“Classics are forever”
Violin students of the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation
Suitably, the scale was low key! The launch was an evening of invited-only guests on June 20, 2014 at the Little Theatre of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) as befitting a book on the lives and music of 34 Western music composers. Young players from the NCPA Special Music School and the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation (MMMF) performed. Zubin Mehta, the world renowned conductor who founded the school in memory of his father has written the Foreword to Dastoor’s compilation.
Godrej released the book, praising the scholastic diligence of the musically inclined "lad.” Remarking that notes assiduously taken from libraries were the foundation of the published book, Godrej lauded the enthusiasm of the collegian during his years at Sydenham College. It was at the behest of Dastoor’s daughter, independent publisher, author Meher Marfatia and son, academician and software professional, Phiroze, that the father consolidated the notebooks into this volume. Marfatia’s Publisher’s Note details how birthdays of favorite violinists and composers were as keenly celebrated as those of family members. Dad’s vinyl records played on an old Grundig record player, were the lullabies they were rocked to sleep with.
In celebration, the evening commenced with Leah Divecha playing La Cinquantine and Johann Pachelbel’s Cannon in D major on the violin. Aida Bisengalieva and Leah’s sister Sireena accompanied her. The violin was the instrument of choice as Dastoor started learning the string instrument 15 years ago. It was only natural that the MMMF violin students performed, starting with Rosebud and Cavatina, accompanied by Yukari Shinozaki on the piano. Teachers Gopal Chakravartty and Mika Nishimura led the nine violinists for both. Family friend Dilnaz Gilder concluded the entertainment with Johannes Brahms’ Waltz in A flat major and Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune. The program was compered by Yasmin Divecha.
Dastoor sat inscribing each book with a message for every buyer at the end of the evening. Some of the messages read "Music is forever,” "Make Music a part of your life…” M. K.
Musical Journeys — A Personal Introduction to Western Classical Composers by Homi Dastoor. Published in 2014 by 49/50 Books, 33 Peacock Palace, 69 B. Desai Road, Bombay 400026. Pp: 192. Price: Rs 1,000.
The introduction to Homi Dastoor’s first book published — Musical Journeys ends with the words "Classics are forever.” The 90-year-old author has also ensured his immortality with the publishing of this book. Pursuing a hobby from 1942, the music lover frequented libraries, happy to bunk college to glug down many hours of research, filling notebook after notebook by hand. The author’s publisher daughter Meher Marfatia narrated how a librarian either in the American Library or the J. N. Petit Library, both of which he frequented, used to keep aside the book he referred to instead of returning it to the shelf for general consumption. A favor still remembered with gratitude.
The nonagenarian started learning the violin at age 75 from 25-year-old Kenneth D’Souza of the Bombay Philharmonic Orchestra. Dastoor strung along with this instrument as he was an ardent admirer of Jascha Heifitz, the violinist. His hobby reached its crescendo with possessing his first vinyl record of Wolfgang Mozart’s Violin Concerto in A major K 219, played by Heifitz.
The music enthusiast has orchestrated this book starting with composer Giovanni Palestrina from the year 1525 and ending with Igor Stravinsky who died in 1971, creating chronological clusters of the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 19th Century Classic and Impressionist Schools. Dastoor introduces the National Music movement of the late 19th century in between, as represented by the Norwegian Edvard Grieg, Czech Antonin Dvořák, English Edward Elgar, Spanish Manuel de Falla, Russian Rimsky Korsakov and Finn Jean Sibelius, among others.
The author states, "In this book you will find biographical sketches and major compositions (of musicians) … These are divided into four sections — their life sketch, their place in the history of music…a listing of some of their major compositions… and notes on the composers’ select well-known works, this last section being a special feature of this book.” The predilection of the author determines the selection of composers and their works. In fact, there is not even a passing reference to Ludwig van Beethoven’s concerto for violin, cello and piano in C major opus 56 popularly called The Triple Concerto.
