New-York tribune., 1922-12-13
Work of American
Composers Heard in
Two Concert Halls
Liiz String Quartet Plays
nj AeoIian and. McManus
at Town Hall in Recital
With Esielle Liebling
By n. E. Krehbiel

There was a considerable amount OF
American music Cor music composed Sy
Americans, which ought not 20 be con-
,ldered the same thing) In two con
certs given In the neiehboring Aeo'isn
and Town halls. last nigh. In the
former the Litz Quartet played a
string Quartet in c, by David stanley
smith. which had been announced as
A Gregorian Quartet, because its most
sleniheant melodie material was de-
rived from an old ecelesiastieal hymn'
clean Corona" In the latter hall MI
George Stewart MeManus, besides other
pisneiorte compositions. played a set
az short pieces called burlesques, com
no.ed by Frederick Jacob, a prelude
hv Marion Bauer and a polonaise BY
John Alden Carpenter. Simply beeaute
II IL HIS custom, probably, Mr.. Jacob
named his pieces "BurlesehW and Mr..
Carpenter his piece "Polonaise Ameri-
caine." OF course. the foreign titles
neither added 70 nor substracted from
the merit Of tho compositions; but II
was a BIT singular that Professor Smith,
whose quartet was in one movement
with sections eontrastcd In respect OF
tempos, instead OF adagio. preBtlssimo,
moderate and other terms familiar %
every musical person, used their Eng
lish equivalents, very slow" very
fast" "slow," "in moderate time" and
50 on. Thus ono afcctation was par
alleled by another and both recalled old
exhmples-from Schumann and Beet
hoven, for instance, The latter having
once been bitten 20 deeply by the Teu-
tonic itch that he wrote a Sonata for
the Hammerclayier" and expressed a
passing desire 90 call concerto a
"StrcitstGek" because he conceived II
as a controversy between the solo In
strnment and the orchestra.
This, however. is only BY the way
and possibly as great a piece Of af-
feetation. or a greater. than that OF
the eomposersi but IL is offered only
in comment, not In criticism. Since
the polonaise is not q danee-form in
digenous 10 Poland. we do not know
why Mr. Carpenter should be even
pleasantly faulted for calling his com
position an American polonaisc. IL Is
more 20 the purpose 20 deplore the
fact that the music failed 70 disclose
anything Characteristic OF the people
Of whom Mr. Carpenter is an orna-
ment. Still more deplorable was u
that, like the pieces by Mr.. Jacob and
Miss Bauer, Il showed no elements in
trinsieally and inherently attractive.
American composers should not be cod
died because they are Americans any
more than they should be denied a
hearing and the encouragement which
comes from a hearing on the same
ground. They should stand on their
own legs as musicians and their music
be judged as music.
The most interesting work was that
OF Professor Smith. One might say
that Il sounded academic but Il was
pleasurable 20 the ear and compelled
the reflection that Il was better 20 use
fine material, even II 10 Was borrowed
from an old ecclesiastical source, than
poor material with only originality 20
commend Il. The harmonies and the
part-writing were delightful There
were ideas In them ny OF nppreoia-
tive attention. And D, was well played
Before Il Mr. Letz and his companions
PLAYED a quartet in c BY Mozart, anc
after n with the tol0 Of Hugo Kort
sehak and Paul kefcrl "lranshguree
Night" sextet BY Schonborg, q compost
tion which seems hrmly established IL
our concert repertory.
~. piAnoforte pieces played by Mr
MeN nus were features Of song re
eital given by Estelle Liebling, who
among other things. sang intelligentll
and effectively three Italian songs BY
Rospighi.