Evening Star Newspaper, June 7, 1931, Page 89

- Local Girl Wins Interesting Scholarship. Pupil Recitals Feature Week’s Programs. Nezws of Musicians Here and Abroad. QUESTION which has ruffied waters of the Atlantic as well as Mediterranean and other foreign bodies is wheth:r or not » famed conductor should succumb to the dictates of another when he is so- or Bologna—as was the actual case. & national anthem, or not to play it. the question! Maestro Toscanini has an- swered it one way. Demonstrative people have answered it another. The result has been no anthem, a series of physical and mental bruises, and complaints, apologies and refuta- tions which have come in landslides down from every mountain. ‘Toscanini, as far as thc oracles can discover, meant no harm in what h- szid. He was merely, as a first-class musician, hurt that he should have to muss up his program by beginning with something that evidently ¢ csiicd into the men- tal mood which he was desirous of supplying his audience with, If, for instance, Kousse- vitzky came to Washingtcn on the wings of a Beethoven festival and was told as he was preparing himself for the “Seventh Symphony” to play “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” be- cause it had reccntly becn voted the District of Columbia’s private anthem, he might very easily swell with indignation and cry an in- dignant “No!” To stride onto the stage to play an anthem, to have his audience stand at attention with frozen faces of patriotism, and then to ask them to sit down and meditate over a delicately soothing evening of Beethoven might easily vex such a maestro to the break- ing point. Toscanini broke only part way. He didn’t tear his hair or beat the gentleman that told him he was to play the Fascist hymn. He merely said “I'm sorry—I can’t.” And didn’t. Now, after a siege of beatings and hoots and catcalls from an ungentlemanly public, he must be debating within himself whether or not his refusal to acceed to public wishes was literally worth while, S a sidelight to all this comes the following story from Berlin where Leopold Stokow- ski has been hibernating: He is quoted as hav- ing said that leading musicians all over the world should band together in a protest against Benito Mussolini’s action in keeping Toscanini under surveillance at Milan, Italy. Mr. Sto- kowski said he had just ccme back from Russia and had learned for the first time of the inci- dent at Bologna a fortnight ago when the famous Italian-American conductor was slap- ped by Black Shirts for his refusal to play the Fascist hymn, “Giovinezza,” before his con- cert. “The Fascists will kill that man yet,” Mr. Stokowski is quoted as nhaving said. ‘“He (Toscanini) is so sensitive that he will never be able to stand the shock.” The Philadelphia Orchestra leader further stated that Signor Toscanini was “entirely right” in declining to play the Fascist anthem. *“You might just as well expect a painter to wave flags before the pictures in an art gallery. There is no place for pelitics in the atmosphere of the concert hall.” HERE is certainly a great deal to be said in favor of Stokowski's ergument. While many people explain that in Engl:nd no performance of any kind ever dares to omit the strains of *“God Save the King,” one should remember that these strains come as a postlude and not as a prelude. A vast difference can be found between the two. One is sending the people home with a comfortable pride of their king and their country and the other is advertising a government which does not want to wait to be recognized until later in the evening. The question at the mcment seems to resolve itself into which is the more sensitive, a country or a great musician? Both of them have sat back and sulked, both of them have said very definite words of annoyance. And yet in mull- ing things over it seems as thcugh Mr. Tos- canini had acted with razther more dignity than his country—and as though the latter had taken its music a trifle overseriously. EREWITH is nominated for the local music hall of fame Ann Sugar, 1l1-year-old pupil of Felian Garzia, who outwitted and out- played many of her senior recitalists during the past week in a recital at the Arts Club last Thursday. Miss Sugar proved herself not only a young artist with a prodigious memory (she played the Beethoven “Sonata, Op. 2, No. 1,” the Mendelssohn “Concerto, G Minor” and other selections by Bach, Handel and Chopin), but she showed no trace of flinching, nor any- thing but complete ease and naturalness of playing. What seemed most astonishing about this extremely youthful pianist, whose technique has been polished to a rare degree by Mr. Gar- wia, was