points to metaphysical issues.
Cardus talked about Menuhin’s ‘perfect’ technique, who was only seventeen years old and performed in England during those days, and claimed that if his ‘playing remains for ever sensuously satisfying, flawless in line and tone, he will remain outside the secret places of the imagination.’ The critic reported that a remark was made in the audience that Huberman’s tone was not as consistent as that of Menuhin. Cardus argued that there is not only a difference of age between the two violinists, but also a psychological difference: ‘Huberman is a searcher, a chaser if ideals’. He suggested that if Huberman would be given Menuhin’s technique, he would find it ‘a prison for his spirit.’ Cardus told his readers that several years ago Huberman reached the peak of his technique, and at that very moment he stopped playing for a year, and went to study philosophy during that pause period, at the Sorbonne. Cardus suggested that Huberman is neither a slave of ‘beautiful sounds’ nor ‘the allurements of the fiddle’. Just like Max Brod, Cardus compares Huberman to Beethoven. He suggested that their similar great quality is in ‘penetrating and penetrating’ beyond the mere beautiful sound. He hinted to Moses when he wrote that Huberman ’strikes music out of his instrument as though with the rod on the rock.’
Cardus argued that if Huberman can do an ‘exquisite’ violin sound in one place, surly his ‘hard’ sounds are not an outcome of technical flaw. This ‘hard’ sound, so he claimed, is connected to the idea of music. Cardus regretted that in England, music is regarded as something beautiful that is apart of life, while Huberman’s playing is a ‘criticism of life’.
Huberman’s performance of the slow movement of Beethoven’s violin concerto was describe by Cardus in the following: ‘Never before have I heard the figuration sound so unearthly, so spiritual in its mazeful transitions.’
In the follwing post I explore some of the letters listeners wrote to Bronislaw Huberman. This is a continuation of the theme of the Divine that I wrote about with relation to a concert review by Max Brod and a report by Edmondo De Amicis. These two posts and the following were written, more or less, as notes that I plan to use in a future article on this subject.
Eugenie Tulakova wrote to Huberman on 30.4.1929 (The Listner Speaks, p. 36 X A):
Yesterday, listening to your sounds, the soul has trembled like a chord;
It has included everything: enthusiasm and suffering, and a wild wave of happiness.
However, more than the sounds it was astonishing, that You, playing like a God, You, the exuberant genius, conqueror of nations, at whose feet the crowd is lying, richness and glory – You did not forget … of old little friends.
Here too, Huberman’s music signifies suffering and ‘wild’ emotions. The capital ‘Y’ in the word ‘You’ and the direct reference to God, clearly show a perceived relation of the violinist to the divine.
The following is a letter from Mrs R.B. dated 24 March 1932 (p. 56):
Last evening for one blissful half hour I (an invalid) lay back on my pillows entranced, pain forgotten, everything forgotten but the one lovely picture which you were weaving with those unspeakable beautiful notes – a picture of the future of our weary world when the Divine promises are fulfilled and out Lord reigns, and all is harmony and beauty.
I hope in the next world to be permitted to thank you adequately; I cannot find words here, but can only pour out my soul to God in hearty thanksgiving for such beaty as He has given us through you, and also in a prayer that He will reachly [sic.] bless you.
On 26 January 1933 she wrote to Huberman thanking his again for his concert from the Queen’s Hall. She wrote:
Music of that kind is beyond words, and converys Divine truths that can hardly be spoken, but if I may try to tell you how I read God’s message to me though you, it was this: - if God’s love gives us such beaty as that, then we can trust Him for all the rest, and need fear nothing, and we can face life with a good courage.
מה ×”×•× ×›×ª×‘ לה????
C. E. wrote to Huberman from Hague, 24 April 1932 (p. 58). He wrote that he enjoyed the ‘great Soul’, with a capital S, ‘who spoke straight to my heart.’ He described Huberman’s playing as ’sublime’. It is interesting that the writer of the letter confesses that he doubts ‘whether really was conscious of the gem he composed, but then he knew no Huberman to play it and show him what it contained.’ In other words, the performer may present something divine that the composer was not aware of while composing.
Neville Cardus, a noted music critic from Manchester wrote on 17 January 1936 to Huberman: ‘You purified me with your own suffering.’ (p. 77). I will elaborate on two concert reviews by Nevill Cardus in one of the following posts. The theme of suffering is discussed in my post on the review by Max Brod.
