Evening Star Newspaper, July 20, 1930, Page 42

BY HELEN FETTER. T last, her ploneers having erected sign posts indicat- ing at least the surface 3 values of the wealth in all ~parts of the country, and her ° skyscrapers in big cities from coast ; Yo coast buzzing with organized + business efficiency, the United . States is_turning more concen- trated effort toward her music roblems. It is significant that * the American-born prima donna, Rosa Ponselle, and the oldest or- < ‘chestral body in continuous serv- ¢ {ce in the United States, devoted ¢ to the performance of orchestral | unable to gain admission to the concert. | Prof. Auer has been in charge of the violin department at the Cur- tis Institute of Music, Philadel- | phia. | * ook HE American “march Kking,” John thg SBousa, has just returned to this country from England, where he conducted the Royal Welch Fusiliers in his newest march, which was dedi- cated to them. It is reported that while in London Sousa went to During the more recent years| *-music—the New York Philhar-| Pagani’s famous restaurant, . monic - Symphony Orchestra— | where, much to his amazement,, Z have won laurels of the Euro-| he found on one of the walls a % an Summer music season,| fragment of musical writing which 920-30. he had scribbled there 27 years THE S8U SKETCHES OF LILLIAN NORDICA NDAY STAR, WASHING HER HOME IN TON, D. C, JULY 20, 1930—PART FOUR. THE AMERICAN PRIMA DONNA, AND FARMINGTON, ME. This is the first time that all the famous festivals of the differ- .ent European countries and the equally renowned programs by i Parisian and other foreign or- ago. He was so pleased by the in- | cident that he added a few more bars on this newest visit. If he | manages to make even one more | | quarter-of-a-century trip over, -chestras should be overshadowed, Sousa will be more than 100 years | bhoth in world-wide interest and | old and probably the “handwrit- critical appraising by American|ing on the wall” will be a full-| performers of music. This singer and this organization went to Eu- rope, not to study and pay for opportunity to perform, but to present creative interpretations ©of some of Europe’s most noted music, vocal and instrumental, > that were to win highest com- i mendation from the most critical . audiences in the world, True, .Signor Toscanini, who conducted : the orchestra on its first European | tour, is a great man of Milan,| the orchestration to be completed, | Italy. However, he had a finely : built organization, whose tradi- tions have grown with those of ,:that unique American metropolis New York City—to conduct. ‘Criticisms meted warm praise to < the orchestra as an organization, as well as to the conducting by Toscanini. In Washington it was rumored In the Spring that this orchestra could not arrange to come here “for programs next year. How- ».ever, enthusiastic members of the local committee sponsoring the orchestra’s appearance in Wash- “dngton have managed to secure & promise that the New York Phil- harmonic - Symphony Orchestra will play three concerts here next :.year, if the public will respond so as to make the series feasible. ~his leaves the matter entirely to music lovers of Washington. -qt is to be hoped they will an- “-gwer the challenge at least as en- -~ ergetically as audiences in Rome, +Paris, Vienna, Berlin, London and elsewhere did this Summer, even “when this visiting orchestra was competing with their own elabo- rate musical events, planned especially to interest the visiting American tourists. * % % % "A CONDUCTOR new to Ameri- can audiences will lead the New York Philharmonic-Sym- phony Orchestra for its opening six weeks during the coming season. He is Erich Kleiber, con- ductor of the Stadt Oper of Ber- lin, Germany. It was Herr Klei- ber who conducted the premiere of Ambassador Claudel's “Book of Christopher Columbus,” with mu- sical score by Darius Milhaud, in Berlin, in May. Like many other distinguished musicians, Herr Kleiber had tragedy in his life when very| young. His father died when he| ‘was four and the child was reared by several aunts who had meager incomes. His health was delicate and he was very self-willed and hard to manage. He would not take any interest in sports and studied, even at the conservatory, | only the subjects that deflnite]y‘ interested him. As a result he| was. expelled from the school in Prague The and many other inter- esting details concerning the background of this musician were submitted to a member of the orchestra’s staff by Ruth Kleiber, American wife of the| conductor. She also said: “You know about the beginning of his career as conductor, and that his first real engagement was | as conductor to the court of Erns | Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse, in Darmstadt. * * * Visitors at ou home are often puzzled, and som people ask why a certain bat- tered old black chest with rope handles and a rusty lock stand: