Alfredo Campoli

Alfredo Campoli0:00

This is the B B C.

Speaker 10:03

Hello, I'm Kirsty Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive. For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music. The programme was originally broadcast in nineteen fifty three.

Presenter0:30

Desert Island Discs

Presenter0:59

Every Friday evening a well-known person is asked the question, if you were to be cast away alone on a desert island, which eight gramophone records would you choose to have with you?

Presenter1:08

Assuming, of course, that you also had a grammar phone and an inexhaustible supply of needles.

Presenter1:13

As usual, this week's Castaway is introduced by Roy Plumley.

Presenter1:17

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Presenter1:19

On our desert island this evening is a musician.

Presenter1:22

A violinist with an international reputation, Campoli.

Presenter1:26

He has the unusual distinction of having reached the heights in two entirely different spheres of music, because for some years before the last war he directed one of the most popular light music orchestras in the country.

Presenter1:37

All right, Mr. Campoli, you've arrived on your island. What music have you brought with you?

Alfredo Campoli1:42

Well, I think most violinists would agree on their first choice for a desert island.

Alfredo Campoli1:48

A record by Yasha Haifiz.

Alfredo Campoli1:51

There is indeed a master.

Presenter1:53

Mm-hmm. And which one of his very many records?

Alfredo Campoli1:57

I was divided between taking one of his early ones

Alfredo Campoli2:01

to recapture something of the thrill those records gave me as a boy.

Alfredo Campoli2:05

The discovery that there could possibly be such a technique.

Alfredo Campoli2:09

Or taking one of his recent ones, where the improved modern recording enables one to hear so very much more detail. Yes, and.

Alfredo Campoli2:19

Part of his brilliant new recording of the concerto number five in A minor by the Belgian composer Vietnam.

Alfredo Campoli3:28

I remember very vividly being taken by my father to the Queen's Hall.

Alfredo Campoli3:33

To hear Haifis on his first appearance in this country.

Alfredo Campoli3:37

It would be about uh 1920. Mm-hmm. Was your father a musician? Oh, yes, indeed. A violinist?

Alfredo Campoli3:44

Yes, he was the leader of the Santa Sicilia orchestra in Rome and a professor at the Conservatoire.

Presenter3:50

Well that explains a lot.

Alfredo Campoli3:53

Yes, he was my only teacher.

Alfredo Campoli3:55

My mother was a well-known dramatic soprano.

Alfredo Campoli3:59

She had a fine big voice, with a wide range,

Alfredo Campoli4:02

and was acclaimed as the greatest Aida of her day in Italy.

Speaker 44:06

Mm-hmm.

Alfredo Campoli4:08

She appeared with uh Scotty, Caruso, Sarmarco,

Alfredo Campoli4:13

It was to appear at Cotton Garden.

Alfredo Campoli4:17

that the family first came to London from Rome.

Alfredo Campoli4:20

I was then about five years old.

Alfredo Campoli4:23

We all like London and we stayed.

Presenter4:26

Well, I have an idea this is leading up to one of your mother's records, is it?

Alfredo Campoli4:30

Unfortunately, my mother's records no longer exist. If they did.

Alfredo Campoli4:35

I would certainly have taken one to my island.

Alfredo Campoli4:39

Instead,

Alfredo Campoli4:40

I take a record of a favourite Arya from Aida.

Alfredo Campoli4:45

and it's sung by an artist whose voice most nearly reminds me of hers.

Alfredo Campoli4:51

as I remember it.

Alfredo Campoli4:52

Renata Tebaldi.

Alfredo Campoli5:56

Now, let's stay with the music of Verdi for my next next record.

Alfredo Campoli6:02

The prelude to Act Three of La Traviata. With Toscanini conducting? Of course. Of course.

Alfredo Campoli6:08

It's a wonderful performance.

Alfredo Campoli6:10

Toscanini incidentally in his young days was a cellist in the same orchestra as my father.

