| Content | Karel Husa had been planning to write to Bohuslav Martinů for a long time, but did not know his address. He only had a message from Mrs. (Stella?) Steiner that they had bought a house in Switzerland. Today, however, he received a letter from John Kirkpatrick, who sent him BM's regards and also enclosed the address. KH recalls the meeting in Paris. Even then he told BM that his FIELD MASS would be one of the greatest masses ever written. He had already wanted to perform the Mass twice with the local Glee Club (Cornell University choir), but because of the choirmaster (Thomas Andrew Sokol) it was not yet possible. He would definitely like to conduct the work in the spring. KH also performed SINFONIETTA LA JOLLA twice, which was a huge success. He has many musical plans, but sometimes these plans fail. He was also to conduct modern music on gramophone records. He proposed to conduct the Sinfonietta, but is still waiting to see how it turns out. Next year he will go to Paris, where he will spend a whole year. He is planning concerts in Paris, Brussels, Stockholm and also in Germany, arranged by Schott Music. On his way back from Germany he would like to stop at BM. His wife Simone likes his compositions. She particularly likes the DUO PRO HOUSLE AND VIOLONCELLO (No. 1 or 2). She is equally enthusiastic about the other pieces. KH also plans to perform COMEDY ON THE BRIDGE at Cornell University. He has not heard PARABOLES, although Charles Munch has performed it several times. He doesn't know if BM is seeing Rafael Kubelík; he asks that she say hello to him if she does. He has also spoken by telephone with Rudolf Firkušný and with Mrs Steiner. He also sends greetings to Conrad Beck. He never knew Paul Sacher personally, although he had a recommendation from (Arthur?) Honegger. He had problems first with his passport and then with his finances. George Szell is said to have had a successful concert in Prague. Unfortunately, he has no more news. Before he left for the USA, Hélène Boschi gave him a greeting from Karl Ančerl for BM. KA and the Czech Philharmonic were supposed to come to Cornell, but unfortunately it was not to be. However, the Smetana Quartet, who were colleagues of KA from the Conservatory, will play there in the autumn. He wrote a piece for them, but after he didn't come back, they stopped playing it. He gets letters from his in-laws from France, now and then he gets a letter from Brussels, but that's all. The rest of the information about Europe he reads in the newspapers. He describes his family and his health. He hasn't written many new compositions, only two smaller pieces published by Schott. He is glad he got in touch with BM and hopes they will meet. He would like to inquire about tempos for his compositions as he wants to perform BM's music in the future. At the end of the letter he leaves a message for Charlotte Martinů in French, apologising for writing in Czech and extending his warmest regards to her. |