in a prominent place in our din ing room. It is with this old chest and less than 40 marks in his poeket that Kleiber arrived in | Darmstadt not so many years| ago, and he gives it a place of honor in the best room in his| house as a constant reminder of those days of struggle.” | Frau Kleiber also tells a rather amusing anecdote of a domesti | which won t | grown Sousa march. iR FVEN in these Summer days, oc- ~ casionally there is a bit of real music news. The most recent is a | definite statement issued from | Deems Taylor's home, in Stamford, | Conn,, to the effect that this| | American composer has finally | completed his operatic score | based upon the. book of ‘Peter Ibbetson.” There is still some of ut all three acts have been fin- ished, so that the singers assigned to the leading roles already have been able to start study of those to find the roles. It is not surprmn§ prophecy suggested in these col- umns a few weeks ago has been fulfilled. Edward Johnson, the Canadian tenor, who no longer in this day of American musical progress has to disguise himself as Eduardo Giovanni to win the approval of audiences prejudiced in favor of the foreign artists, is to sing the title role. This is the role made famous on the stage by John Barrymore and on the screen by the late Wallace Reid. The charming Lucrezia Bori is to sing the role of the Duchess of Towers, who was interpreted on the screen by Elsie Ferguson. The | third important role will be sung another American, the Califor- nia baritone, Lawrence Tibbett. This makes an admirable trio. The libretto, of course, is in| English. Mme. Bori, who is Span- | ish, has an accent—delightful, yet definitely un-English. It has been explained, however, that such an accent will not be out of charac- ter for this, her first role in Eng- lish. The Duchess. who is half Irish and half Polish, lived in Paris and, according to Du Mau- rier, author of the book, spoke English with a foreign accent. “Peter Ibbetson” is the third cheoice of Mr. Taylor for libretto for what is his second opera. After his first opera, “The King's Henchman,” had appeared so suc- cessfully, he first announced as libretto for his second opera Hay- wood Broun’s “Gandle Follows His Nose.” This proving unsatisfac- tory at the time, was laid aside and the second choice was “Street Scene,” the glay by Elmer Rice e Pulitzer prize in 1928-29. In an interview with Mr. Taylor in the Spring of 1929 he evinced the keenest interest in working out the musical score for this play, but admitted that he was not yet satisfied with the way his many themes were to be han- dled and blended into a unified score. At last he laid that aside, the Metropolitan graciously ex- tended the contract for a new opera from his pen and Mr. Tay- lor began work on both the libret- to and score of the Du Maurier novel. Z Rehearsals are planned to be- gin in the Autumn, with the pre- miere performance at the Metro- politan Opera House in ejther January or February. The opera | has included in its three acts nine | scenes, laid in London and Paris | | of the middle nineteenth century. It should prove fascinating mate- rial for the operatic stage. Mr.| Taylor has announced that the| core will contain many arfas as well as parlando passages, and, judging from previous works from his musical pen, one may feel onfident that the orchestral score will be rich and brilliantly written. Hurok's New Opera Group “To Give Russian Works S HUROK, well known New York manager of musical events, who | took over the German Grand Opera Co. two years ago and ended a season begun as a fiasco with flying colors, and nature about her Viennese hus- band, whom she first met in| Buenos Aires and three months later married in Berlin. This was in 1926. Two years later, at Christmas time, Herr Kleiber went to a shop in Vienna and asked for | shoes for his daughter. When the clerk asked the child’s age, he re- plied: “Well, as a matter of fact, she hasn't arrived yet.” * o % WASHINGTON has several vio-| e linists who studied with Leo- | old Auer, the great authority on| ot his instrument and pedagog| who died in Dresden, Germany,| Tuesday, Most prom{nent of the| Jocal group was Sylvia Lent, who| has won recognition as”® profes- | sional artist of marked talent,| both in Europe and America. Miss | Lent is said to have enjoyed the| distinction of being the first| ‘American pupil to study with| Prof. Auer after he came to this| country to teach. The great Hungarian was 85 years old when he died. Many thought him Russian, due to his having lived in that country for 50/ - years and held prominent profes- | sional positions in old 8t. Peters- | burg. ‘Among his famous pupils, who have made their homes in New York generally, are Jascha Meifetz, Mischa Elman, Efrem| Zimbalist, Eddy Brown and Max | concerts with marked success. Posen. Of this group, two, He fetz and Zimbalist, combined ef-| forts with the