The Washington times., 1922-12-31

phia orchestra, John Charles
Thomas, the New York SYM
phony. samaroff, Siloti, Ruth st.
Denis and the Denishawn Dane
ers, the Cleveland Orchestra,
Kreisler, John Mccormack and
JOSEPH III Hpfmann-these are all
promised for the opening month
Of 1928, and the list has every
potentiality Of being increased.
Three events additionally, which
are Of more than local interest,
are the two concerts of Polish
music to be held in connection
with the Polish art exhibition, at
the art center, and the benefit
concert to be given next Sunday
by the Elks' Band. And, of course
there are the usual community
concerts on Sunday evenings,
with Miss Hazel Huntington,
prima donna Of THE Impresario.'
announced as the guest artist for
tonight.
T ESLIE A. SLOPER, patron OF
II the arts and critic extraordi-
nary, emits, via Musical America,
the following wall from cultured
Boston:
mot so long ago three we'll
known women singers sang eX-
cerpts from the music OF certain
Of Wagner's operas, with great
symphony orchestra. Afterward,
one of the singers, a charming
lady, meeting a man friend, asked
him IL he had attended the per-
formance, and on being told he
had, looked expectant. The man,
being a brute. but not wholly
proof against the demand for the
expected, murmured his admira-
ton for the singing, but rashly
added something about his enjoy
ment having been diluted by the
'ugliness' of the gowns worn.
The fate of this untactful person
need not be descanted upon; it
IL Of no importance. What is inn
portant is that he was ruthlessly
brushing the lid OF politeness
from a cauldron of discomfort
which is likely sooner or later to
boil over. 'Wanted-A uniform
for singers is the slogan Of a
multitude Of music lovers who
are at the same time milliners'
apprentices. In the case OF men
singers, of course, the uniform
Is provided. although 1t might be
improved on. In the case Of
women. the need of It is so great
rs almost to justify the use Of
the adjective crying For who
can listen attenuvely to a beau.
tiful voice when the costume
from which 1t seems to emanate
attacks the eye with a chromatic
cacophony or a shrieking mono
tone?
"who can compose his thought
to the sense Of tho music with
the rustic and the sighs Of ad-
miring auditors in his ears7 Who
can take seriously the artistic
pretensions Of a creature clad in
an amorphous dissonance of
color, trailing perhaps q train or
manipulating q panel which re-
quires more attention than the
placing Of the voice or tho sense
Of the song7 And who could
fail to be cast into receptive
mood by the sight Of an unob-
trusive gown, straight Of line,
monodic Of color?
Further, who can sing while
acting self-consciously as a dress
makers model? Bernard Shaw
long ago pointed out that tho
reason there are 80 many bad
actors is that there are so many
good tailors. But at least, q man
singing in evening clothes is not
hampered by the knowledge that
every man In the audience is
admiring or criticizing his attire.
Whereas a woman is lucky IL
the gasps occasioned by her ap-
pearance fade away in time to
permit any attention to be paid
her songs. Perhaps IL the song
birds were once convinced that
one doesn't have to be plain to
be simple in dress. they would
sing better and the rest of us
would hear them better"
So that's that.
A UBURN, N. Y, is the latest
town to organize a symphony
orchestra. Thomas Giannino, a
veteran violinist OF Auburn, was
the principal worker for the or.
ganization, and Eduardo Barbieri
will conduct It appears
that Gamma walska will tour the
hinterland on her forthcoming
visit to America and win NOT essay
New YorE ara Ua,hinct~u ch-