Evening star., 1926-09-05
Critical Music Season Near

broadcasting. advertising firms stop
radio advertising. the great artlsts
refuse to perform over the radio or
wave pirating' reach such a tangle
that reception of any worth be made
impossible.
To counterac, to some extent the
attraction Of the radio there is, OF
course, the disgusting egotism OF
some announcers which prevents
them from making their announce
ments crisply and with as little un-
necessary talking as possible. Let 1t
be said, however, that announcers
connected with the Washington sta
tions are not. and have not been,
guilty in this connection. A perform
ance such as one heard from out OF
town, however, during which the half
hour allotted to the artists was taken
up by IA minutes Of playing and 10
minutes of announcing, would GER
tainly attract no lover Of music.
There is a great following of music,
however. which probably will never
be satisfied with other than the ap-
pearance in person of the musicians.
The financial support vital to produe-
tions always has and always must
come from those of leisure and
wealth. The social contacts of at
tendance at opera and at concert pro-
vide a considerable portion of the at
traction, and this, of course, cannot
be had in radio reception.
Individual artists and organizations
have their own followers who will al
ways come to hear them, but the
great portion Of the audience repre-
sented by those who love music for it
self alone, and who may he forced to
pinch to some extent to attend con-
certs, may turn from the more ex-
pensive method of receiving their
music to the radio, where the initial
cost is all that is of much conse-
quence.
What the outcome Of the rivalry
is to be probably will be indicated this
season. Certainly the choice between
dressing for a concert downtown and
staying home. in comfort, perhaps
smoking. while listening to one Of
three orchestras mentioned above or
some outstanding artist such as was
heard last season would be easy! 10
make. For one of limited means it
would be no problem at all to decide.
Today marks the beginning of
new season so far as the church
choirs are concerned. Many changes,
and important changes. have been
made In the personnel Of various
quartetS. Few announcements OF
these changes have been made. but
many Of the leading congregations
will see new faces when the services
start this morning.
Plans for the season so far have,
not been made public with the eX-
ception Of performance of THE Mes
siah," which is to be given under the
direction of r. Deane Shure. director
of music of the Mount Vernon Place
Church. Work was begun late last
Spring and many singers from other
choirs and organizations have already
allied themselves with the Mount
Vernon Choir in the preparation of
this great work.
On the professional side, number
Of concert and orchestral series have
been announced. The Ten Star series,
which has been given for years by T.
Arthur Smith, has been suspended for
this year, according to Mr.. Smiths
announcement. and in place of the
series he plans to introduce many
novelties to Washington in the way
of orchestras and singing organiza-
tiOns.
Speaking of novelties, perhaps one
reason why interest In music in Wash
ington has Jagged somewhat is that
novelties have been sadly lacking from
programs given here. One reads of
performances of new works which
have been of such outstanding inter
est and success as to be reported in
dispatches of news services all over
the country. but Washington never
seems to hear them. Once in n great
while program is heard that stands
out as one of the bright spots of n
season simply because of the amount
of new material that is presented.
For instance, the concert last season
by the Cleveland symphony Orches-
ira. which abounded i'll compositions
heard here far too seldom.
Last season the concert calendar
for the city was full to OverfloWing
but SO far this year but five or six
series have been announced. With
the return of vacationing folk how
ever, the plans for the year will prob
ably soon be made public.
At any rate, between radio and
performance in person" 1t would APP
pear that a generous feast of music
is to spread before music lovers. n
feast which is perhaps laid at fork
in the road.