famous pianists, Hofmann, Rachmanino! and Gabrilowitsch, to give a special concert in Prof. Auer’s honor at Carnegle Hall in April, 1925. The proceeds are said to have amount- #d to $20,000, and hundreds were during the year just closed carried the company through a long second an- nual tour with marked success, an- nounces that he has organized a new opera company, with headguarters in | hiladelphia, to open its initial season January, 1931, At present Mr. Hurok is abroad in- vestigating rare operas and gathering dditions to his personnel. While in Paris he is to hear the Russian com- pany there, and announces his plans to bring two of its best productions with full cast to America. He also announces & revival of “Salome” for this country. In addition, he is to present “La Juive,” “Die Fledermaus” and the ristan und Isold grin.”’ “Goetterdaemmeruny Walkuere.” Additional enterprises include the making of sound films of two light operas and a short synchronized ver- sion of “Die Walkuere,” using the third act only. | teaching The above illustrations depict, read one of her favorite conces Bill Edwards; Mme. Nordiom as Nordica was born, which Fran- ‘WASHINGTON soprano, whose ceska Kaspar Lawson, | Capital, was on a concert tour in New England last Summer, and hap- pened to include Farmington, Me., in that tour for the first time. There it was that she found the birthplace of one of the greatest prima donnas of the world—the American, Lillian Nor- ton, more widely known as Lillian Noj dica. This Italianized version of a typically English-American name was| ing of that day, when the supposed diced many people. Mrs. Lawson found the simplicity of Nordica’s home so charming, as it is being restored by an association organ- | ized for the purpose, and the natural setting with the Maine landscape 8o | inspiring that she sent The Star music editor & good deal of data and the | above reproduced picture of the Nordica home in Farmington. Much more recently S. Burtis Baker, | noted American portrait painter, who| makes his home in Washington, hap- Plays in Newport MIKSA MERSON. ’rH! young Hungarian pianist, Miksa Merson, who has been residing and in Washington for several seasons, will appear in & concert to- morrow night at Newport, R. I. He is resented under the auspices of the Newport Art Association with a brilliant patronage that includes Count Lazlo zechenyi, Hungarian Minister to the United States, and Countess Szecher.yl. Mr. Merson’s program will consist al- most entirely of selections from :he works of Frans Liset. He is steeped in the Liszt tradition, having studied un- der Arpad Szendy at the Royal Academy of Music at Budapest, where for six consecutive years he was awarded the Liszt prize, anc later worked with Emil Sauer st the Master School of the State Academy at Vienna. Both these mas- ters were pupils of Lis Mr. Merson made his debut at the age of 10, when he played for Princess Liechtenstein. Later he frequently ap- Dancers Join Army Band In Program Wednesday ISA GARDINER of the Gardiner- Tchernikoff Dancers announces that | A group of these dancers will appear | in & program given by the United States Army Band, Capt. W. J. Stannard, leader, in the Sylvan Theater next Wednesday evening. There will be six dance numbers, in- luding a selection to be danced by Miss Gardiner herself. One of th: most unusual numbers will be a Yaqui dance. The music of this dance has been played by the band at Pan-American It is & Mexican number. It will have fits| remiere with a dance interpretation in eluhlnllon ‘Wednesday. The arrange- ment follows closely the ritual dances |of the Indians, beginning with the invocation, developing to a battle climax and with a peaceful, victorious endin ‘The costumes for this number are de signed after ancient bas-reliefs, the hieroglyhpics being copled exactly. photographs, as tra minted by rtls portrait artist, in Boston in 1910 (reproduced from a snap. the painting made by Mr. Baker), and the home in Farmingion, Me., where, being restored and drawing many pilsrims annually to it as & leading American musical shrine. | Nordica ing from left to right, Mm lerred | sketch into noted W. shot photograph pened to mention to the music ed that he had been commissioned family is one of the most noted | Nordica to paint a series of portraits| musical families of the National of her in various roles in which she | became & distinguished interpreter. did much of this work at her home a in Boston. himself possesses of any of these worl however, is that reproduced here the oval panel). It was a snapshot of & portrait in el ernoon costume, with a hat ado with huge aigrettes. Mr. Baker that this was not his idea of herself. | managed chieve his original pla: and has a store of amusing anecdof to relate whis into the singer's private life. Singer Was Sixth Child. Lill Nordica was born in this litt cember 12, 1857. She was the mother