In Manhattan last week arrived bristly haired, professional Violinist Adolf Busch bringing to the U. S. for the first time his famed Busch Quartet and his young protege Pianist Rudolf Serkin. Day before they landed came news that Busch, like many another German musician, had found Adolf Hitler's government more than he could stomach. Busch had been engaged for Brahms centennial concerts in Hamburg this month, but Pianist Serkin, a Jew, was not to be allowed to play. Violinist Busch withdrew.
The Busch Quartet was in the U. S. for the sixth Festival of Chamber Music at the Library of Congress in Washington, under the auspices of the $500,000 Eliza beth Sprague Coolidge Foundation. Currently in the U. S., with few engagements to fill, are such top-notch quartets as the Musical Art, New York, Gordon, Roth. But Mrs. Coolidge is earnestly devoted not only to the highest music but to "international exchange of culture." Last week's Festival featured uncommon-run composers like Cimarosa (The Secret Marriage, sung by Manhattan's Juilliard School of Music). Schonberg, Paul Hindemith, Bohuslav Martinu, Gustav Strube. The Busch Quartet played a "first any where" of Pizzetti and" a "first in the U. S." of Busch himself. This week Busch & Serkin were to play sonatas together in Washington. Then the Quartet was to play at Columbia, Yale and Harvard Universities before returning to Europe.