A letter from San Fransisco, California, dated 22 March 1936 contained a song from which the following lines were taken:
I listened in raptures as his every note
Thrilled me like a song from a Nightingale’s throat.
It was Wonderful, Godlike, Exquisite, Grand;…
I do not wish to argue that all people have experienced music in general or Huberman’s concerts in particular, as a religious experience. Yet even some of the most restraint listeners could have been carried away by Huberman’s music, as is evident from the following letter. M. S., a noted music critic, writes on 28 Mach 1937 from Boston Mass. that he cannot find words to describe the spiritual quality of the experience of hearing Huberman and Schnabel play together in a concert. The critic confessed that he does not see himself as ‘a sentimentalist’, and he even regards with ‘a little skepticism or contempt … those who could partake of music as of a religious experience.’ (p. 89). Yet during the concert, only the intermission could help him re-gather his ‘forces so as to be able to listen to more.’ After listening to a piece by Mozart, it ‘finished’ him and he had to go out and miss the piece by Schubert. The writer of the letter admits listening to music as something ’self-sufficient … discoursing in its own language about matters entirely within itself.’ Nevertheless, in the Huberman-Schnabel concert, ‘perhaps for the first time, it began to take on a meaning outside itself and somehow more lofty.’
A similar letter was written by a women living in Sydney, confessing on 3 July 1937 that her ‘friends have all called [her a] cold and heartless’ person. However, she realized ‘that "Only the Perfect is Real" and that "God is Perfection and Love", also that one must love the Highest when one "sees" it.’ She immediately confessed that she acknowledges ‘the final sense of liberation and ecstasy your music has inspired me with.’ (p. 90).
L. R. from Camberwell, Victoria (Australia) wrote on 12 July 1937 that a radio broadcast of Huberman had awakened something in her. She confessed the following:
Have you gone to church often, because it made you strong and good? – You love kneeling before God and listening to the words of good counsel and kindliness. And then there comes a day when you realise, that you never really knew God at all. You just worshipped blindly. Of a sudden your eyes and heart are opened, and you see and feel God as He really is. Such a revelation was your music to me. (p. 92).
L.R. admitted in the letter that she could not afford to but a concert ticket, so Huberman had sent her two tickets. After attending the concert she wrote to him another letter dated 16 July 1937: ‘That concert was the most wonderful thing in my life… Brahms Sonata … was played with God in your fingers.’
A letter from an admirer from New York dated 10 December 1942 (p. 112) argues that Huberman performance is ‘great’ in the sense that it is more than perfectly performed with ‘faultless intonation and with complete sincerity. The letter argues that this what makes Huberman’s performance ‘great is not descended from anything on earth at all but that it is a Chelek Eloha Mimaal – [in Hebrew:] a portion from God on High. It is a mysterious blended and glorious whole which is greater than the sum of its parts.’ The writer continued to argue that there ‘was a noble partnership in action on the stage of the Town Hall. The result was a great collaboration of the soul of Huberman, the genius of Bach and the mercy and loving kindness of God.’
Mysticism is not unapparent in the following letter by Samuel R. Wachtell from 17 January 1943 (Ibid.):
Here is a dash of Nostradamus:
( Bach
( Beethoven
( Brahms
What had they in common last evening? Let us see:
( Bach
( Beethoven B. H. = Bronislaw Huberman
( Brahms
The artistic solvent which sublimated these three different geniuses – the encompassing genius of – Bronislaw Huberman
The metaphysical connection between Huberman’s performance and the spirits of composers is present also in a letter by the conductor Wheeler Beckett dated 31 October 1944. He wrote to Huberman that during the performance of Brahms G major sonata, he ‘felt that the spirit of Brahms himself hung over you as you played and if so he must have been pleased to hear his inmost thought and feeling expressed.’ (p. 115)
A couple wrote to Huberman on 17 December 1944 that they try to attend as many concert of his as they can. They ended the letter with the following words: ‘God Bless you this season, Mr. Huberman, and may He deem it wise to give you years of further expression of His glory through your art.’ (p. 119).
