The Washington herald., 1911-05-28

r.
very limited number Of appearances. This
marvellous presentation will be under the
personal supervision Of M. Serge de Dia-
ghiloff.
The Russian invasion has not been con-
| fined. to dancing by any means. Our
music. too has been enriched by gener-
| GUS contributions from the realm Of the
| Car. Aside from such singers as Dmitri
Smirnoff. Mime. Lipkoska, George PAX
| lanoff, &c, We were afforded an unusual
| treat in a brief visit Of the great Rus
sian Court Balalaika Orchestra While
only a few cities heard this wonderful or
ganization, 1t left an imprint on our ma
tional musical thought that is bound to
bear fruit. The balalaika itself has come
! to stay. 1t already has made its appear
| ance in several Of the college glee clubs,
&c. and, undoubtedly will find a place
| in our musical life, but can never be
| used in conjunction with our established
orchestras, as 1t is a thing apart to IT.
self-an entirely different method Of tone
production from anything We know.
The balalaika is one of the most primi-
tive OF instruments. and was largely en-
ployed by the early Russians in their
heather rites.
With the introduction of Christianity in
the eleventh century the balalaika was
prohibited. Accommodation was the
punishment for not only the one who
played the instrument, but any man who
listened to its sensuous tones. Later,
two centuries of Tartar rule completed
the work Of stamping out Russian musi-
cal consciousness. Unfavorable histor-
ical circumstances continued to pursue
the balalaika, for in the eighteenth CEN
tury, during the reign of Peter the
Great. when Continental music made its
way into Russia with Continental cul-
ture, the primitive, almost barbarous, na-
tional instruments were ridiculed. Obliy-
ion and forgetfulness followed.
Such was the status of the balalaika
when NJ. W. W. Andreeff, a talented ar
tist of wealth. imposed upon himself the
patriotic duty Of restoring the balalaika
to its proper position in the esteem Of
musicians. His own marvellous playing
won sympathy for his undertaking, its
patriotic side appealed to the Slav i'm
agination. and after twenty years of
labor and the expenditure of his fortune, |
NJ. Andreefr had the satisfaction Of see
ing the balalaika orchestra established
throughout the entire empire. His own |
organization Of players was made by i'm |
perial command the court orchestra.
Gar Nicholas has honored NJ Andreeff |
in many ways for his unselfish and truly
wonderful labor-a work that only fanat- |
ical faith and unquenchable love could |
have brought to a realization within the |
span of one mans life.
1t was this great organization, playing
only the simple stringed instrument he
developed from the tenth century pagan
prayer drum, that the triumphant An
dreeff brought to America this season.
His musical message, like that brought
by Pavlowa and Mordkin, came as a
revelation, joyous surprise, and
thing to be long remembered.
There is still another side Of the Rus
sian artistic advance that we can we'll
AFFORD to consider. In an effort to lift
the stage to more dignifed representa-
tive position, where it may prove a more
potent instrument for awakening and
public appreciation Of art,
the great painters of the empire have
dropped their easels and stepped from
their studios to give their almost price
less service to the crea. .ion OF stage pic
tures-scenery and mountings for drama,
opera, and ballet Paket, Benoist, and
latter a landscape painter
and creator Of allegory-are now actively
in painting stage scenery. Others
Of lesser note are following their ex-
ample.
When we stop to think of these things.
Of the great schools Russia maintains
to train and inspire such artists as
Pavlowa and Mordkin, and of the unset
fsh sacrifices such men as Andreeff have
made on the altar Of art, it is not diff
cult to understand why Russia Is maxi
ing such progress in the field.
q r 8.