was a daughter as an expounder of Methodism and a clever wit. received her education. had a delightful voice, and was planist, and her father was an arde! if amateur, violin] ‘The very q of Lillian's voice was 80 unusual that attracted early notice. was O'Neill, pearance was in 1876, when she sa an aria from “Il Trovatore.” Tiatjens, dramatic soprano, height of her fame, ler to Mme. Maretzek, in 20 most brilli; Like many other famous men ai women, Lillian Nordica owed & defin: rectly to her mother. With the loyal ai intelligent, constant companionship Mrs. Norton, the young singer went Italy, and it was in Brescia, in the tif llan Nordica had her operatic deb This, however, was |aging experience abroad. Jjudge from the quoted letter written Mrs. Norton just before that debut a brother in America (kindly sent that even this singer, destined to one of the greatest of them all, had continuously rosy path. The letter says: “Lilly has al signed another agreement to sinj Gulf of Venice. in to develop, or a girl in 50 short a time in Italy |50 many are walting and studying. one can tell what may be done making an untiring effort, early ai late fighting the battle of self-de the mlitel’f. “You will never know the hours |herself to in order to master maste: peared in recital for the Archduchess Augusta, wife of the Archduke Joseph of Hapsburg. His interpretation the discipline of a thoroughly mastered technique, and his touch is sincerely clear and tru Zenaide Hanenfeldt, the young Ru sian who plays the ether-wave instru- ment, shares the program with M Merson. She received her instructions from Leon Theremin, inventor of the ether-wave instrument, and is asso ciated with him in both his studio and concert work. She is one of the fore- most exponents of this development, which Morris Gest describes as nothing short of a miracle. Her rendering of her instrument is both subtle and delicate. These artists are both well known in ‘Washington. Mr. Merson appeared in a recital at the Itallan lens of the Mayflower Hotel last at the D. A, her success led to her being engaged play at the Italian embassy at a recep- “Oh, I have been so disco | have wept barrels of tears!” | added: | “My progres {and bound, | like, and |sweep past me with apparently litf effort. uraged; She around to all. What is it M | says in ‘Zaza’ about success? | much of that. And much work—: | great deal of that. And a little lucl | yes, a very little of that, to_have much luck.” accorded many high honors. | the first singer to be heard in the n | Trocadero in Paris. She was especial and Miss |favored with painstaking coaching in|ber §, at 7 o' Hanenfeldt made her Washington debut | Wagnerian roles by the widow of the Hall in Febrilary, where |great composer, and to her, an Ameri- to |can singer, fell the honor of being the | the vocal score kindly send names and | “Bw first to sing the role of Elsa in “Lohen- tion in honor of Toscanini and Pizzettl. 'grin” in the master’s home, Bayreuth. hington, ‘The only photograph he costum a concession to the general public feel- | but was insisted upon by Mme. Nordica | ‘The painter often worked un- superiority of the foreign artist preju-|der the most discouraging difficulties, | with all sorts of interruptions, yet he give intimate glimpses Maine farmhouse with quaintly papered walls in the Bandy River Valley De- sixth |l child of Edwin and Amanda Allen Noj ton. Her paternal great-grandfath was Peter Norton of Revolutionary re- nown, & native of Edgartown, Mass. Her of famous Campmeeting John Allen, noted bot! ‘When Lilllan was 6 years old her | parents moved to Boston, where she Her mother entered at the New England Conservi tory of Music, where her first instructor the distinguished teacher John Her first student recital ap- Mme. at the discovered the irl’s remarkable voice, and introduced ho coached her ratic roles, laying a fine foun- dation for what was to prove gne of the nt of all operatic rareers, and substantial degree of her success di- role of Verdi’s “La Traviata,” that Lil- fter much discou One may copied from the actual letter in Farm- ington, at the request of Mrs. Lawson) the | ist made of Nordica are Nordica as principal part in the opera ‘Traviata,’ | Isolde by Verdl, in the City of Brescia, on the |nches) and as Brunnhilde '(made from S0 you see that the | small sketches made from life, with the results of the elght months' study be- singer in costume, at Deal Beach, in| 1t is an unusual thing | 1911, her coachman holding her horse make a debut in this city, where already | traits of John never allowing discoursgements to g almost painful practice of scales, hours | disgusted with her head-tones when of digging out the language until sleep practicing, and would walk back and erts its supremacy, that an artist|forth from the plano, practicing vocal Il and is obliged fo subject him - e Nordica herself admitted in an inter- | view given in New York years later at |the heignt of her dazzling success tha 55 has not been by lea It has been more tortolse- have sometimes seen others But_in the end justice comes| Carter | first one given was “TLe Creation,” by ‘It comes | Haydn. |from much misery.’ Yes, there is ;llnyl"Meuuh,' , & It is not good Even 30, to the great Nordica were mented for the occasion with all singers Bhe was | interested in this in by ool \ \ il | by | He nd | (n ed | 1879, engagements followed fairly quick- | the stage feeling, “There, I did it!” ys'ly in St. Petersburg, Russia;”in the Prequently she practiced while she was Grand Opera House of Paris, France: in | being painted, and the artist rarely got the Academy of Music in New York, her quiet in actual sittings for more and in London. She sang for six sea- than 20 minutes at a time. Sometimes sons with the De Reszkes, and during he would suggest she sing an aria, and her assoclation with the Metropolitan | she would give one from “Mignon” or Opera Co., during the latter half of the | “Die Walkuere.” Often there was the| nineties, she was a mamber of that |difficulty of having visitors present dur- | dazzling list of stars that included Sem- | ing the sittings, and on a fine day brich, Melba, Calve, Schumann-Heink, | invariably the sitting would be short- Jean and Edouard de Reszke, Maurel; | ened and the singer insist the artist go, Campanari, Plancon and Bispham. She | too, for a drive. | | was acknowledged mistress of all the| There are many more interesting an-| | Italian opera roles, especially those of | ecdotes, too numerous to state here, but | | Verdl's works, and also became particu- | certainly from the above it is not difi- rly noted for her singing of Wag- cult to glimpse the picture of a rare| nerian operas. Two outstanding events | personality = that deserved her high during her operatic career in America, throne among the great of the earth in| her native land, were her singing of the American girl, Lillian Nordica. the title role in “La Gioconda,” which | was given as the opening opera for the |, Boston Opera Hquse, and another ap- | arance when she was presented by admirers with a tiara of 233 diamonds. | In the Fall of 1913 Mme. Nordica |began & tour across the country, bril- liantly successful, clear to the Pagific Coast, where she sailed for Honolulu nt, | and met with an ovation there. Then | ty (on to Australia, where she became ill, | it | but refused to break contracts for the | much-needed rest. Nordica developed pneumonia, and was detained on Thursday Island until March 14, 1914. | She then continued her journey. to| Batavia, Java, but died there May 1 i 1t is planned by the association, organ- |ized by the Farmington Chamber of | Commerce, to restore the birthplace of | | Nordica, completely refurnishing it with | | her family's things and other articles of that period, and to bring her re- mains to a tomb near her birthplace. Nordica was generally conceded to be the greatest dramatic soprano, even in that period of many great singers. She not only had a wonderful naturgl voice but also she had charm of per- sonality, rare dramatic gift, and the most essential capacity for concen-| trated, patient study. Baker Paints Prima Donna. Mr, Baker, then a very young artist,| | yet already having attained a measure |of fame, painted the portrait from | by | which the above photograph was snap- to | ped, beginning it in December, 1910, in us,| Boston. He also had sittings for it in | New York and at Deal Beach. The size | of the painting is 423 by 86 inches, | be |It was exhibited at the Boston Opera no House in 1912. The showing was by | invitation of Henry Russell, lso| Other paintings the Washington art- ns, tes tle ng nd ite nd of to tle ut. JAMES OPIE BROKENSHIRE. TT seems to have required the magic touch of Rudy Vallee, the leading “crooner” of them all on the radio to- day, to have brought an old marching song from obscurity and turned the spotlight full on the real author of the music known as “The Stein Song” of the University of Maine. It seems there even has been some erroneous informa- | tion circulated concerning the writer of | this number, The editor of this page has just been informed that “The Stein Song” was adapted from an old march entitled| pie.” The writer of this march was & visitor in Washington recently as guest of his sister, Mrs, Evan John Fuge of 642 K street northeast. While here he told her of the error that has credited another with the writing of the march. It seems that when James Ople Brokenshire wrote the “Ople March” he submitted it to the head of a leading music house, through whose efforts it was published, but had little sale. In fact, it laid on the shelf for nearly 30 years, and was only recently resur- rected after it had been popularized by Rudy Vallee. The original arrangement by Brokenshire was scored by the composer | for band use, and given