Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-24
COMPOSERS CLUB
PRESENTS CONCERT
Fourteen Washington Music
Writers Represented in
First Performance.

! The Washington Composers Club
passed another milestone iii local
| music history last night when 1t
gave the first public performance of
| some of it's own works before an in
vited audience in the little auditorium
of the Mount Vernon Place Methodist
| Episcopal Church South. Fourteen
composers were represented and the
] audience that packed the hall was
enthusiastic about each number. Mrs.
| Dorothy DeMuth Watson, chairman
of the club, presided and introduced
| each composer.
/ There We're songs. both solo and
] for women's chorus, piano solo, cello
| solos, a sonata for violin and piano.
| soprano solos with string quartet and
piano accompaniment, and WIND
! quintet" from the Marine Band Or
chestra. 1t was a colorful program.
Has Virile Style.
The work on the entire program
| that stands out in the memory, with
musical authority as the dominant
quality, is Mary Howe's Sonata in
| ID, for Violin and Piano Mrs.
| Howe, in private life, Mrs. Walter
Bruce Howe. has u virile style OF
writing that lacks the pretty" quality
| that ST iildllS NpA'fA'' NCA'N
posers' works. Mrs. Howe achieves
some very interesting harmonic effects.
! The composer, being one of the
| finest pianists in the club, and
| Henri Sokolov at his best last
night in the violin part, made this
work stand out The composer pre-
scented three other of her works, one
new work having been given a
premiere in New York Sunday night
| l. 1ral1n NJ
at the Henry Miller Theater. The
works were Chain Gang Song"
| STARS" and 'Scherzo in c."
| Next to Mrs. Howe's work in origi-
| nality combined with musicianship
| seemed to come the suite of soprano
| songs, with strings and piano as ac-
| compartment, written by La Sale
| Spier These are settings of the
Browning poem. ''Pippa Passes, and
| the voice is used instrumentally in
| the very interesting working out OF
the melodies. Mr.. Spier was at the
! piano, Gretchen Hood sang and the
National String Quartet QHenri Soko-
| low. Max Bugatsky, Samuel Feldman
and Richard Lorleberg) presented the
suite Although heard here two years
| ago by the same group, the perform
ance last night seemed to have gained
| in Interpretation and interest. Miss
3. Hood was much more at ease and In
| command of these songs than i'll the
equally lovely songs written for only
piano accompaniment by Ervine j.
| Stenson and presented earlier on the
| program, with Mr.. Stenson at the
piano. All the composers represented
! last night seemed to have excellent
! taste for the poems to inspire their
melodies, for the words and themes
of the songs were beautiful in practi-
| cally every instance. In Mr.. Stem
| sons group. 1.-THE Door" and
Silence were songs that might well
be coveted by concert artists.
| GIoetzner's Work Scholarly.
Anton Gloetzner, introduced as the
. daddy of the club" showed the lack
of hurry and the complete finish of a
scholarly musician in the construction
of his cello solos, which were excel
leHtly played by Margaret Day,
"Whims" was colorful and original
! and Mr.. Gloetzner's playing of the
! piano accompaniment almost made
a concerto of each number. Song of
| the Homeland" was also especially
! interesting.
! Jerome Williams, 'the club baby"
| as Mrs Watson dubbed him, showed
| the modern tendencies of the present
/ day generation of music writer's in
antithesis to the classical closely
| knit and lensthily stated phrases of
| Mr. GloetZner's works. "Humoresque"
/ was a particularly clever and sophis-
| ticated piece of writing, yet with dra
matte depth to it that avoided the
! shallowness of some clever works.
| OF the other piano numbers f.
| Deane Shure played two works, Yes
! terglow," which is very familiar to
| local audiences. and Sacred Sepul
| chre'' The latter work was very at
mospheric and typical of this com
| poser
| Henri Smidt -Gregor played his
| "Norrland Scherzo." which also is
| frequently heard on local programs
| and a Russian Dance" that should
| give color and variety to any recital
/. program.
Three Choral Groups.
or the songs presented by other
| composers 1.-THE Mountain Vigil
seemed the most original of Charles
Ferry's group, sung by Emile Hen
| ming. contralto. OF Edward G. Pot
| ter's songs "Desolation" was a very
| good song well sung by Elvina Neal
! Rowe, soprano, with Mr.. Shure at the
| piano. Caroline Mcdonnell, another
| soprano, sang Alexander Hennemann's
| What the Birds Say" with spirited
/ Interpretation, lHe composer dl inc
| piano. Mai. Charles j. Ferris gave
F.! the dramatic reading of Il Have
| Rendezvous With Death" with DR..
Hennemanns musical accompaniment.
| There were three choral groups.
John Prindle Scott, guest composer of
/ honor for the evening. conducted the
Chaminade Glee Club in his well
| known and popular THE Old Road"
and received standing ovation from
the audience. Karl Holer's Triumph
| of the Dance" a light number ideal
| for feminine voices. opened the pro-
| gram as sung by the same club,
Esther Linkins. conducting, and the
composer at the piano. DIR. Henne-
man later directed members of the
| Choir Invisible and /. f. G. A. Music
Club in his women's chorus, Thanks
giving" a good chorus number
/ The only violin solos were a group
| written and played by Helen Ware,
with Charles Ferry at the piano. 1.-The
! Little Pansy,' a cradle song was
especially enthusiastically received.
! and "Cinka Panna." Hungarian in
color and theme, was a very interest
ing number.
| Siegfred Scharbau's andante to the
| tone poem, Indians of America" was
presented by the wind quintet of the
| Marine Band Orchestra, Mr.. Lindsay.
| flute; Mr.. Ornofrey, oboe; Mr.. Rada.
clarinet; Mr.. Seidler, horn, and Mr.,
| Scharbau. bassoon, with Mr.. SHIRE
at the piano. 1t proved an unusual
number. II. F
/ PIONEER TO SPEAK,