Another interesting component of the book is the glossary of musical terms and the pronunciation guide. A glance at the latter reveals that pronunciation of Frederic Chopin has been detailed as show-pin as pronounced by his Polish compatriots, instead of what the demoiselles would proclaim in the French version of the nasal show-pain.
Most of the "well-known” names — Mozart, Beethoven, Niccolo Paganini, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt, Johann Strauss, Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy, Chopin, Grieg and Dvorak started learning music at an early age; in fact all these composers played their various musical instruments before the age of 10. Of course there were Hector Berlioz, Modest Mussorgsky, Robert Schumann, de Falla, Peter Tchaikovsky and others who were dissuaded from pursuing a musical career altogether, in preference to surer careers in the army, navy, or as doctor or lawyer etc, Dastoor recounts.
The writer details how Claudio Monteverdi introduced the techniques of tremolo (a wavering effect of one or more notes) and pizzicato (plucking with fingers instead of bowing) to the strings and insisted that the viola section play with bows instead of plucking. Similarly, Johann Bach created the modern system of playing piano with all five fingers instead of with only the first three as done at the time. Dastoor relays how Antonio Vivaldi had social sanction to have an all-girls’choir and orchestra as he was ordained a priest in 1703. However, the lady players were required to be placed behind a modest screen.
Dastoor then regales us with Franz Schubert, one of 19 children who started composing in school. The prolific songster is said to have occasionally written six songs a day and is credited with a total 650 of them, sold sometimes at 10 pence a song to cover the cost of a meal. Of course, there was no shortage of the nobility taking advantage of his penury.
The music lover continues to de-mystify western classical music by humanizing the composers and talking of their vulnerabilities, vanities and involvements. Two stalwarts of the Classical Period — Georg Handel and Franz Haydn — are credited with unusual incidences. As a musician who excelled in several genres and well acquainted with myriad instruments, Handel had a duel with a rival harpsichordist. It was his coat button which deflected his adversary’s sword, saving Handel’s life. It is said that Haydn, a member of the Vienna Boys’ Choir, in an impulsive moment, chopped off the pigtail of the man seated at the front desk. For this prank, the would-be composer was dismissed from the prestigious school.
Of all the 34 composers chronicled, maximum pages are scribed on Beethoven. A self-confessed admirer of the German, Dastoor narrates how Mozart, the already established Austrian composer, gave the young Beethoven a "complex theme and asked him to improvise.” As the 16-year-old German started his impromptu variations, which ended in a perfect fugue (interweaving repetitive themes), Mozart is said to have declared: "Take note of him. One day he will be famous.” Mozart’s prophetic words were realized when 20,000 people attended Beethoven’s funeral. All of them to acclaim "his stormy and alternately tender and brusque personality,” just like his innumerable compositions.
The author also educates the reader with the various cataloging systems such as the 750 works of Mozart which remained un-cataloged in his lifetime. These were systemized by Ludwig von Köchel so that Mozart’s works have a numbering system named after Köchel termed KV (Köchel-Verzeichnis) or simply K in the age of abbreviations. And the 1950 cataloged works of Bach were termed BWV (Bach Werke Verzeichnis) which is Bach’s cataloging numbering. The commonly used term opus (work) is rarely used in either of the musicians’ cataloging.
Marfatia describes how dad Dastoor sent her a list of "B’s G Fs.” The youngster racked her head as to what her father wanted her to do when she realized that he wanted her to check the spellings of names of "Beethoven’s girlfriends!” Needless to add there were no errors committed by the perfectionist.
The book was brought out by a team of professionals — Farrokh Vajifdar is consultant editor of the book, Carma Ideas are the designers and Sooni Taraporevala, the creative consultant. JAK Printers processed and printed the volume.
The job of bringing alive the joy of music is dealt with by Dastoor in describing the nuances and details of each composer using some chosen compositions. To impassion a novice in music only through the written word remains an uphill task. But his passion is infectious, his enthusiasm catching. As infectious as the bug his family caught when they celebrated birthdays of their father’s favorite composers with traditional sev, ravo and dahi. M. K.