his middle name, which is the family name of his' | mother. At the time the composer was band leader of the 7th Cavalry Band. | He served 16 of his 31 years in the Regular Army in that capacity. He |also wrote several other marches, in- This has been followed by |CMdIng, The, Glory of the Trumpe g st as S s otherk, At present Mr. Brokenshire is in- | sclected to be given duciny the sorseh spector of the 'instruments at the {oensons with !e‘{l::rg:l:mge;?;nf::l 108 | Schuylkill Arsenal, in Philadelphia,| | 2 vhere he has been’ since hi: int- | September. The chorus will be aug- | FUSE '€ 0% gt b agige 0 S sPROINLS 1913. (two sittings only, 58 by 94 to| 68 by 98 inches. There also were por- | 'Neill, the famous No |singing maestro; of George W. Young, by | husband of Nordica, and of Mrs. J. Le nd | Roy Atwell, wife of the famous come- dian and stepdaughter to Nordica. Mr. Baker mentions several incidents that show the modesty and earnestness of the singer. She used to get quite of exercises. She would say, “Why 1is it | that I cannot get them when almost | every 2-cent artist can?” She also| said at dinner one night that only once | —_— e | A = = N [Mt, Vernon Church Choir. To Prepare “St. Paul NINI years ago, when R. Deane Shure | Y came to Mount Vernon Place M. Church, he established a custom of pro- ducing one standard oratorio each year with the vested chorus of 60 voices. The t 1 | tle | reat work and espe- | ave sung it before. | 1 will be held Septem- | Amy Albl Bustin, dramatic soprano, | will sing at the party at the Woman' All who have sung in “St. Paul” and | National Party headquarters this after- those who wish to become familiar with | noon. Among her selections will be t Mother Mine,” composed by addresses to Mr. Shure at the church | Iowa Carruthers Lozier, wife of Repre- studio, | sentative Lozier of Missouri, ew | cially those who 1y | The first rehear: MUSIGRAPHS LUCY BRICKENSTEIN sends a line from Lake Thun, in Switzerland, where, with her sister, Miss Mary Brickensteln, and friends, she is spend- | ing several weeks. Earlier in the Sum- mer both the Misses Brickenstein were | in France with Lady Henschel for three weeks. Lady Henschel is to come to | the United States in October with Sir | George, when he will direct the same | program which he led the Boston Sym- | phony Orchestra in at the time of its | debut 50 years ago. Sir George Hen- | schel is now 80 years old, but is still | an active musician. | Warren F. Johnson will give an organ | recital this evening at the Church of the Pilgrims at 7:30 o'clock. He will play “Allelulia” (Gordon Slater): “Arioso” (Bach), and “Grand Choeur in D Major” (Gutlmant). Karl Holer's sacred song, “Harvest | Students from the Mount Vernon School of Music are giving the regular Sunday night recitals at Mount Vernon Place M. E. Church. Mrs. George Phil- lips will play tonight. Nina Buzzard will play next Sunday. Gertrude Lyons entertained students of her Summer class and friends Thurs- day at a downtown tea room, where they enjoyed having fortunes read in the tealeaves. Mrs. C. M. Gardner had charge of arrangements. Special anecdotes were related by archal Landgren, formerly of the Ju- mior Dramatic Guild of New Haven, Conn.; Raymond Pigott, who, while living in Texas, was a member of the San Antonfo Civic Opera Co., and Eu- gene Thomas, recently returned from a trip to California. Zenaide Hanenfeldt of this city, play- ed a program on the theremin, ether wave instrument, at the home of Count Time” (words by Sallie P. Fitz Hugh) | Bzechenyi in Newport Monday night. was sung by Pauline Holer at the First | She is to appear on a program for the Reformed Church last Sunday morn- | Newport Art Association tomorrow. ing. h s The soloist for the German service W. E. Braithwhite, choir director of | at Concordia Lutheran Church this Vermont Avenue Christian Church, has | morning will be Mabel Kennedy, mezzo- been appointed chairman of the music committee of the International Con- vention to meet in Washington in Oc- | tober. He is now organizing a choir of 300 voices from various Christian The soprano. She will sing “Sei Still Dem Herrn” from “Elijah.” of Mendelssohn. At the English service, which follows, the soloist will be Mrs. Fred Grabner, who will sing, “The Lord Is My Light,” | by _Frances Allitson. churches (o present programs. first general rehearsal was held last week. While the regular choir is on vaca- | tion in July and August, rehearsals of | th cantata choir are betng held Thurs- Mr.