that she took infinite pains with her pianissimo and legato passages—playing these with real feeling and a colorful sense of their value—a most unusual virtue for so young an artist. Very delightful, in fact, was the “adagio” movement of the Beethoven sonata, and equally effective was the “andante” of the Mendelssohn concerto. And when this quality of complete accord with the more mellow harmonies is coupled with speed, accuracy and verve in the most difficult of the “flery” passages one may say, indeed, that here is a young lady who, in time, may be counted among the lights of the plano virtuosi. At present Miss Sugar has not quite the necessary volume for the bombastic sequences of some of the Chopin works, but that, no doubt, will come in time, as will the obliteration of other minor dis- crepancies. In the meantime all one has to do is to watch Miss Sugar's right shoulder- biade and elbow to be certain of the fact that she is not just a child—a prodigy—but a serious musician in her own right. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, ]UNE_?’,__I%!. Above is a recent picture of Hans Kindler, who is traveling abroad for the purpose of finding new music to be used by the National Symphony Orchestra. Lower left is Felian Garzia, who is presenting a series of student piano recitals at the Arts Club, and lower right is Eleanor Blum, the young lady who recently won the Curtis Scholarship. Lily Pons Singing in Buenos Aires. ILY PONS, the sensational new French coloratura of the Metropolitan Opera Co., who makes her concert debut here next November as the opening attraction of Mrs. Wilson-Greene's artists’ course of . afternoon concerts at Constitution Hall, is now en route to Buenos Aires, in South America, where she will open an engagement of 20 per- formances at the Colon Theater about June 15. As soon as her Buenos Aires engagement is over Miss Pons will sail for Europe for a vaca= tion at her home, at Cannes, on the Riviera. The first of October will see her back in the United States again for a concert tour during October, November and December, which will take her to the principal cities of this country as well as to Canada and Cuba. She will rejoin the Metropolitan Opera forces in January. WORD has come from England that Lillian Evanti, well known Washington singer, recently received an ovation when she appear- ed in an operetta, “Triumphant Love,” at Bath, after a successful Winter of engagements in Italy. Miss Evanti made her initial appear- ance in England in this opera, which was writ- ten by the Countess Maria Vander Heuvel and was given under the patronage of the Italian Ambassador and his wife. Prominent also in the cast was John Morel, well known English bari- tone, and other interesting artists. Miss Evantl is planning to return to this country for a month during this Summer. ANNOUNCEMENT has been made by Jules Falk, director of music of the Steel Pier, Atlantic City, that another season of opera in English will begin Sunday, June 21. These performances, with “Carmen” as the first, will be known as “twilight” performances. They will start at 4 pm. each Sunday afternoon dur- ing the season. THE regular monthly meeting of the District of Columbia Music Clubs will be held in the home of Esther on Tuesday eve- ning at 8 o'clock. This will be the last meeting until October. The Madrigal Singers will give a group of madrigals in costume and guests will include Sophocles Papas and Sybil Baker. Senior clubs interested in giving radio pro- grams are invited to bring an outline for 15- minute musical programs and junior clubs are requested to bring pictures for a scrapbook. ELIAN GARZIA will present Katherine Mor- rison in a piano recital tomorrow night at the Arts Club. Last Friday night Mr. Garzia presented Esther Silver and Susie Taranto, the former playing the Beethoven “Sonata, Opus 14, No. 1,” and the “allegro con brio” move- ment from the “C Minor Concerto,” as well as two Chopin preludes and Schumann’s “Papil- lons,” and thes latter playing the “Rondo” from the same Beethoven concerto, and shorter selections by Schumann, Chopin and Rachmaninoff. A large and interested au- dience attended this recital. NE of the most coveted honors in the stu- dent musical world has been won by Eleanor Blum, pupil of Felicia Rybier, noted Polish planist now residing in this city. Miss Blum has been accepted as a scholarship pupil at the Curtis Institute ¢f Music in Phila- delphia. Especially interesting is this an- nouncement, since Miss Blum will appear here in recital on June 17 at Barker Hall. Miss Blum, who made her Washington debut on June 24, 1929, at the age of 14, has since