Details
SASSOON, Siegfried (1886-1967)--Sir William WALTON (1902-1983). Autograph letter signed ('Willie') to Siegfried Sassoon, Hotel Augustiner-Hof, Zurich, 30 April 1930, 4 pages, large 8vo; envelope. Provenance: Dr Lionel Dakers CBE (1924-2003).
THE VIOLA CONCERTO; A DETAILED ACCOUNT BY WALTON OF THE PERFORMANCE IN BERLIN, SUPPORTED FINANCIALLY BY SASSOON. 'In spite of all the efforts of the Oxford Press', the concert 'went extremely well...', although Walton admits 'I was rather nervous, & thought I conducted badly, however no one else seemed to think so'. Walton found himself the first Englishman to be invited to sign the orchestra's book '(their highest honour)', along with such illustrious figures as Stravinsky, Honegger, and Furtwängler. What pleases Walton most is the acceptance of the Viola Concerto for the International Festival at Liège the following September: 'I received a wire from Tertis, saying he was going to play it, so I ought to get a perfect performance at last. Mahlke who played in Berlin, is very good, much better than Hindemith, & he is going to play it in Cologne, Dusseldorf & Hanover... (Enough of this boasting!)'. Mention of mutual friends, Stephen [Tennant], Imma [Baroness of Erbach-Schonberg], his lover, and nightclubs, 'even after my monastic life I found them supremely dull... I went to one "for men only", where I need hardly say, I saw Oliver Messel'.
THE VIOLA CONCERTO; A DETAILED ACCOUNT BY WALTON OF THE PERFORMANCE IN BERLIN, SUPPORTED FINANCIALLY BY SASSOON. 'In spite of all the efforts of the Oxford Press', the concert 'went extremely well...', although Walton admits 'I was rather nervous, & thought I conducted badly, however no one else seemed to think so'. Walton found himself the first Englishman to be invited to sign the orchestra's book '(their highest honour)', along with such illustrious figures as Stravinsky, Honegger, and Furtwängler. What pleases Walton most is the acceptance of the Viola Concerto for the International Festival at Liège the following September: 'I received a wire from Tertis, saying he was going to play it, so I ought to get a perfect performance at last. Mahlke who played in Berlin, is very good, much better than Hindemith, & he is going to play it in Cologne, Dusseldorf & Hanover... (Enough of this boasting!)'. Mention of mutual friends, Stephen [Tennant], Imma [Baroness of Erbach-Schonberg], his lover, and nightclubs, 'even after my monastic life I found them supremely dull... I went to one "for men only", where I need hardly say, I saw Oliver Messel'.
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