Huberman and the divine: report by Edmondo De Amicis
Edmondo De Amicis (1846 –1908) was an Italian novelist, journalist, poet and short-story writer. His best-known book is the children’s novel Heart. (source: wikipedia)
In one of my previous posts I wrote about Max Brod’s review of a concert of Huberman in Prague. In this post I will continue to review how Huberman was perceived with relation to the theme of the divine in music. The Italian journalist, poet and writer Edmondo De Amicis wrote in the summer of 1904 about an experience he had meeting Bronislaw Huberman (the text that was translated from Italian, appears in The listener Speaks by Ida Ibbeken (1961)). In the following excerpt De Amicis relates to the question of suffering during performance:
You have the glory – I said to him – dear Huberman – but what about your health? – "Good Lord – he answered with a smile – my health leaves to desire as the glory. But it is all the fault of the violin, I assure you. Unlike many others, who are excited before appearing before the public and quiet down as soon as they are there, I myself am quiet up to the last moment, and I become agitated when I begin to play. One would not believe it, don’t you think so? It seems to everybody that I am impassive, because I do not move when I am playing, except when necessary. But this relative immobility is the effect of a great effort, and the effort I am making to suppress my emotion reacts on my stomach and ruins it. All my suffering is restrained passion. But it is only just that I pay in some way for the inexpressible joy which my art gives me." – Well – I said to him – I have guessed it. (The Listener Speaks, p. 16A)
Huberman’s playing, according to the De Amicis report, is a result of retrained passion and emotion. The consequence of this is great suffering that has implications on his health. Yet the source of this passion is not clear at this stage of the article. De Amicis, however, leads his reader to an impression that this passion is related to metaphysical entities. He responds to the passage I quoted above in the following:
Your quite attitude could not mislead me. I watched you intensely when you played. I saw when your eyes sparkled and when they grew moist, and I saw the shiver running through the muscles of your pale face. Sometimes, when you pressed the violin, you seemed to press a living and adored thing, which inebriated and tormented you; and when you took it from the shoulder, you made a movement as if you were tearing off a vampire sugging [sic.] your blood; and then you took it back to your breast and re-embraced it with even more passionate love and pressed it under your chin with the tenderness of a mother who presses her face against the face of her creature. Oh, I was not misled. I understood, I felt when from the depths of the soul welled up the lamentations, the sighs of love, of joy and sorrow, the sound of the nightingale and the voices of angels, which you poured forth into the theatre; and which out of your two thousand listeners made one single soul; a soul which palpitated, throbbed with you and which loved you.
Performance is not something that happens between a violinist and members of the audience. It is a meeting of metaphysical subjects. The violin is simultaneously adored by Huberman since it grants him moments of joy. Yet it also cases him great pain. Here again one accouters a romantic view of art that grants the artist both joy and suffering. Moreover, the audience is not a group of individuals that perceive the music in different ways. They are united by the elevated experience into ‘one single soul’. Huberman, as in Brod’s description, is a mere medium that communicates emotion, vibrations and energy from an active and divine source to the passive and astonished listeners. De Amicis ends his article claiming that he will always remember ‘the profoundest emotions which my heart received by that instrument which speaks most humanly about the most divine art.’
Second thoughts: the higher education jobs situation in Israel
In one of my previous blog posts raised some concerns that many people in the Israeli job market do not know about music vacancies in higher education. When doing so I received certain conformation about the feeling of secrecy that surrounds such jobs (mostly around non-permanent vacancies). I was also approached privately by people who had similar experiences as I had, namely, the Israeli job market being hard and sometimes even unfair.
I do regret writing about some of the gossip I have heard, since it is possible that it is not true. Even though the source was a respected person, I should have not passed on this gossip. In Judaism it is called lashon hara. I know that I have personally suffered from it when I taught in the Bar-Ilan music department, and it was a mistake to do it myself in my blog. Unless there is clear evidence that it is true, and unless saying the thing can do any good, one should avoid saying it. Otherwise, it is lashon hara and it is considered something very wrong to do. I apologize to anyone that I have possible harmed by doing so.
I also hope no one took seriously the pictures and movie of rabbits and pigs. I tried to use black humour in order to provocate a discussion. It seems that I have failed also in this.
Whether or not the higher education job situation in Israel is fair or unfair, it is not really the point. It is hard due to the fact that there are very few institutes and many people applying for jobs. Actually, John Rink (who was my PhD supervisor) told me that the situation in England is very similar. He told me about one of his students that is in a similar situation like many of us – she is working in something that is even not connect to music simply because she needs to make a living.
In the next week or so, I hope to create the Israel Music Society Announcements Google group (sounds too long?). It will function for the society announcements and it will also be a platform for telling people about job vacancies.
Whether or not there is need to a person in our musicological society that will approach higher education institutes, I do not know. What do you think? Since I will probably do this for myself this year, I could approach also for other in our society. I will be glad to know what you think.
