The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-04-19

The most spontaneous outburst of patriotism that has marked the biennial ' of the federated clubs was witnessed dur ing the concert at the Jefferson theatre
 last night. Modest Altschuler was con ducting the Russian Symphony orchestra in his orchestration of "The Banjo Pick ] CT" by John Powell, the pianist and 8
 native Virginian, who is to give the piece as piano solo in this evenings convert Mr. Powell closes this number with just a bit Of Dixie" and as the orchestra reached this strain Mrs. Charles Tender
 son, wife of the governor, from one of the boxes, led round of applause. Instantly Mir. Altschuler signaled his players tc rise and they gave Dixie" in it's entirety the audience singing it Justify and cheer l ing at the end. Next the orchestra play 1 ed "The Star-Spangled Banner, the
 crowd joining rousingly in the anthem After this came the "Marseillaise," and
 then the director announced: "We will now play for you the old Russian hymn l the new one hasn't arrived yet" The suc- l cession of patriotic airs was not over for the orchestra then played America,
  | community chorus, and finally Tip perary."
 PROGRAMME WAS LAVISH So lavish was the programme and so generous Conductor AltschuIer with en- cores that it was but two or three min utes before midnight when the audience | filed out. Besides the TschaikoWsk "Pathetique'' Symphony. which thrilled the audience under MT. Altschulers read | ing, the orchestra played a number of other Russian pieces, an encore being the same composers Dance of the Fairy Dolls' from his "Nutcracker" suite, with the celeste solo played by Mime. Rossini, the orchestra's harpist. Another extra was the Beethoven Minuet, the solo be- ing played by the first 'cellist, Bernard
 Altschuler, younger brother of the con- ductor Later the concert master, Michel Gusekoff, played KreisIers 'Lebesfreud with the orchestra.
 Artistically the big event of the even- ing was the first hearing anywhere of the federation's prize piano concerto by Ralph Lyford of the Cincinnati Conservatory faculty. The solo part was played with marked technical ease and skill by Myra Reed a gifted artist-pupil of Marcian Thalberg at the same conservatory. MT. Lyford's work is refreshingly pianistic and most grateful to the solo performer. There seems to be no reason why 1t should not readily find further bearings The first mocement. marked allegro moderate and allegro con moto, is espe- cally brilliant. The applause that fol- lowed was so great that 8 zealous young usher charged with carrying bouquets of flowers to the soloist thought this point to be the end of the piece and insisted upon Miss Reeds receiving the tribute then and there-somewhat to the detri- ment of the continuity of the composition.
 RECALLS FOR COMPOSERS
 In the final movement of the concerto, allegro con spirito, MT. Lyfords inspira- ton reaches it's finest heights, and he carries the work on to a smashing cli- max The concerto was directed by the composer who is a conductor of long operatic experience. At the close he and Miss Reed were recalled several times.
 A delightful element of novelty was added to the programme by the first ap- pearance in Birmingham of Lada, the concert dancer. With her own stage set ting and attractively garbed, she gave four dances, offering first her interpre- tation of the Second Hungarian Rhap- sodie of Liszt. In this she represented Pannonia, Hungary's Goddess of Liber- ty. In expressing the dejected despair of Hungary under Austria's domination and later it's exaltation, she followed her own principle of using the choreographic idiom of the music which she was inter- preting, employing characteristic Hun garian dance steps. Lada gave two other ethnographic dances, Glinka's "Kamarin-