The Denver Jewish news., 1919-06-11

thickly populated by Jews. The orig-
anal name, Szopen, or Szop. is jewish,
His music especially the first Scherzo
in b aninoy, has Heine.lt,e irony,
and irony Is prime characteristic OF
the Chosen Cor Choosing. us Zangwiill
puts it, race. But all this is in the
key of widest surmise. Wagner was
born in the ghetto at Leipsic; yet 'thitt
didn't make him Jewish, any more than
the baptism of 'Menlelssohn made him
christian. Georges BiEet was of Jew
ish origin, he looked Jewish; but the
fact that he married the daughter of
Halvey ,CHa-Levi), the composer Of
LA Luive," didn't make the composer
of Carmen" u dew. Neither religion
nor nationality are any more than su-
perficial factors in the nature of men
and women. Race alone counts.
Once upon II time i wrote y Jewish
story, The 'ShOfar Blew ut Sunset.
Maggie Cline liked it so did Israel
Iangwill. / preserve u letter from Mr..
Xangwill telling me of his liking. The
STORY appeared in ''AI'lle New York.
now .defunct. 1t was afterward trans
lated into Yitldish, tho it did not give
general satisfaction in either camp.
Jewish or Christian. 1t reveied in the
cantillatiOns ana employed as leading
motive the ShOfar. or. rams horp
blown in the synagOgs OH YOm Kinpur
OF the Day of AtOnement. 'The scroll
of the Torah also appeared But these
litufgicul references didn't offend ii
was my surprising denunciation OF
Jewisi materialism in New York that
was the rock of offense. i say sur
doing in another field ana finding
fault? I'm sure 1 can't say why. un-
Hess that in writing the tale l uncon-
sciously dr,linatized myself as IL re-
preaching voice. There was much in
my structures of that son of 'Hanan
| who prowled thru the streets of the
Holy City in the year A. d. 81, crying
aloud: ''Woe, woe upon Jerusalem.'
remember that predicted because
IF the luxury OF the American dew the
lofty jewish idealism might be sub
iacrged in flood of indifference and
| disbelief Prosperity would prove the
4 snag. In the heart of the Jew Is the
4 true Zion, not in success nor in some
] far-awuy land. Naturally, fhat didn't
please the Zionists. One professional
Jewish publication, no longer. in exist
once. said that 1 preached like II rabbi
(Reb), but thought like II goi. The
word "Chutzpah" was also used. Vet.
of the Covenant, the spirit of the law.
and not the letter that killeth, which
should be enshrined in the heart of
the lew. He may dream of Palestine.
n latd overflawing with milk and
\ lioney; hut in the depths of his soul
1 it is the living God to whom he must
go for spiritual sustenance. God the,
eternal reservoir of our earthly GER
\ titudos. Selma Yisroel. )
And now for fear that all this
sounds more like u sermon than IL soi-
net--. and I'm in earnest, not forgetting.
that the lofty ethics of the Old Testa-
Iuent apply quite as much to Christians
as to Iews on this second Sunday after
Easter and Pesach--I'll conclude with
the statement that the most Jewish
composer 1 know of. ,bar none. is Ern-
est Bloch, n Swiss musician residing
N this city. He has great gifts.
abundant science, and an Unborn sense
of orchestral color and -rllythms. !
heard him conduct a ,coneert ut Phila-
delphia entirely devoted to his own
works. shall not soon forget the
lcmotional impression it created by his,
';:;olomon" for violonGcllo solo and in
struluent by that splendid young art
\ list, Hans Kindlcr, the first Gellist of
| the Philadelphia Orchestra. 1t is II
long: there were color and sentiment
that .Gloyet and the beat of the com
/, poser-conductor was not ,pr0pulsive.
With Leopold StOkowski things would
have gone ut IL brisler tempo and
charged with more vitality AS the
final note was sounded a 'well'known
wit and jurist, II Hebrew--if say
more Philadelphia will surely recognize
the lnan--passed into the lobby of the
Academy Of Music. When asked he
said. with the -selfmocking Irony of
his race: :'Bcnutiful music, but an
other afternoon like this and Ill turn
,,stt Sal,. II