Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-03

existence for 192g-30 WITH
- the five-wheeled event at
the new auditorium, Constitution
Hall. last night. It was both the
opening of the new music season
and the first concert of November
A review of this varied entertain
meft will be found In the news
columns of today's Star.
The current week will have two
major professional events. To-
morrow Vladimir HorowitZ will
give q recital The young Russian
first charmed Washingtonians
with his gift and artistry as
renee Townsend presented him as
Joint artist with Anna Case in a
morning program January Ii
1928. Later he came as SoloiSt
with a leading orchestra and also
appeared in his first formal solo
recital under the management OF
Mrs. Wilson Greene, who presents
him here this time.
The other chief musical event
will be the first appearance for
the present season of the Phila-
delphia Symphony Orchestra un-
der its popular and talented con-
ductor, Leopold StokowSki.
Another program of the week
that is of high musical value, bu;
le an invitation and not q public
affair, is the recital to be given
by Oscar Seagle, distinguished
baritone, at the King Smith
School Tuesday night. Mr.. Seagle
has not been heard in Washington
since he appeared on one of Mrs.
Townsend's programs several sea-
sons ago, bat in the interim he
has won increasingly brilliant
success in recitalS in New York
and on tour through the country
His music colony at Schroon Lake,
In the Adirondacks, has wide re-
pute, attracting serious students
and professionals from practically
every State in the Union.
Later in the month, November
10, to be exact, La Argentina, the
famous dancer who is acknowl-
edged to be an authoritative in
terpreter OF the intricate art of
Spanish dancing, makes her debut
here. Roland Hayes, the Negro
tenor who appeared in two re-
citalS here last year, will give q
recital November rs.
r.
TT is interesting to contemplate
the various possible reasons for
Mr.. StokowBki'S having chosen the
program which is scheduled for
performance by the Philadelphia
symphony Orchestra under his
baton in the National Capital
Tuesday. 1t Is an unusually va
ried program without any single
dominant work. There is no SYM
phony. There is nothing but pro-
grammatic music. 1t would seem
to be an afternoon to be spent at
q musical picture gallery. Even
30, only well established claSsiciSts
are represented, DebuSsy and
Borodin both having been accept
ed long since in the fold of So
called classical composers. The
pictures offered certainly are va
fied enough in subject to intrigue
every taste. There will be Berloiz'
conception Of q Roman Carni-
yal"; Clouds" and "FeteS," from
DebuBSy'S nocturneS; the magic
flre spell music from die
Walkuere"; dances from Borodin'S
prince Igor" and also from Rim
sky-Korsakoff's Snow Maiden:
that realistic Rimsky- Korsakoff
bee" than which there is no more
Aptly musicalized insect, and
lastly, the blaring TSchaikowSky
"1S12 Overture"
One wonders, among other
things, II Mr.. StokowSki got too
completely annoyed with the
audiences that Kissed Mr.. Schoen-
berg'S Variations" both in Phila-
delphia and New York, and de-
cided that, quiet and undemon-
StrAtive though Washington audi
enceS generally are conceded to
be, he would take no chances of
meeting with frank diSapproval
from audiences in the near future.
Not that Washington music lovers
might regret being spared the
Schoenberg. However, it does
seem too bad to take one of the
four programs allotted to this city
by the managers of this fine
orchestra and devote it entirely
to such an art gallery as might
interest juveniles. There might
have been one serious composition
OF absolute" music for those who
wished to collect a really inspiring
memory to take home instead of
simply being delightfully."- enter
tanned, as seems probable with this
program.
AS for Mr.. stokowski's very
pithy remarks on the subject of
kissing in the audiences in both
the Quaker City and New York.
one reading the reviews found
particular food for thought in his
remark America should be
freeSt in thought, freeSt in action"
Surely, the severely reprimanded
souls who INDUCED in kissing were
being "freeSt in action" and show
ing highly admirable freeneSs in
thought from SlaviShly agreeing
with the opinion Of Mr. Stokowski
as to the value of Schoenberg'S
composition. What more could be
desired as evidence Of these audi
ences' freedom from conventional
restraint. OF course, as Mr..
StokowSki himself helpfully sug-
gested, they could have gotten up
and walked out, leaving vacant
seats, but on the other hand, per-
hapS some of the hiSserS really
wanted to weather the moderniStic
storm to hear the beautifully calm
and satisfying strains of the Wag-
T1er overture to "MeiSterSingerS"
later. Mr.. Stokowski's idea of
freedom in thought and action
seems quite unoriginal. In fact, 1t