Evening star., 1926-03-03
M u SIC
PHILADELPHIA SYMPHONY
CONCERT

| Leopold StOkOWSkl and his splendid
organization, the Philadelphia Sym
phony Orchestra, presented delight
full, balanced program of music at
the Washington Auditorium before
their usual large audience. 5000
strong, yesterday afternoon. The un-
| usual feature of the afternoon was
| the Introduction in Washington of
John Hays Hammond, jr.'s new piano
/ invention. Mr.. Hammond, whose fam
| lily is prominent in practically all of
| the Capital City activities, is conSld-
cred a son of Washington, though he
| makes his home in Gloucester, Mass.
where he also has his laboratories 1t
, was hoped the inventor might be in
| the city for this concert. but at the
| last moment he found some of his
! present experiments in a condition
| that could not be left, and 50 wired
! Lester DOnahue, the young pianist,
i who demonstrates his instrument, that
| he could not make it.
| The Hammond reViSionS on the
standard concert grand piano of any
| make consist primarily of two sets of
aluminium backed reflectors, placed one
above the strings and the other be-
meath the sounding board of the nor
NAL instrument. These shutterlike
refiectors are controlled by single
large pedal. which is placed at the left
! of the three usual pedals on a piano.
| Mr.. Donahue says that control of this
| pedal becomes as automatic as control
of automobile equipment. BY con
| trolling the opening and shutting of
| the reflectors it is possible to sustain
d tone at any shading desired, thus
! making the Hammond piano Il happy
Z link between the ordinary piano and
/ the organ. The sustaining quality
and a rolling undercurrent of tone
/ available III playing heavy chords
were the two characteristics brought
out most plainly during the concerto
| of Rachmaninoff (No in G Minor)
! yesterday.
Gives Private Exhibition.
| Prior to the concert, Mr.. Donahue. in
/ a private demonstration. played the
| Chopin C Minor prelude and the origi-
! nal piano form of Debussy's Sub
merged Cathedral" which demonstrat-
/ ed still other and more subtle possibil-
| tiles of this device. 1t is to be hoped
! Mr. Donahue, who is a fine pianist
! of remarkable touch and sensitive
| ness in Interpretation, may bring this
! instrument in recital, so that people
! generally can get better idea of It's
| possibilities that could be shown in
a work with heavy orchestral accom-
! paniment.
| In the Rachmaninoff concerto as
! played yesterday Mr.. StokoWskfs Or
chestra was quite up to its usual stand
| ard of excellence. The colorful open
! ing Of the third movement was par
| ticularlY beautiful with it's sweeping
! rhvthms and broad melodic lines well
| emphasized. Mr.. Donahue's playing of
! the adagio movement, is which he
used the invention practically all this
| time. whereas in the first and third
movements he only used it infrequent-
| ly for a few chords and final sustained
notes. was clean-cut and brought out
| the beauties of the great Russians s
work unusually well. Particularly well
| done was the difficult fugue.
! The next two short numbers We're
arrangements by Mr.. StokoWski for
! orchestra of the piano works of two
of what might be termed the semi
/ moderns-Albeniz of Spain and De
bussy of France. The Spaniard was
represented by his brilliant 'Fete-
| Dieu a Seville" given with rich elo-
uuence on it's oriental, Moorish
! themes. the drums rolling the melO-
dies to a vivid close. Debussy's Ca
thedrale EnglOutie" is an impression
! istic composition which seemed Subtly
| different in the orchestral volume from
! the rolling rhythms that make it a
fascinating piano work.
1t expressed the mystic mood of
its theme on a larger scale and seem
| ed to hold the audience as no other
work given during the afternoon.
There was a pause of appreciation Of