The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-04-05
| By DOLLY lDALRYMPLE

accompaniment would be just what de- sired, It was Michael Angelo you know. who said that attention to detail was the most important thing that goes toward making perfection, and while I am not a copyist. I learned years and years ago the truth of this simple statement"
 And those years ago take you back
 to sunny Italy, no doubt' I ventured to suggest.
 ''Yes, back to my first days of music at
 the conservatory in Naples" was the
 reply 'I began my musical career as a trambone player, and I mastered that
 instrument before I took up anything
 else. studying all the while harmony.
 theory and composition; it was my ann
 bition, you see. to become great musi-
 clan; my father was literary Aand my
 mother musical, so why not I? And l
 studied on and on, and after a while
 I went to a small town in Italy where
 I was given the conductorship of a band
 which was my first experience. I went
 from one big band to another and then
 came to America, where I became a.
 naturalized citizen and have lived here
 ever since"
 was struck with the very modest
 mien of the man. as he spoke so simply
 If his life and work, which is as great
 as that of any other great conductor
 of our day.
 CT live very quiet life when I am not engaged in musical affairs" Signor
 Creatore presently volunteered. "l have A great 50-acre farm out of Philadel- phia and there my wife and my four boys and lead the simple life. like farming-the outdoor life-and when I am there I lay everything else aside except & bit of composing now and then"
 "Perhaps like some great writer has said of you,' I suggested, "when you take up the baton it is no longer Crea- tore, the man, but the soul of some
 great genius who lived thousand | years ago."
 sI am another person." said Signo- l Creatore, smiling, "when I am away from music and when engaged in it." You have been accused of much | Delsarte in your conducting" I saij. and waited for a reply.
 | 'DeIsarte, Whats that?" asked the conductor, his brown eyes flashing the question.
 "why, Delsarte-oh, you know what l it or um-or he or she is,' I tried to
 explain. Its only gesticulating, gy- I rating-sort of acrobatic stunts with | the baton"
 1 "Ah. yes" said he. "r know what you mean. I even read once in a paper that | all that sort of thing with me was af- l fectation-as if I could be ingenious | enough to think of such things! It's | absurd! I live in my musici I live | through every note of it! If it is a 'march"-from Aida I march if 1t | pleases me; if it is valse from La Bohme' I valse, ahi the Chopin valses, how could one keep from dancing? ! Somebody said once that Chopin l valses were so far above other valses 1 that they were not even made for l countesses to dance by. and I thought I the statement must be correct, for they would have to be very fast countesses | to dance to the quick tempo of Cho- 1 pin valse,'' I ventured.
 l "They are all beautiful" said the l impressario, refusing to be silly or ' gay when it came to music land Verdi ! and Bizet-ah--who could hold a baton | over the score of Carmen and hear 1 The Toreador Song and not-what Is 1 it you say of me-Delsarte?" l "Ah! it is all so wonderful" he con- | tinued. not waiting for me to inject | any more persiflage into the conver- | sation. Music - music everybody l loves music-band music-opera-pop- I ular music = orchestra everything -anything-just so it's music" 1 P. S.-This is perhaps a much better | interview than I could have gotten if I'd seen the delectable Signor Crea- | tore yesterday; at least it's five years younger; and youth is everything 1 isn't it?