The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-10-20

HIS op1I1t SACdmGu lOTtLl Ou
of Renaissance behind them.
Then he set the hands Of the
Life-cI0ck at his thirty ifth u year.
was thirty-five when lunched
with Wagner and List. Think 81
thatw And IL you've never seen
the little old man raise that right
hand, point his index finger, and In.
Yite you into his memories with
that elfish smile that lights UP his
face Drumming with genial hutnor
and keen appropriations, then you
haven t half the charm OF the stage
setting wherein was enacted rich
artist-life among the choice intel.
lects-of over half century.
s IS Years young :
Think what history lies buried
history of art and ot Empire In those
magic years between mid,nineteenth
century and this first quarter of
the twentieth that DePachinanYl Al
great artist, has spanned!
A moments pause had come IN.
on me as De Pachmann had thrown
himself in his chair and. rested his
head against the back with closed
eyes. There was a grip at the
heart with the thought that per-
haps here was the twilight Of .
great genius.
Not a BIT Of it!
CAPTURE his fancy and the Wit
ind humor come bubbling through
- hlithely as in youth but with
the golden glow Of experience
warming and vitalizing it like mel.
/ lowed wine.
Il does not matter what do.
Bah! Or how I look. - .....
Is the music beautiful? All.
that's what counts" Again vizual-
lie that eloquent forefinger, that
lift of the shoulders that punctuate
his brief sentences.
Music must come from here and
here" He touched, his heart, his
delicats.,y flexible fingers, his. mas
sive forehead. but 1t Is here
most OF all. Intellect is, the force
on great art
Perhaps you don't realize, out
there in the orchestra or in the
top gallery, that the grand little
old man scarcely reaches to my
chin. The massive power Of him
comes from the broad shoulders,
An Ego Full of Wit
Ego? Why not? For the beauty
Of DePachmann's playing is genius!
BY all laws Of the physical he
could not have his great moments
today under any other category,
And there is no beauty greater
than the inspirational moments OF
DePachmann at the piano today.
He has his little jokes. AS when
ne turned to one audience in New
York and said in the middle of a
sonata, Now we will dance =
And forthwith he took a dreamy
waltz movement and thumped one
two-three, one-two-three, like an
automaton. One understands how
he must sometimes let that brinn.
ming humor come through at the
expense of an audience. For these
audiences are Outlines all too un.
aware and he can "get away with
It,, to his own keen amusement.
was told that incident by a
man who has known all the great
artists intimately for many years
and who added: 'tBut when he
plays as only he can play, there
Is nothing lovelier."
So moods play a great part in
The DePachmann of today.
Wagner-Liszt Days.
But remember that List, ''the
greatest of them ALL" De Pach-
mann calls him. extolled the play
Ing Of this great artist who is still
with US. as they sat after luncheon
Wagner, Liszt, DePachmann--ln
the golden yester-year,
There was lingering ''ah'--
and a smile, and a PARKWAY look
In his eyes as he told 1t. How
the pianist rose to the other pianist,
In retrospect. even more than to
the master-mind Of the Nibelungen.
The much-vaunted egoist vanish
ed as he dropped the laurels on
LISTS brow, though with ample
appreciation Of what has made him,
himself, peer of pianists: 4
II cannot have one thing that
List had, his huge rhythm! Look,
am not big enough. Liszt's
rhythm was monumentalv' That
was homage. given with voice and
look of reverence and a gesture
that conveyed much more.
you know D'Albert?1 A nod
for acquiesceTice.
''D'Albert studied Bach with. me
for two years" Then came an
II took D'Albert to see the queen
of Denmark. He was just nine
teen. played "a little joke on
him." And up went that mis-
clIievous right eyebrow while the
Kewpie-like smile lighted up his
face with irresistible humor and
The Joy of those vanished years.
The old king--you known" al
ways that Difference, that quality
IT getting his audience Of one into
his picture, 'the old king came to
my hotel--me, Pachmann, think Of
that!--and knocked on my door, up
stairs and down the long hall he
came to tell me that her majesty
desired that I1gunch with her at
the palace!'
Friend or Kings.
And we knew that the "old
king" of whom DePachmann spoke
endearingly, was none other than
that most famous OF monarchs.
Christian TX of Denmark, who
assembled the throne through the
royal line Of Princess Louise niece
OF King Christian VIII, who was
now the queen and his wife.
OF their five children. three sat
49, thrones Of Europe. These
we're Alexandra. the eldest, queen
Sf England, wife OF Edward VII
and mother Of King George; Dag.
Nj, efSpfess Of Russia and mother
OF the late Gar; and King George
e Greece. Fate has brought about