| tralto, Philadelphia Civic Virginia Woolridge Cureton, gradu- ate of the Washington College of Music, and the Institute of Musical Art of this city, has returned from Chicago where she completed an intensive year of study in violin, counterpoint, compo- sition, history of music. solfeggio and orchestra at the Chicago Musical Col- lcg':. She received a teacher's certifi- cate. Miss Cureton did advanced violin work under the personal direction of Leon Sametini, head of that depart- ment in the Chicago school. In conjunction with her sister, Frances Cureton Hubbard, graduate in plano under B. Frank Gebest, Miss Cureton will open a branch of the In- stitute of Musical Art at 919 Decatur street northwest this season. Helen Bury, mezzo-soprano, has been engaged as substitute soloist at All Souls’ Unitarian Church, corner of Six- teenth and Harvard streets, for the Summer. Miss Bury will sing this morning “The Good Shepherd,” by Van de Water, and “He That Keepeth Israel,” by Schlosser. Lewis Atwater will be at the organ. | days, at 7:15 p.m. and will continue un- | til” August 15. The first cantata to be | given will be “Thou Guide of Israel.” | by J. 8. Bach, on which rehearsals will commence this week. There are still & few openings in this choir. Applica- tion should be made to John R. Mon- rie, chioirmaster; - phone” Metropalitan Lucia Mnxwell‘?«l_r_Qumry. ‘Washing- Architecture and Music Subject of Conventionj J a discussion of the effect of archi- tecture on music, the organ builder, the architect, the acoustician and the organist will gather together at th twenty-third annual convention of the National Association of Organists in Los Angeles July 28-August 1. ‘These four technicians of their own trades have met many times under the unfinished roofs of churches and thea- ters under construction. There, seated on bags of cement, with blue prints spread upon an upturned mortar box, the question of effect of architecture on music has been discussed, the organ builder, the architect, the acoustician and the organist each arguing for his own demands as to how he wants things when construction is completed. When the church or theater is com- pleted, the organist is the man who ‘holds the bay ‘The organ builder, the architect and the acoustician depart. The organist remains to play on “what hath been wrought.” There will be no bags of cement at the convention in Los Angeles, and there will be no blue prints spread on upturned mortar boxes. There will be discussion on music and architecture. Ernest M. Skinner, of the craft of men who build organs, will present the organ builder’s point of view. Clifford M. Swan, authority on acous- tics, will tell what's needed by an organ in the erection of an amphitheater from the point of view of the acoustician. T. F. Bludworth, leading authority in the development of mechanical repro- dyction and amplification of sound, will present another angle on the subject. ‘Warren D. Allen, organist of the Uni- versity of Califor: will present the interests of the organist. The views of the arghitect will be presented by a leader in the fleld of building design. The forum on music and architec- ture will be conducted by Harold Vin. cent Milligan, president of the National Association of Organists and executive director of the National Music League of New York. Mr. Milligan is organist and musical director of the Riverside Church, New York City. The assocla- tion has invited all organists, both here and abroad, to attend the convention and take part in the discussions. it St. Louis Opera Co. Has Largest Revolving Stage w HAT is claimed to be the largest revolving stage in, America and the largest open-air revolving stage in the world, was inaugurated this season in St. Louis, Mo., where it is the property of the Municipal Opera Co., for which the citizens of that city have raised a guarantee of $100,000 for the Summer season of productions. This is the twelfth annual season. ‘This stage makes it possible to set from two to five scenes simultaneously, if mecessary, for any production and thus to secure excellent speed in chang- ing the scene. The turn-table stage is operated by electricity. It is said that a scene can be changed in 10 seconds if desired. Magnificent oak trees form the proscenium arch, framing the picture on the stage, and a natural forest back- ground is the setting which has seen 77 productions, operettas and grand operas, come and go in 11 years. ‘The first production for which the stage was used was Romberg’s “Nina Rosa,” presented beginning Decoration day, This week, for the newest w o the current season, the revolving e will be the wheel of a romance which turns in its circle through the course of 90 years. The work “Maytime,"” with book and lyrics by Rida Johnson Young, who wrote “Brown of Harvard” and other famous successes. The mu- sical score s written by Romberg. Guy Robertson has the leading role, with Margaret Carlisle of the original “New Moon" cast In New York playing oppo- site him. { Gounod's “Faust” Tonight In English on Steel Pier 'HE Summer season of grand opera in English by the Steel Pier Grand Opera Co. continues to draw capacity attendances. Gounod's “Faust” will be given this evening in the ball room of the pier at Atlantic City. ‘The principals are Mary Silveria, so- prano, American