Evening star., 1929-07-21

sical. Last week at the Palace
Theater Senor Zelaya-Son OF q
former President of the South
American Republic of Nicaragua
who has chosen to make his home
in Washington for more than a
score of years, said: Il am con-
vinced that there are still some
people in America who have not
lost their interest in good music"
It is still true, too, that there
are some people in this country
who have yet to find their love for
good music. increasingly, how
ever, the fact is being recognized
that love for real music does ex-
ist, dormant though it may be in
some of us for a considerable
period of time.
Through the assistance of the
mechanical arts the more subtle,
delicate art of music is being
brought to the front ranks of in
terestS in the United States.
First the phonograph made it
possible for Shut-inS and MANY
other people who could not afford
expensive concerts to hear the
pret master works.
Recently the vice president of
Columbia Wholesalers, Inc, an
nounced that a Nationwide sales
report of that company revealed
surprisingly high mark for the
sale of recordings of classical
music in America. This company
was pioneer in the field of pro-
ducing master works." often in
volving several disks to record a
single composition, such as a
symphony or an opera. It also
is listed as having made the
first attempt to present unedited
chamber music in this country.
Other leading companies are buSi-
ly following similar trends in their
production.
AS far back as a year ago rep
reSentative of a leading phono-
graph concern told the writer Of
this column that already the sale
demand for records was being
limited more and more to two dis
tinct claSSeS-one, the uncompro-
misingly big classics; the other,
Jazz. The demand for records by
individual musical stars, based
upon the fame of the particular
singer or inStrumentaliSt, which
once formed SO great proportion
of the total output, is now the
smallest and most insignificant.
The people buying records for
their improved monographs
wanted the music. first and
III a
mand adequate interpretations OF
that music, the artist or artists
performing it now forms an en-
tirely secondary matter of interest
with the purchaser. This is a
most hopeful sign for real musical
development in the great audience
that Is the general public. Most
of the demands for jazz records
come from the younger element
of the public-the f1appers and
their boy friends who want to use
the records for dance accompani-
ment. ...
@s*.* ~
FOLLOWING closely upon the
i heels of the phonograph and
Spurring the makers OF the latter
instrument on to much higher de-
velopment of their instruments
was the radio. Already the nov
city of this form of music has
worn off. The musical fare being
offered over the radio has it's high
spots and also has many low spots.
The higher-claSS radio offering,
however, is on the increase. With
such musicians as DR.. Walter DAM
rosch and aDr. Sigmund Spaeth
carrying the message to school
children via radio, and to adults
via the revised consolidated
grouping of leading concert art
lists presented in small town halls
that never knew such artists be-
fore, the radio musical apprecia-
ton work is doing its bit, hand in
hand, to help the public in realiz-
ing that even the greatest musical
foundation of rich melody. Melody
sounds the keynote of interest to
any human being, from one end
of the world to the other. With
the more complicated works it
is simply a question of the listener
who is untutored in the musicians
art having sufficient patience to
listen often and more or less with
concentrated attention to acquire
familiarity with the melodic mes
sage of these compositions.
Statistics have shown that to
live long on the radio a piece OF
music must have more than SUI
perf1cial appeal. The SO-called
popular "hitS" that Tin-Pan AL
ley turns out each year have their
lives in the favor Of the public
) eye foreShortened six time the
previous length of their popular
ity by the familiarity they acquire
with frequent hearings over the
radio.
Nov comes the latest of me-
IN chanical exponents of music
to date. The "talkieS" are with us.
They are still too new to give one
much of an idea as to how they
will work out practically in fur
thering the cause of fine music.
AS the phonograph won its first
popularity with the featuring of
records by "star" SoloiSts of the
concert and opera world and the
radio won special popularity with
it's ability to give direct to millions
of homes the "hot off the griddle'
news of prizefghts, TRANSATLANTIC
flights and the voices of great
persons of the world speaking at
prominent events all over the uni
verse, SO the "talkies" have first
become popular in bringing the
actual voices of the motion pic
or CO EonlnIInh h1r fnn dir UIid 9