The San Francisco call., 1908-10-18

his band had been cheered. DO the
men play because Of him. or do they
play in spite of him? Couldn't they
DO better If he would let them alone in
stead Of jumping at them, threatening
hem and outdoing creatore in vio-
lence2"
There is reason II not shrewdness in
the questions.
A strange figure in white careened
and oavorted on the stage between two
rows OF intimidsted musicians. Crouch
ing like an evil beast of prey he sprang
al the shuddering piccolo player: he
rushed violently At tile rcd necked
frombOnist. whose; right cve he barely
ssed with the tip OF his menacing
lston; he swept across the stage like
wind in advance OF a thunder storm
and returned like a Bengal tiger
starved and fury full. and then with
the silly inatteution-- and purposeless
mein Of q kitten playing with a ball
4 Worsted he turned around and
heamed beatifcally as the proper
-adence came out Of the discord he had
wrought. Then off he started again at
The bottom OF another crescendo and
like a lion out Of AhvssInian wastes.
-eady 10 toss bullock or bass drum
mer over his back, he leaped and
eranced and waved his arms and legs
while the bandsmen thrashed out q tre-
mcndous forte as one man. He was
on the point Of tearing the unonending
snare drummer limb from limb, and
YOU could almost imagine hearing the
cracking OF his bones and the blood
curdling. victorious roar when this two
legged lion from Palermo paused and
said in tiny, thin and sweetly alluring
voice. as much like q lions howl as a
sigh is like a scream. va benissimO,'
which, / am told. being translated
means. not an imprecation, but that's
al right"
Giovanni Gennsro is a product OF
vaudeville. II is true that this covered
attack is a terrible Indictment, but il
can and later will be sustained. His
methods of directing. for violence, have
those employed by Creatore melted.
Creatore is a lamb in comparison, and
his ways are ways Of peace Gennaro's
ways are ways Of plenty. he told me.
Sometimes you expect TO see him dive
head foremost into the tuba: other
tines you expect him to straddle the
piccolo or sit on the cymbals. Other
moments are freighted with catastrophe
rs he swings on his heel and plunges
straight for the big bass drum. but he
always stops short Of disaster and he
is always beating time. He beats II
with one hand and an elbow: then with
his right leg and left shoulder, and
sometimes he indicates the rhythm by
imported Egyptian muscle movements
made familiar of late by sundry Sa-
lornes. He thinks nothing of thrashing
out the regular beat with one hand and
syncopation (rag time, sweet reader,
nothing worse) with HIS other. the
while he directs a crescendo with HIS
head and an accelerando with his feet.
He has his heart in his work. this Gen
naro has. and he is monster of animal
energy. q battery Of gsiganic nervous
force. a glutton for Punishment. he
weighs 200 pounds and he is also a
musician
found this oat at rehearsal,
proved il at the performance and be-
sides he told me so himself Gennaro
is emphaticaIly musical If he is a
practical joker il only proves that a
musician may have a sense Of humor
and q keen commercial instinct for
he cashes his Jokes at our expense.
These gvrations are his joke. Without
them he would be merely a band mas
ter. good bandmaster. il is true;
even better one than the average. but
SUN O1DQIldclEI- " III tDtIl nc Is
Eccentric Gennaro, and Americans
DO love title SO. With them
he is an Orpheum star: without
them he would still be in the
municipal band Of Palermo in sunny
Sicily. earning $3.50 per day as
solo clarinetist. It's hard work, Of
course. this jumping and rearing and
kicking but il pays well, and "Ec-
centric Gennaro gets the money.
did not hear him play his band last
sunday. but / heard about him. and so,
led by curiosity. sneaked into the Or
pheuni early Monday morning-that is
ii was carly for night workers-snd
watched the rehearsal. I sat in the rear
~ the darkened house. unobserved OF
Gennaro and his men, and waited for
some demonstration OF Gennaro's mad
ness IIe was tuning the solo ballad
horn when / came in. The player was
hitting above and beyond, below and
around the exact number of vibrations
-s-hfch tho naffouf wood wind man was