New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1929-01-14
String BREAKS
As Tones SOAR
All Roseas SIR Nlnb6 In
ttrruptd il Civic Coacsrt

High lights in the concert Of
Nanette Guilford and Max Rosen at
the Capitol >theater y&eterdsy after
noon (second in tia Civic M.nic AS
ISOLATION course) were!
(a) A string ON Mr.. Roscn's fid-
die broke just as he was in the
midst Of his star number.
tb) Miss Guilford lin private
life Mrs. Rosen) attained her most
acclaimed success when singing and
acting a little added humorous song
while her hubby affixed new
string to his instrument.
Rosen . Great Player
The concert did not furnish the
excitements of thefirst on the Civic
course. when Rudolph CAM carried
everything before him: but yielded
a closeup view of a most remark
able man, one Of whose seriousness
of purpose. sincerity, and ability.
there could be no doubt. This of
course refers to Max Rosen. whose
colorful career began on the East
Side of New York, who was prodi-
gy at Is, and who today stands very
high among the worlds leading
violinists.
In one respect the second concert
Of the series had the same result
as the first-the man on the plat
form got the most applause. Miss
Guilford is a Metropolitan songbird,
true enough: but this doesn't mean
a thing when the co-worker Is
simply overburdened with that
something which makes an intelli-
gent audience sit up and marvel.
Miss Guilford Simply Good
The songbird had q voice-and
plenty of 1t. She needed an orches-
ira rather than a piano played by an
accompanied who had such a light
and dainty touch that most Of the
time the instrument sounded as If it
were back stage.
Miss Guilford's voice easily could
have filled the most remote recesses
of the Metropolitan. and there was
no doubt about how 1t sounded In
the Capitol. She quieted down. how
ever in the Brahms Folk Song
the most heart-throbbing Of her Of
ferings-and In the Schubert
"Gretchen and spinnrad." When she
reached the palm Trees" by Rich
ard Wilens-who happened to be
the accompanist-the most modern
arty song of the afternoon was
reached, and the comp0ser-accom-
PIANIST bounded all over the key
board. It was O brilliant presenta-
ton.
Drafts from Rack Stage
In the opening aria Miss Guilford
substituted "Ernani Involami" by
Verdi, rendered without distinction.
1t served to warm up the singer and
the accompanist, however. and ac-
custom them to their surroundings:
especially the accompanied. There
was such a draft back stage that the
leaves of the music the pianist was
reading continually tapped, ,necessi-
Eating the use Of one hand to hold
the music while he played with the
other. After that the pianist used q
helper to keep the music pages
where they belong. Mas Guilford
wore her hat during the first num-
Der to keep her brow warm.
1t is not often. perhaps that the
''1nere accompanist" at a recital gets
special mention. Wilens. however,
happens to be one Of those genuine
musicians who have come here dur
ing recent years. He conducted an or
chestra In Dresden with Max Rein
hart during the latter's epochal
stage productions there. He came to
this country four years ago and In
tends to stay. 1t was neat touch to
include two of his songs on the
program, both of which were well
received and forced the composer
to bow to the applause.
When tho String Broke
Rosen was playing the Pa4anini
Caprice in A minor when the string
broke. It was memorable per-
Torrance all the same. The Pa
ganini composition contains breath
taking difficulties, but In addition Is
exceedingly satisfying to auditors.
About everything that can be done
on a violin Is included in Its vivid
pages and Rosen combined an indi-
vidual tone within astonishing mas
terry of its pitfalls. When the wicked
string snapped Rosen stopped. bow
ed his way of stage, and his wife
filled in until he had replaced the
catgut. When he returned he pro-
ceeded to play about where he had
stopped previously and reached hts
destination with the most energetic
applause of the afternoon.
Previous to this adventure he had
warmed his fingers with Tartinfs
''Devil's Trill." which also possessed
some hair-raising characteristics.
And Then = Gem
A superb portrayal Of the elesiac
mood of schubert's Ave Maria"
rendered az an encore, went to ev-
eryone's heart 1t was a soul-stirring
experience to watch an artist Of
such deep seriousness az Rosen vir-
tually fling himself into the mood Of
this masterpiece. His tone on the
low strings was % onorous reso-
nance: the me, We repeated in
double stops higher strings
was a sun-bat' serene purity and
repose. The whole was the quintes-
sence of art, tbs concerts fairest
fower.-G.H.
Frogs and toads destroy vast
numbers Of insects and worms.