Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-29
Canned and Radio Music---
What Is Their Function?

I
| monographs are cheap:
Here is a. question that has stirred
lup no little discussion. not to say
| agitation. Why indeed? Given
phonograph. anybody. for the price
paid for. say. three concerts. can buy
enough canned music to last all eve
ming. with the privilege of playing all
over again the next night If he
chooses. IL instead of buying concert
| tickets one bought records, spending
the same amount of money. one would
| in the course of a few years nave
about all the records extant-provided.
of course that one was regular
concert goer.
] Apply the same principle 10 radio.
and the cheapness of the thing Is
ridiculous For a. few paltry dollars
one can listen a lifetime.
The trouble is that there is dlf-
ference. II is doubtful if that diner
ence j., so much in the actual music
as i'm the things that go with II. III Is
unite possible that the music "a rec
ord gives is as perfect. if not more
perfect. than that put out by the
orchestra or singer or virtuoso i'll per-
son. There is a difference, of course.
in the "loudneSS. 10 call IL what IL
really is, but with a little training one
truth is that the ratio of the volume
of the machine to the size of a room
can be made the same as the ratio OF
an orchestra'S volume to the size or
An auditorium. With the mechanics
of monographs as we'll worked AS
thew are now on can shut ones eyes
and be in the theater where a real
orchestra is playing. For the radio
as much cannot he said; There Is
static. interference. and goodness
knows what else.
AS a. matter Of fact it is not at all
| improbable that the whole thinS -
| a. matter of psychology. People Wah'
to hear the real thing and NOT
| COPY Of it, 1t is the same principe
| that has kept the great masters OF
art and architecture supreme. All the
plaster casts in the world cannot
duplicate the Venus or the Hermes
that the sculptors wrought People
| instead of accepting the copies Tor the
originals. become even more enthusl-
| a site about the originals. And so the
phonocr,ap h has added to, rather than
detracted from. the popularity or mu
F! sicians.
Concerts still draw crowds bigger
crowds. The photograph has popu
| lariZed the classics-almost too much
to suit some people. Wagner IS
whistled on the street and Beethoven
Ia az well known as Berlin. And with
| the increasing popularity of music
the line grows longer at the box once
* x y K
! There are many factors that go TO
draw people to concerts. Ihere IL
| the element of personal attractloh'
yjrtuoso. or more especially con
.lv-nh Is
! nersonalitv alone. Musicians go 10
F.! watch his technique: girls TO admire
! his waist. Then there is the lure or
the crowd. the hustle and the push
| ing. the social contacts ana All 'i,a'
sort of thing. Many go to sec many
to he seen: few TO listen.
Yet the monograph and the radlo
have had their effect in changing inc
! character of audiences. the oid Iop
ca,lery hahitue is isappearlns rms
was the chap who ran a frtlt staiiu
or cut mems hair. lie loNeu hiu i..,, =
! and every year he set aside niue
of his hard earned cash and spent II
on a couple OF operas or concerts
| Not having any money to bufn. he
wanted to make what he had so as
far as possible. and he found that ne
| could get more music. quantitatlNelN
! sneakinc, for his dollar by buyihc d
! nhonocraph than he could by going
TO concerts He still goes, put not 81
! frequently. Recently he has fouhn
i that radio is the cheapest form "l
music yet devised, ana SO ne n" nc
! bought one. or maybe Will buE one
soon. ,..,
strange to say. there is great
deal of contempt expressed Tor me
| cha nical music among muslcia,le'
| They are wont TO sneer at the lued
that any machine can duplicate tne
human voice or the instrument plaIeu
! bv a master. 1t may be that there IL
something selfish in all this; the mu-
! sician may feel that here is SOME
thing that threatens his arr. AS d
| matter of fact this is ridiculous. ne
monograph. the radio. and even tne
| nlayer-piano, by increasing people
/ knowledge Of music. only serve 10
raise the standard of musicianshlp:
| There is little danger that any OF
| these ever will attain to the dlRhitN
! of serious rivalry in the field OF muse
! The human element will always pe
! TOO great q factor to allow OF any
challenge to the supremacy OF the real
thing.
Thare is once service which the
monograph can render, and-whlch
NAV or may not be strange-tne
! ;overnment has been the first To
recognize it. That is in the matter OF
record. About two years ago one oi
! the large phonograph compa MES pre-
scented the music division Of the Ii
| brarv of Congress with one of it's best
machines. This. with a large stock
Of records. is kept solely for the bene
| fit of posterity and for use in case OF
controversy. Nobody except officials
is allowed to play II.
The principle is this: Printed music
, sometimes contains inaccuracies. ana
often in the past it has been lmpos-
sible to tell just how composer
really wrote score: by reference to
Ixhe actual presentation of music i'll
ouirers of the future will be able to
check up or the printed page ana IN
a large measure to prevent mistakes
! The possibilities of the photograph In
this field are obvious. one can PIC
ture the student Of the classics of