This birthday album celebrates Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist
(1876-1970), founder of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia
in 1924. Well-known alumni of the Curtis Institute include Samuel
Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Menotti and Gary Graffmann, some of whom are
included in this album. (Mary Curtis married Edward Bok in 1896 and the
composer and violinist Efrem Zimbalist in 1943; for a photograph of
her, see The New Grove, xix, 555.) Barber, an autograph title page to
the whole album ("Happy Birthday to Mary"), containing a setting of
twenty-five of the composers names, to the tune of "Happy Birthday",
signed ("Sam"), dated Capricorn, August 6, 1951; Bloch, a setting
inscribed "With my gratitude for all what you did for America--and for
the publication of the extraordinary Burrell collection...Ernest Bloch,
Berkeley, August 6, 1951"; Copland, "Passacaglia theme", based on the
pitches of the tune, Tanglewood, 1951; Hindemith, a collage of cuttings
from printed musical scores, laid down in the album, with the notes
picked out from the cuttings, signed "Paul Hindemith" in black ink;
Honegger, a four-part setting for "Big Chorus", signed ("AHonegger,
Paris, 6 Aout 1951"); Martinu, a 21-bar setting for "Soli", in 48/64
time, marked "as fast as possible" and signed "B.Martinu...New York
1951"; Poulenc, a setting for voice and piano, written in blue ink,
the words in English, and inscribed "'Happy Birthday Mrs Zimbalist'
avec les respectueux compliments de Francis Poulenc...6 Août 1951";
Stravinsky, a two-part canon notated in 3/2, signed and inscribed
"Happy Birthday to Mary Curtis Zimbalist for her August 6, 1951
anniversary", Vaughan Williams, a setting on two staves, with the tune
in the bass, signed and dated "with kind regards RVaughanWilliams June
20th 1951", altered by him to "Aug 6th"); Villa-Lobos, a setting
signed and inscribed in black ink ("Harmonization by H. Villa-Lobos,
Rio de Janeiro, August, 1951"), Walton, a setting of the words, to the
tune of "The Stars and Stripes."
The short work by Stravinsky has not been published in this form
before: a preliminary version in 3/4 time, sent in response a request
from Samuel Barber, appears in Selected Correspondence, vol. 3, p.388n.
(with the composer's admonition that it would be "better in 6/4");
however, this definitive version notated in 3/2 time, is apparently
hitherto unknown. It is distinct from the "Greetings Prelude" composed
for Pierre Monteux's 80th birthday in 1955.
(Sotheby's Music and Continental Books and Manuscripts auction
catalogue, London, 29 May 2012)
