Selected and annotated by Malcolm MacDonald

Reading in a German paper of the death of Fritz Cortolezis [1]  I recalled his fine figure of a man when he toured England as conductor with the Ernst Denhof Opera Company in 1911.  I was fascinated by his interpretation of Strauss’s Elektra at Manchester, and travelled to hear it again at Liverpool, but from a better seat, whence I watched him conducting.  He seemed like a being enthralled.  It was a great occasion, because I also heard the remarkable singing of Frederick Austin in the part of Orestis, who sadly enough has ceased to sing in recent years [2].  All agree that Cortolezis was great as an interpreter of the works of Richard Strauss.

On the other hand, by La main gauche, Musical opinion, July 1932, p860

[1] Cortolezis (1878—1934), an ex-army officer, studied under Thuille and Mottl in Munich. After his appearance in England, he became musical director at Karlsruhe.
[2] Austin (1872—1952) was a talented composer as well as a singer: he is best remembered today for his performing edition of The Beggar’s Opera (Drury Lane, 1920).

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