appeared here only once in recital, but was heard as featured artist over WBAL (Balti- more) three times during the past Summer. She was also heard in a formal recital in Baltimore, and while in Miami appeared as soloist at the Manna-Zucca Music Club at five special concerts. The program to be given by Miss Blum at Barker Hall on the 17th has as yet mot been announced. PROMPT and justifiable rebuke has come from the management of the National Symphony Orchestra, which begs to state that the reason for afternoon concerts has previously been explained thoroughly and that the hints that were unleashed from this department last week were quite ill-founded. In other words, Continued on Eighteenth Page 17 Musigraphs ARY HO' prominent Washing- ton comj r, is spending a fori- night “as guest artist at the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, N. H. Mrs. Howe's new com- position, “Ballade Fantasque,” for cello and piano, will have its premiere this Summer on the Continent, when it will be played by Hans Kindler on his European tour, which he will close in time to assume the lead- ership of the National Symphony Orchestra in the Fall. The Parthenon Male Quartet sang last Wed- nesday evening for the Rotary Club at the Wil- lard Hotel. The quartet will sing on th> radio tonight at 7:45 o’clock, over Station WMAL. This group is composed of H. A. Martin, tenor; H. B. Leef, tenor; Howard Moore, baritone, and Thomas N. Leef, bass. Mrs. C. E. Burn= side is thz aecompanist. Lucy M. Boyer will present her pupils in a piano recital at the Women'’s City Club on Pri- day evening, at 8:15 o'clock. Those who will take part include Elise Fisher, Janet Guess, Josephine Merelman, Jean Daugherty, Caroline Feller, Helen Large, Irma and Rita Halloran, Dz Witt Thorne, Grace and Yolanda Contristan, John William Lohr, Bernice Willett, Margaret Lustig, Webster Adanfs, Robert Montgomery, Elenora Schweitzer, Mildred Doerner, Kenneth Brod:rick, Leonora Raboy and Dorothy Kluge. Mrs. Charles Woltz, soprano, was one of the guest soloists on the musical program given last Sunday by Edith J. MacCartee, at the Cone gregational Home. Other soloists at the opcne ing musical services at the home included Cathe erine Lightburn, contralto, assisted by Mrs. Wile liam L. Evans at the piano, ‘Warren F. Johnson will give an organ recital at the Church of the Pilgrims at 7:30 o'clock this evening. He will play “Mattheus-Final” (Bach’s “Memento”), Widor; “Rhapsodie No. 1,” Saint-Saens, and “Fugato,” from “First Suite,” by N. W. Couturier. Edith B. Athey presented her pupil, Mary Ellen Kettler, pianist, in a recital last Friday at her studio. Mary Jane Sterling, 11-year-old pupil of Etta Schmid Wells, gav2 an interesting program of pianoforte music bzfore the Esmu Club last Wednesday. Mollie Schwartz will give her proe gram of eight selections next Tuesday before the club. The Peter Pan Troubadours, R. B. Chopin Keith, councilor, will give a musical hour om Thursday evening, at 8 o'clock, at 22 Jackson place northwest. Assisting artists will be Mare= garet Eva Lewis and Ruth Mary Quinn. Of interest to the local music world is the announcement of the marriage of Louis Bertrand Thompson and Miss Lisette Elizabeth Follmer on Saturday, November 1, at Charles Town, W. Va. The Washington Musical Institute gave & junior recital Friday evening, May 29. This was the tenth program of the year, the next important event being the commencement ree cital and exercises, the date of which will bg announced later, A musicale was given recently by the Felicia Rybier Music Club, at which Frederick Philip Stieff of Baltimore played selections on the theremin, Mrs. Eva Blum gave a reading om Chopin and Eleanor Blum and Felecia Rybies played a few piano selections. The next meete ing of the club will take place on Tuesday a§ 8:30 p.m. -~ A Spring festival of music will be given by Continued on Eighteenth Page MUSICAL STUDIOS. - Karl Holer COMPOSER 3808 13th ST. COL. %556, _®_ BESSIE N. WILD Veice Culture, Piano and Harmony Studie, ¢824 5th st., Takoma Park. I. C. PHONE GEORGIA 3233. INSTITUTE OF MUSICAL ART C. E. Christiani, Pres. B. Frank Gebe«t. Dir. All Branches of Music Taught OPEN ALL SUMMER 831 _18th St. N.W. Met 231 PRIMA DONNA Experienced Opera Singer, in Washington this Summer, will train a limited number of serious, studious young ladies with good voices. Weekly experienced training for Radio, Opera, Concert and Church. Voice Trial by Appointment Only Phone Met. 2851 b Armando Jannuzzi Grand Opera, Dramatic Tenor Voice Specialist Instructor of EDITH WALLACK Dramatic Sopramo Italian Method From La Seals, Milan, MHaly Col. 4608 3403 14th St. N.W,