The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1925-04-18
NUM- PRQGRAN
U|uE VE MI
BEAUTY
Pianist Strikes Fire in
Beethoven Sonata Small
Audience Hears Artist
~ ER ANT1 4, IsAER.
BY FRANK IL. BAER.

When Mieczyslaw NUM- stepped
from behind the curtain at Central
High School, and was welcomed by
small group OF music enthusiasts
last night, he bowed with rigid
grace, cast his gray glance over
the crowd and succeeded in looking
like anyone else In the world but
pianist OF amazing technical
abilities.
Then he opened his. program.
Just like that, too. with no
gesture, no change Of expression no
interest, no flash or flame. The
Bach-Busoni Organ Toccato In o
Major served to initiate the menu,
having been chosen, ! do not doubt,
for no other reason than to permit
Mr.. Num- to prove that his fingers
can travel the upper registers
faster than those Of most Of his
compatriots.
Poor taste this fellow displayed
in choosing this Busoni transerip.
ton. True, 1t exacts heavy
cadenza toll, represents involved
figures of musical speech and taxes
the ingenuity Of the pianist, but II
means nothing on a program. -
ii as co1orless in q true musical
sense as Mr.. NUNS rendition
itself, and that only once rose
above the gray level. Of. the
ordinary
Best In Beethoven.
Beethoven, because Of the sheer
beauty Of the Moonlight Sonata,
found q willing and able interpreter
in this Polish artist. The adagio
sostenuto glistened with q silver
sheen, comparable to the wonders
of the exquisite prose poetry of Amy
Lowell. Mr.. NUM- injected sefts
ness, serenity, emotional splendQr
and frequently snatch Of unexs
pected gaiety in his playing. Here
he captured the spirit Of Beethoxen
without once shattering the mood
with indifference. 3.
Then came 81 group Of six, three
transcriptions by Godowsky from
Rameau, Schubert and Alheniz, and
three heavy numbers OF Rachnlan-
inoff. sMenuet' was another brief
bit of pianistic. Wizardry; the
Schubert theme popular, we'll
worn interlude; and the Albeniz
tango a listless, un-Spanish dance
motif. In this last, the spirit of
Spain never came through, Mr..
NUM- playing 1t as though It were
cradle song, when in reality It
should have been touched with fire
ana hfghly-accented verve. OF the
Rachmaninoff numbers Etude
TabIeaux, e Flat Major was the
finest; the tempo was stressed per-
fectIy and the unificatiOn OF under
melodies nicely offered.
Chopin arrived in a concluding
quartet Of numbers, NOcturne,
Mazurka, VaIse and Polonaise, Opus
So. Personally, / felt that Mr..
NUM- added little to these vignettes
OF beauty. His habit of slurring,
CLOSING over ripping passages
annoyed. And there seemed to be
a total lack of proper ryhthnl,
always.
Too ListIess a Fellow.
Skill is this artists heritage; and
he possesses amazing finger magic,
but everything, save the Moonlight
Sonata, suffered from a missing
vigor. poise and accent. At times
he fell into a manner OF utter
disregard for both the piano and
the audience.
{ 1t seemed as though he had said
to his listeners: Here's a pretty
Illus HuuDSE. II goes S0meLn1nS
like this" And set out to-. give
them a hasty sketch OF the bare
outlines of the theme.
Indifference and an apparent lack
OF interest on the part Of any
public artist is deadly, and If one
is pulled along by music. not in
spired to action by it, the artist
can well considered himself at fault.
Mr.. NUM- in the minds Of pro-
fessional musicians may have much
worthy of praise-his lingering,
etc-but he still must learn SHOW
manship." He doesn't sell his
wares we'll.