Alfredo Campoli6:15

They were good friends.

Alfredo Campoli6:17

I remember one of my father's favourite stories was how Toscanini got his first chance.

Alfredo Campoli6:22

Uh that is if you'd like to hear it.

Presenter6:24

Any story about Toscanini is good to hear, and that this sounds like a particularly promising one. Please go ahead.

Alfredo Campoli6:28

It was in Rome, about 1890, the beginning of the opera season.

Alfredo Campoli6:34

The first production was to be Ada.

Alfredo Campoli6:36

and a famous conductor of the day named Mugnone was in charge.

Alfredo Campoli6:42

Twenty four hours before the curtain was due to rise,

Alfredo Campoli6:45

Mugnone had a violent disagreement with the management.

Alfredo Campoli6:48

Italian temperaments were let loose, abuse was hurled,

Alfredo Campoli6:52

Mugnone walked out.

Alfredo Campoli6:54

Complete and utter consternation.

Alfredo Campoli6:58

Who were they going to get to conduct Aida at twenty-four hours' notice?

Alfredo Campoli7:03

The director of the Opera House, Tito Rigorti,

Alfredo Campoli7:07

was walking around in small circles and in a panic.

Alfredo Campoli7:11

Then a little man sprang up from the cello section of the orchestra and said

Alfredo Campoli7:15

If you're in trouble...

Alfredo Campoli7:16

I know the opera.

Alfredo Campoli7:18

I could conduct it tomorrow night.

Alfredo Campoli7:21

Who is this young upstart?

Alfredo Campoli7:24

said Ricardi.

Alfredo Campoli7:25

Impudence.

Alfredo Campoli7:27

Well, despite frantic efforts.

Alfredo Campoli7:30

The hours passed, and still they hadn't found a conductor.

Alfredo Campoli7:34

Ricardi had no alternative but to take a gamble.

Alfredo Campoli7:38

and sent for the young cellist.

Alfredo Campoli7:40

He got the job.

Alfredo Campoli7:42

He was a huge success.

Alfredo Campoli7:45

And his name?

Alfredo Campoli7:47

Arturatos Canadians.

Alfredo Campoli7:50

Let's herein conduct the NBC orchestra in this prelude to La Traviata.

Alfredo Campoli8:50

Now, let's forget the serious side of music for a bit.

Alfredo Campoli8:55

There would be times listening to my gramophone on that desert island when I'd feel

Alfredo Campoli9:00

Like a little humour.

Alfredo Campoli9:03

Here's an amusing record by Paul Whiteman's Swing Strings called Ragging the Scale.

Alfredo Campoli9:11

This is particularly entertaining for violinists because the tune which is taken as the basis for this musical rag

Alfredo Campoli9:18

is the first of the Kreutzer studies for the violin.

Presenter10:26

Mr. Campoli, we've heard why and how you became a violinist, but how did your early days turn out? Did you have hard struggles, or did you find things fairly easy?

Presenter10:36

How was it?

Alfredo Campoli10:37

Well, there are very few musicians who don't have hard struggles at some time or another.

Alfredo Campoli10:42

I didn't have mine in my very early days. You see, I was considered a prodigy.

Alfredo Campoli10:47

During the First World War, at the age of nine, I gave over 100 concerts organized by the YMCA for the wounded soldiers.

Alfredo Campoli10:57

And by the age of 13, Hyde won six First Prizes and two gold medals at various London music festivals.

Alfredo Campoli11:06

And on the strength of all that.

Alfredo Campoli11:08

I was taken under the wing of the late Lionel Powell.

Alfredo Campoli11:11

and he sent me on concert tours with Clerabaut.

Alfredo Campoli11:14

Melba and others.

Alfredo Campoli11:17

And I also gave a number of recitals in London.

Presenter11:20

In fact, you were doing very nicely.