Opera Co.; Mae Mackie, contralto, Philadelphia Civic Opera Co.; Marie Stone-Langston, con- pera Co. Joseph Wetzel, tenor, St. Louls Muni- cipal Opera; Donald McGill, baritone, American Opera Co.; Amund Sjovik, bass, San Carlo Opera Co.. and Fran- cesco Curef, tenor, San Carlo Opera Co. Verdi's “Il Trovatore” will be pre- sented next Sunday evening and “Mi- gnon,” by Ambroise Thomas, August 3. her native tongue in a special ver- | sion of “Anna Christie” which is to be prepared by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for foreign release. The film is to be made in , but several sequences, ton soprano, is vacationing in Kentucky, where she is filling engagements at the Chautauqua at Olympia Springs, and will sing over WHAS at Louisville and WIFC at Hopkinsville. She also ac- cepted an invitation to sing before the Kentucky Press Association Con- vention during the past week, when all the editors of the State attended. ‘The convention, which is annual affair, was held at Sommerset. Mrs. McQueary is accompanied on her vacation by her husband, D. E. McQueary, and her young son Everett. | They wiil' visit the old homestead of | the * McQuearys, whose forbears were | ploneer settlers who accompanied Dan- | iel Boone in the days of his journey | to Kentucky. Service Band Dat THE U. S. ARMY BAND, | CTIVITIES of the Army Band for the current week will ine clude! Monday, Reservation 400, Sherrier place and Macomb streets northwest, at 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, Walter Reed Hospital, &% 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Sylvan Thea« ter, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Tubercu= losis Hospital, 3 pm.. Army War College, at 7 pm.; Friday, east steps, Capitol, at 7:30 p.m. ‘The usual policy of including both classical and popular numbers on all programs will obtain during the week. The full programs will be printed daily in The Evening Star. THE U. S. MARINE BAND. ‘The schedule of concerts to be given by the United States Marine Band dur- ing the coming week is as follow: Monday at 8 p.m, Marine Barracks. Tuesday at 7 p.m., United States Vet~ erans’ Hospital, Mount Alto. Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., United States Capitol. Thursday at 7:30 pm, Sylvan Theater, Mounment_Grounds. »filday at 2 p.m,, St. Elizabeth's Hos- pital. Detailed programs will be published in the dally Star. THE U. 8. NAVY BAND. ‘The concert to be played at the C itol tomorrow night by the U. 8. Navy Band, Lieut. Charles Benter, leader, will open with the rture to Mozart's opera, “Don Juan,” and will include the Polovetzkian dances from Borodin's “Prince Igor” and excerpts from Vietor Herbert's “Serenade.” Musicians Bir- ley Gardner, cornet, and Louis Goucher, );glophane, will be heard in solo num- TS, Tuesday night the band will play a neighborhood concert at Forty-fourth street and Foxall road northwest. Among the numbers on this program are scenes from Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffmann,” Waldteufel's waltz, “Es- pana,” and a trombone solo played by Musician Jerry Cimera. Prominent numbers on the program at the Navy Yard Wednesday night will be “Merry Wives of Windsor,” Nicolai, and the “Caucasian Sketches” by Ippol- itow-Ivanow. Other concerts by the Navy Band this week are Tuesday and Thursday, 3 pm., at the Navy Yard, and Friday, 6:30 p.m,, at Wall Reed Hospital. THE SOLDI HOME BAND. The band of the United States Sol- diers' Home, John §. M. Zimmermann, leader, and Anton Pointner, assistant, will give three concerts, as usual-—Tues- day, Thursday and Saturday ernoons at 5:30 o'clock in the bandstand. The full programs, which combine light and classical selections, will be published in dally issues of The Star, Musical Studios of Washington Mme. Regina Vicarino OPERA AND CONCERT SOPRANO ' Special Summer Course ‘Voice Production Opera and Concert Repertoire French and Italian Summer Terms Decatur 4903-W 1612 20th St. N.W. " BESSIE N. WILD ~ Volce Cuiture. Piano and Harmony Studio 6824 Sth st., Taxoms Park. ______ Phone_Georgia 3333 _ INSTITUTE of MUSICAL ART OPEN ALL SUMMER Full Corps of Teachers for All Branches of Music and Expression 831 18th St. N.W. Met. 2511 WALTER T.HOLT Banjo, Hawaiian Guitar and Ukulecle Estableshed Ensemble practics with th jea Clubs 1801 Columbia Rd. N.W., Col. 0946 JAZZ PIANO PLAYING Positively Tausht Any Person |Thase ple‘rrorm:ncu (;f‘:llmu! "v.: as;‘;‘:- IN 20 LESSONS tember 14, with operatic conce! - day afternoons in which the principals s‘x%‘_’,’,’o"f- BANJO, GUITAR of the opera company participate. Doty Tkninter B2 1ot —_—— — :ie:ool of "'5,':},‘,’.‘!;‘,'." A X o Garbo GOCS lelve. | _"H’ WEDEN will hear Greta Garbo speak arn Vocal Studios 1317 New York Ave Special Summer Course with lengthy diaiogue will be spoken_in Swedish by the star, it is said. But we won't hear her, Coaching for Radio Auditions WOL—Tuesdays ot 6:38