Evening star., 1926-10-11
Nj u SIC
THE PRO ARTE QUARTET AND
MIR. HUTCHINSON.

That remarkable string organiza;
| ton, the Pro Arte Quartet of Brus.
sells, Belgium, which long ago at
tanned prominence in the musical
world of Europe, but which Is quite
new to audiences in the United States
and Ernest Hutcheson, Australian
pianist who has become so estab-
lished as a leading performer. com.
poser and teacher in this country
that many think him to be an Amer.
lean, were the artists providing a
delightful afternoon of music in the
chamber music auditorium of the
Library of Congress yesterday be-
fore the usual capacity" audience
Many of the music critics and mu-
sicianS who were here for the festival
which closed Saturday night, remain.
ed in Washington to hear this pro-
gram. Mrs. Calvin Coolidge also at
tended the performance and seemed
keenly interested in the entire pro
| gram.
The unique feature for most of
those present was the playing Of a
quartet written in one movement by
Albert Huybrechts, whose Sonata, )"
played Friday morning in it's initial
public performance. won the Eliza.
beth Sprague Coolidge prize for 1925.
The string quartet, "Poeme," was
written in 1924, and was awarded the
Ojai prize this year. The work was
performed with permission Of Frank
j. Frost and Louis Persinger This
Belgian composer seems to have a
special talent for prize taking.
The general consensus of opinion of
yesterdays audience seemed to be
that "Poeme" was q much more in
teresting work from a first hearing
than Sonata" written q year later.
| There is much clever syncopation in
the quartet; 1t seems less reminiscent
of others works, and the pizzicato
work in the final mood Is exception
ally colorful. The modern dominance
of dissonance was happily varied with
bits here and there of charming
| melody. giving warmth to work
primarily intellectual in its appeal.
There seems to be much humor in
the "Poeme" and it's performance won
amusement from many.
The contrast Of this Sunday pro-
gram was amazing. opening as it did
with string quartet written by
Ludwig Won Beethoven exactly 100
years ago, and closing with Mr.. Huy-
brechts' 1925 composition. Yet the
indebtedness of great art was nicely
emphasized in the dissonances and
syncopation of the second movement
OF the centenarian, Quartet, in r.
opus 1885," 1t was boldly and vividly
played by the Pro Arte Quartet, given
unusual reading. 1t aroused the
thought In the listener to the effect
that were the composition not listed
with the composers name, would the
average musical person unfailingly
place it as a work of 100 years ago.
The first movement, allegretto. is not
as distinctive as many of that mas
ter's works; the second might well be
OF the so-called modern school; the
third. filled with tranquility, is very
much Beethoven, and the fourth move
ment. with its brilliant working up to
finale, is certainly from that master
composers hand. Each movement
has separate individuality, a quality
not always found in more modern
works.
Although there were beautiful mo-
ments in the Beethoven and novel
handling Of harmonies and dis
sonances in the Huybrechts, Gabriel
Faure's Quartet in G minor, opus
As" written almost exactly midway
between the other two, clings longest
in the memory. The reason is prob
ably because of the superlative play
ing of Ernest Hutcheson. His lead