Alfredo Campoli11:22

Oh, very nicely indeed. But uh unfortunately it didn't last.

Alfredo Campoli11:27

The slump of the twenties hit the concert world very hard.

Alfredo Campoli11:32

And I was grateful to get a job in a cinema orchestra.

Alfredo Campoli11:36

Accompanying Assigned Pictures.

Presenter11:38

Then then hearts and flowers is probably a very familiar tune to you. As you say. Where did this and what job lead you?

Alfredo Campoli11:44

Well, it led me to some serious thinking.

Alfredo Campoli11:47

and I came to the conclusion that there was a greater measure of security in light music

Alfredo Campoli11:52

than there was in serious music.

Alfredo Campoli11:55

I badly needed that security.

Alfredo Campoli11:58

So I formed my light music orchestra and promised myself that it was to be only a temporary measure.

Presenter12:04

Yes. But surely it it wasn't very easy to get back, was it? I mean apart from having to give up that measure of of security, uh you had to live down your light music success. Uh and I understand that in the musical world the the dividing line is drawn rather sharply, isn't it? Well Uh

Alfredo Campoli12:19

It is in some cases, but it didn't stop me from appearing at promenade concerts in the old Queen's Hall with the late Sir Henry Wood and with other symphony orchestras.

Presenter12:28

At the same time that you were running your light music organ.

Alfredo Campoli12:30

Okay.

Presenter12:31

What what happened then?

Alfredo Campoli12:33

The war came along and Enza asked me to take part in concerts for the troops, hospitals, factory workers and so on.

Alfredo Campoli12:41

You know, it was most gratifying to discover that the demand was for the more serious type of music.

Alfredo Campoli12:48

Good.

Alfredo Campoli12:49

And since then I've been able to play only the sort of music that I wanted to play.

Alfredo Campoli12:56

I have been lucky enough to tour many parts of the world and have some even more wonderful tours lined up for the near future.

Presenter13:03

Branded.

Presenter13:04

Well, what about another record? I think it's time we had another one? Yes.

Presenter13:08

Well, uh

Alfredo Campoli13:09

Uh a record by Holowitz.

Alfredo Campoli13:12

I always think of him as the hyphen of the piano.

Alfredo Campoli13:16

Listen to his amazing technique.

Alfredo Campoli13:19

In Docniani's Capriccio in F minor.

Alfredo Campoli14:13

The emotional and glorious voice of Ben Yamino Gigli,

Alfredo Campoli14:17

Singing Your Tiny Hand Is Frozen from Labo Haim.

Alfredo Campoli14:22

I am always thrilled by his magnificent top C on this record.

Presenter15:19

How would you face up to this desert island inexperience, do you think? Could you look after yourself efficiently under those circumstances?

Alfredo Campoli15:25

Well, I'm afraid I wouldn't be very good.

Presenter15:28

Yeah.

Alfredo Campoli15:28

Uh No, I'm not very proficient at doing things with my hands.

Alfredo Campoli15:33

It dates back to my youth when I was never allowed to handle a hammer or to do any carpentering in case I hurt my fingers.

Alfredo Campoli15:41

I'd have to start more or less from scratch.

Presenter15:43

Yeah.

Alfredo Campoli15:43

Uh

Presenter15:43

Yeah.

Alfredo Campoli15:43

Yeah.

Presenter15:44

Well, I can quite see that to to keep a touch as sensitive as yours has to be heavy manual labor and boxing and that sort of thing won't be out.

Alfredo Campoli15:51

Yes, I can assure you it was the cause of a great conflict in my childhood.

Alfredo Campoli15:56

I adored my music, but I hated being ordered to give up football at the age of 15.

Alfredo Campoli16:03

I'd always been keen on sport.

Alfredo Campoli16:05

And for my age I was showing a fair amount of promise as a soccer player.

Presenter16:09

So but for the violin you might have turned out to be another Stanley Matthews.