I would like to add that in a private email exchange between Yossi Maury, we agreed that it would be wonderful if there would be one place where all music job vacancies will be published. What do you think? Feel free to comment in the form below… if you dare (-;
Review of the Israeli Musicological Society (IMS) Annual Meeting 2009
The session “Music in the World of Islam” in honor of Prof. Amnon Shiloach 80th birthday was interesting. It was heart warming to see that there is an academic in the music field in Israel that is so active despite our poor situation. Shiloach has about 250 publications. I never read his research, which was described by Dr. Ronit Seter as positivistic; however, I do hope to read some of it in the future. The speakers in the session, Prof. Joseph Sadan, Prof. Sasson Somech. Dr. Avi Eylam Amzallag, showed great respect to Shiloach and gave interesting papers.
At the end of the session Shiloach thanked the speakers and the audience and spoke shortly about the mission of music. He also said that he just came of a conference in England where he was a key speaker. He was amazed to see there that no one of the speakers ever tried to speak more that the time that he or she was given. I must add that it was a pity to see that in our conference there were at least three scholars that could not find the strength to stop speaking, even when it was demanded by common sense.
I found the papers by Dr. Yifat Shoshat “Between Lessing and Haydn: Rhetorical Expressions in 18th-Century Music and Philosophy”, and Yoel Greenberg “A Stitch in Time: The Transition from the Slow Introduction to the Fast Section in Haydn’s Symphonies”, especially interesting. Greenberg realted to the research of Eithan Haimo, and I wonder what he would say if he would be preset in the room.
The “Plenary session” was both too long and too short. Dr. Bella Brover-Lubovsky (president) spoke about the annual report and RILM national committee report. Dr. Yosef Goldenberg (treasurer) gave the financial report. I spoke about the IMS Google group. Dr. Adena Portowitz (Min-Ad editor) gave the Min-ad report.
I only heard half of the paper of Oded Erez "Contemporary Voices in Israeli Popular Music: Revisiting Zionist Cultural Space”. However, it is good to see that there are still young scholars that find interest in musicology and some of its new paths. Popular music, gender, and performance studies are exciting new areas for research.
One of the most interesting parts was Prof. Jehoash Hirshberg’s talk and listening session to “In Memory of the Crystal Night in Munich: A Premiere of the Oratorio Joram by Paul Frankenburger (Ben Haim) Seventy Five Years after its Composition”. The music was facinating and Hirshberg’s review of it gave it an interesting context and interpretation.
It was nice meeting many of the people that I usually communicate with electronically. I hope that we could have more of these session during the year and that young scholars will join our musicological society. Remember, you can make a change only if you participate.
One of the main problems that troubles both students and scholars in the academy, is how to find scholarships and funding to their studies or research projects. This is not a simple problem since it seems that there are many possible scholarships and grants to apply to, however, time is limited and in these days the competition is great. Even if you have the best research proposal, without funding, you may find yourself in great difficulties when trying to devote yourself to your studies. Finding funding for your academic work can be a major project in itself and you must be patient and systematic during this process. In this post I will suggest a few tips that might help you find scholarships, grants and other types of funding in a systematic, fast and efficient way.
1. Prepare in advance
It takes time to find all the potential scholarships, grants and fellowships that might fund your studies. Preparing in advance will help you not miss the deadlines. If you miss a deadline, you will probably have to wait a whole year before being able to apply.
Another reason why preparing in advance is important, is because you might be dependant on other people for completing your application form or getting them to write for you recommendation letters. People in the academy tend to be very busy or they simply might be on vacation when you need them. Approaching them in advance will help you avoid begging them to help you, putting them in an inconvenient situation where they are being rushed, or simply missing the possibility that they will cooperate merely because the cannot adjust themselves to your irresponsible time table.
2. Find web pages that have lists of relevant scholarships
The first place to find scholarship is on the web pages of the university that you plan to attend. These days I am desperately looking for funding sources for a Post-Doctorate in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Here is the web page that contains a list of scholarships. The Hebrew University has a scholarship database where you can look for funding according to your degree and research field. Other Universities have similar sites and databases. I have collected here some scholarship links for Post-Doctorate students (you can find here also pages that list many scholarships and grants).
3. Contact people who deal with scholarships on a regular basis
One of the best sources for finding grants and scholarships is to ask your (potential) supervisor or other professors that have taught you in the past, two questions: (1) What scholarships and grants do you know of (make sure you write down their answers!). (2) Where can I find people who might know about such funding sources?
