The Washington times., 1928-01-16
ROMAN HOLIDAY
ON THE AIR

Uu III uH
Voices Of the Americas will be
heard around the world today
from Havana without difficulty II
atmospheric conditions for the
broadcastings are anything like
they were over the weekend:
There was some noise here and
there. but it was easily tuned
out. Interference from code and
overlapping wave lengths pro-
viied the usual annoyance.
IF we were not impatient to pay
tribute to Malcolm La Prade Tor the
riotous manner in which ne made
a Roman holiday on the wave
lengths last evening during the
Golfers review program, we might
saw a few words about WRC NOV
ing into it's new studio this morn,
ing-with % rooms of the National
Press Club Building converted into
the most modern of radio Broadcast
ing stations but
The gladiatorial contest before
the Emperor Nero. which was de-
scribed, bIow-by-blow, by no less an
authority than Grahamus Mona
mesis,, provided radiotics with one
of the most entertaining bits OF
satiric comedy and evidences OF
real radio production genius we've
heard in five full years of intensive
listening. We credit La Prade with
the production because we are in.
formed he has charge of these Col.
lier's affairs as well as numerous
other WIZ productions. OF course
the original story was a happy
tTought-but without the producing
ability that spread it over the wave
lengths it would have amounted to
little radiotically.
Nothing is better, calculated to
give people the human angle on
ancient history like such direct
methods Of bringing out the ele,
mental. George Bernard Shaw has
done some of this with his plays
and John Erkskine has made a
start with his books-bat it was
reserved for La Prade to do 1t for
radio with the overwhelmingly funny
bit involving the gladiatorial units
which modern Yankee slang uttered
by a prototype of Mark Twain 8
Boss from the Connecticut
Yankee in King Arthur's Court, 2
turned into a farce.
NERO RIDDLES
TURKEY IN THE STRAW
McNamesis' init oduction of Nero
to fiddle Turkey in the Straw" as
the tune that set Rome afire," was
a real artistic touch and laying out
the prize old time gladiator with
"a haymaker that started right from
the toes and worked its way up
with a scream.
It this was a column reserved for
musical criticism alone there was
enough on the wave lengths last
evening and Saturday to fill it.
The New York symphony, Frank
Daniels in the Amer" the Fox
Symphony, the new ACQUISITION pro-
gram, Arcade BirkenboIz and Ma
thilde Harding finally Agnes
Davis, Paul Kochansky and the At.
water Kent Singers--all these con-
tributed much and expertly to en-.
tertainment and cultural uplift.
Agnes Davis, the Colorado school
ma am. who won the Atwater Kent
foundation prize as the best non.
try, was the objective of most tt1n-
ing diallists last evening. She
proved rather conclusively to most
of those who heard her that the
judges selected wisely. Her singing
of the aria that won the prize for
her was not quite so good as when
she used it to win the prize-but
her Interpretation OF the three short
ballads in the latter part of the
program proved her to be a real
singer of songs.
Paul Kochansky, her program
mate. exhibited fine violin and an
expert way of playing it during
most of his program. Only in the
last number, Rimsky-Karsakow's
Hymn to the Sum-" did he show
the fine artistry that has attracted
the attention of the world and pro-
claimed him one of its first violin.
lists.
INTENSE DRAMA
The Bible story presented as the
last feature of the Sunday evening
program was one of the most in
tensely dramatic features of the kind
we've heard magnificentIy inter
preted by Gerald Stopp's group of
actors and actresses. Involving the
story of Cain and Abel it gave many
listeners an entirely new idea Of
the great legend.
In the first paragraph we referred
to the moving of the WRC studios
to the new National Press Club
Building and just as we wrote the
last paragraph we heard an an
nouncer sign off the morning pro-
gram from the Riggs Bank-Tompkins
Building. BY the time listeners tune
in this evening possibly the new an
n0uncement will be heard. Its our
story that WRC has moved down
town and now has the finest set
of hrnadca sting studios In the coun.