Alfredo Campoli16:12

Yeah.

Presenter16:12

Yeah.

Alfredo Campoli16:13

I I don't think so, not with my weight.

Presenter16:14

With my weight. Still, there are there are plenty of gentler sports, aren't there?

Alfredo Campoli16:19

Yes, I've played a lot of tennis.

Alfredo Campoli16:21

and table tennis, billiards and snooker and I'm very keen on bridge.

Alfredo Campoli16:27

I have recently taken up a croak here.

Alfredo Campoli16:30

And I find it most absorbing.

Presenter16:32

And anybody who says that croaky isn't a tough game

Alfredo Campoli16:34

Never play.

Presenter16:34

Yeah.

Alfredo Campoli16:34

Yeah.

Alfredo Campoli16:36

As for billiards and snooker, I had the privilege of being taught by Melbourne Inman.

Alfredo Campoli16:41

Which got me off on the right foot.

Alfredo Campoli16:44

And a good friend of mine is that great artist of the queue, Joe Davis.

Alfredo Campoli16:49

Which brings me to my next record.

Alfredo Campoli16:51

A memory of evenings at the Green Bay staple.

Alfredo Campoli16:55

I've borrowed from the BBC Library a record of Raymond Glendinny.

Alfredo Campoli17:00

describing Joe Davis making a century break at Snooker.

Presenter17:04

And now, Joe.

Presenter17:05

He's having a look to see whether he can force one of the reds just past the pink again into the top left-hand pocket. This is a magnificent cueball control.

Presenter17:15

72. Down it goes, but he can't get the black as the red and the way of it. 72 and he's gonna try the pink.

Speaker 117:16

Yeah.

Presenter17:23

He gets the pink with absolute fleet assurance of the master of the game that he is and the score is 78.

Presenter17:31

Now there are five reds left on the table and he's going to cuff one of them into the top right hand pocket.

Presenter17:39

Rather slower one this time, comes right across.

Presenter17:42

And he's come a bit too far. The score is 7-9. And this time Joe's cut too far. He's about 6 inches below the pink. And he's covering it about 3-quarter ball. He's measuring the distance. He'll have to take a rest. 7-9, this is a crucial point if he's going to get 100 break. It's a very fine cut now into the top right-hand pocket on the pink. 7-9 is score.

Alfredo Campoli18:03

Yes, I'm always entranced when I see Joe manipulating his magic cue.

Alfredo Campoli18:09

And you can imagine how delighted I was to hear that he also enjoys my concerts.

Presenter18:15

Well now we come to your your last record.

Alfredo Campoli18:18

Well naturally my career is very important to me and on that desert island I would like a reminder of the standard I'd reached when I was cast away. You know you can't do any practicing on a desert island.

Alfredo Campoli18:31

So in all modesty, I would include one of my own records. Which one?

Alfredo Campoli18:37

I would choose a recent one, the slow movement from the Sanfoni Español by Lalo.

Presenter19:47

And that's your eight records. Now you've one more choice to make, Mr. Camboli. What would you like as your luxury article? You can take any one object you like to your island, but nothing useful. What?

Alfredo Campoli19:58

Well, what about a football to help me to keep fit, but you're not allowed to play? Play football. Oh well, I'm allowed to play football on my own, but not with other people.

Alfredo Campoli20:08

That makes me the perfect desert island footballer. Good night, everyone. Uh

Presenter20:12

Bye-bye.

Alfredo Campoli20:13

Uh

Presenter20:50

You've just heard another in the series Desert Island Discs.

Presenter20:54

In a recorded program, Roy Plumley has been asking Campoly which eight gramophone records he would choose to have with him if he were to be cast away alone on a desert island.

Presenter21:05

Next week's castaway will be hot.

Speaker 121:31

You've been listening to a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive. For more podcasts please visit bbc.co. uk slash radio four.

Alfredo Campoli21:41

This is the B B C.