Each university usually has a body that is in charge of research and development (here is the website of The Authority of Research and Development in the Hebrew University and here is a link to Humanity scholarships there). Learn the website of the equivalent body in your university and do not forget to call people that work there and ask for more information about scholarships (and other people that might help).
It would be wise to approach people who already went through this process (experienced students or scholars who are 1-5 years head of your stage in the academy).
Another good thing to do is to use the internet in order to find the information. It is obvious that you could use search engines. If you have a blog, write a post that will tell the world what you plan to do and that you need funding. Use social sites such as Facebook and Twitter that can further spread your message. I can tell from personal experience that I have found a potential funding via Facebook.
4. Make a list of potential funding sources
It is important to by systematic in your search for funding. Open and excel file or google doc spreadsheet and make a list of all scholarships, grants, fellowships and other funding sources. Make a column that will say what is the deadline and other columns that will say if you have filled all the forms, attached all the documents that were requested, and approached that people that will send you recommendation letters.
5. What is the deadline?
This is a very important question. Preparing in advance (see tip no. 1) is useful for noting the deadlines of scholarships in your diary. I recommend that you will use Google Calendar or any other machine that will give you a reminder when to start preparing the material for the scholarship. Such preparation takes its time and spreading the work is the most reasonable thing you would like to do in order to make life easier.
6. Read about the body that grants the scholarship and understand their aims
Before filling the forms and approaching people for recommendation letters, it is highly recommended that you will spend time to learn the website of the body that grants the scholarship. Understanding their aims is important for adjusting your form and your CV. There is nothing wrong in doing so. Some grants want to know what kind of voluntary social work you have done during your life. You might not be interested in emphasizing this to other funding sources, yet it would be very wise to do so if you know that this is one of the goals of the people that decide if you will be granted the funding.
7. Make sure you filled in all the forms as requested
Take time to read the form before starting to fill it. After filling all the requested information, go through the form again and make sure that nothing is missing. Missing information is one of the main reasons why applications are turned down.
8. Make sure you added all the requested documents
For the same reason it is important to make sure that you have attached to your application all the documents that were requested. Such documents might include a list of grades from previous degrees that you did and your diplomas.
9. Write as clearly as possible
A scholarship candidate is often requested to write an introduction letter, a research proposal or an abstract of it. Make sure that you write as clearly as possible. Keep in mind that such documents might be read by various people. Some of them are from your field and some are not. The content of such documents should be directed to the type of audience that will read them. If you will write in a highly sophisticated manner, using terms that are known only to people from your field, while the readers of your application are people who know nothing about such academic words – you will loose your audience, and the scholarship. One the other hand, if your readers are from your field, make sure that you prove that you are part field by emphasizing the main problems and issues that might interest all of you.
10. Do not close the door before others do it for you
If you think that a scholarship might not be for you, do not automatically desert it. I recommend calling the people who are in change of the scholarship and make sure that you are really not eligible for approaching it. I can tell from my own experience that I found a potential scholarship after calling the organization that grants the scholarship and finding, to my surprise, that also I can send an application.
I want to write a book about Bronislaw Huberman. He was an exceptional violinist and he founded the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra. I think that it is a scandal that there is no book in English or Hebrew about Huberman and I wish to devote a few years to make research in his archive in Tel-Aviv and study his recordings, writings and letters.
Prof. Jehoash Hirshberg kindly agreed to supervise this project as part of a post-doctoral program that I hope to do in the Hebrew University. My PhD was on the same period and I am acquainted with the aesthetics and history of the first part of the twentieth century, as well as with the most updated and sophisticated performance-studies literature and research methods.
The problem
The only problem is that due to the economical crisis in the world there is no possibilities of funding via the University. This means that I will need to find external sources of funding if I wish to write the book.
I was thinking to approach someone in the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and ask if they might be interested to fund such a project. After all, it should be their interest to give to the Israeli public, in particular, and the world, in general, a book that would tell Huberman’s (as well as their) story. If you know who I could approach in the IPO that might be sympathetic to the idea, please contact me.
Another idea I have is to approach the Tel-Aviv Municipality which are in charge of the Felicia Blumenthal Library. Perhaps that might have interest the public would have access to the valuable information that is stored and maintained there for years. If you know whom should I approach there please let me know.
Do you have any ideas?
I would appreciate any ideas for funding such a project. Do you know any relevant post-doc scholarships? Please write to me or comment on this post if you have other ideas? Thank you for your time.
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