San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-04-29


Hotel Tuesday evening, April "a, as
guests of the Pan-American Round
Table, to hear Oscar Maestro, 'celliSt,
and his wife, Rita di Simone, soprano,
in concert.
Senior Maestro is a native Of Mon
tevideo, Uruguay, and comes to the
United States after long series of
European and South American tri-
umphs, beginning with his debut in
Naples when he was 9'years old. Since
then he has played in many of the
countries of Europe, and in all the
leading cities of South and Central
America. He made his American de-
but in New York, in 1921, but only
made a few public appearances in this
country before he went on tour i'll
Mexico.
Technically. Maestro has few su-
periors on his beautiful instrument,
and he plays with a distinction and
authority. Emotionally, there is
conspicuous lack in his performance.
and his Interpretation, while it is
marked by the most delicate finesse
and exquisite coloring of tone, lacks
the sincerity and conviction that dis
tinguishes the truly great performers.
He seems TO realize this himself, for
his program was carefully chosen. ap-
parently. TO display all the intricacies
of his really marvellous technical
skill, and to make few other demands.
Greatest interest attached TO Meas
tro's Spanish numbers. of which there
were three on his program The Sara
safe ~Zapateado." and the "Mariposas
Diabolicas" By Paganini. both written
for the violin, and played with vio-
lin technic, were given very brilliant
and vivid performances. His own ar
rangement of the Granados DANA
Espanola" was exceedingly colorful.
and there pOs sombre beauty in his
playing of the Russian Caesar Cui's
"Orientale. which is lacking in most
interpretations of that we'll known
composition. The Hungarian Song"
which was used as the opening num-
Der Of the program, was written by
Maestro at the age of Ii.
He uses the same folk melody of
Hungary, that List has made world
famous in his Second Rhapsody,
Duncklen's ia Fileuse" and the
~Perpetuum Mobile by Refs, which
was substituted for the Van Goentz
"Scherzo" on the program. were both
given wonderfully skillful perform
auces.
Rita di Simone makes a very strik-
ing stage picture, being of the most
picturesque type of Italian beauty,
and showing all the true Italian fire
and grace, in her manner as well as
in her singing. Her voice has an I'M
usually dark and sombre quality for a
soprano-both her register and her
ctr0paetad thn rathn- -ho,,
the true soprano-and her singing is
marked by a truly dramatic intensity
of feeling. The two Spanish songs
by Manuel Ponce, "Aleluya, Aleluya"
and LA Estrellits," which was used
as an encore, showed her to better
advantage than the other songs on
the program.
all praise goes to the very excellent
formers by Maestro Felix Ruano.
The program Of Operate Episodes"
which was pronounced by the audience
the most brilliant in the long list of
those the San Antonio Musical Club
has to its credit, will be repeated with
a number Of additional features Mon
day evening, May Z. 1t had been an
nounced for repetition on Thursday,
April &c, but through unavoidable cir
cumstances was deferred until the
regular May program evening of the
Club.
This will bring the entertainment
Into Home, Sweet Home" week which
is being internationally celebrated, and
1s felt to be particularly appropriate,
as the entertainment is being given as
a benefit for the Protestant Orphans
Home. The proceeds will be used to
start fund to provide home for or
phan boys over twelve years old, for
whom the home is unable to care, be-
cause of lack of room. At present.
when an orphan boy reaches that
most trying and important stage in his
whole development, when the influ-
e1lces make or mar him as a future
American citizen, he must be sent
away from the home to shift for him
self, so that place may be made for
children who are younger and more
helpless. II he does anything wrong,
commits an offense against the law,
be is tried and sent to the Juvenile
Home for Delinquent Boys, and the
state provides thoroughly adequate
place for him TO live, and develop; but
IT his only offense is that he failed to
use the care that Thackery so greatly
commended in choosing his parents, he
has pretty hard time of it. The hope
and aim in repeating Operate Epi-
sides" is to start a fund to establish a
farm, in the country, where boys will
be taught farming, dairying and given
manual training, developing out of
doors, digging, planting, creating.
Mrs. Peter Mccall Heating, of
Philadelphia, contralto; Nine. Frieda
Stjerna, soprano, and Miss Mary Ho-
ward, soprano, will be featured as ad-
ditional attractions on the already ex.
cellent program. Each will sing an
operate aria in costume. Miss Mil
bred Gates is manager Of the ticket
sale with headquarters at Goggan's.
The B Minor and B Major Musical
Club met Saturday afternoon in its
clubrooms at 3 80. The subject for
the afternoon was "Marches and
Spring Music" with Norma Henning
in charge Of the program, on skich