The Washington times., 1930-02-28
|GLEANINGS
AND
SCREEN INGS
BY ANDREW r. KELLEY

BY ANDREW r. KELLEY
Since the open challenge
issued by Conductor Daniel
Breeskin Of the Earle Orchestra
to the entire United States
started something--I thought It
would-gpace is hereby allotted
q broadside from the opposi-
ton. ~
'.Dear Sir:
with a great deal Of in.
terest I have read Mr.. Brees-
kin's letter challenging any
theater orchestra in the United
States to play the overture he
Is to perform next week. I
have travelled ell over the
United States but have lived in
Washington for the past two
years and am q former mti.
sician. So viii endeavor (lising
the vernacular) TO put Mr..
Breeskin wise TO q few things
before he goes issuing chal-
lenges to the New York Roxy,
Capitol Theater. ETC., ensembles.
Mr.. Breeskin seems to think
an orchestra cGn be called an
orchestra simply because he
has q couple Of young fiddlers
who possess q fair degree Of
talent; but IL he would only go
back to the middle Of the
theater and hear as / do, week
after week, the brass and
woodwinds playing so fright
fully out of tune, that I've &C.
tually left the theater on occa-
sion during the playing Of the
overture. No doubt Mr.. Bree-
skin refers to the Fox Theater
! In his challenge, but In the
spirit of constructive criticism
] would advise him that music
is not prize fighting and that
the less mention he make OF
challenges, the less en1bar-
rassed he will find himself.
CHARLES CUNNINGHAM.
Ambassador Hotel"
Enjoying but a slight personal
acquaintance with Mr.. Breeskin
and not subscribing to the over
enthusiasm which prompted a
def to the musician personnel
of America, nevertheless I COM
mend him for the ShowmanShip
which inspires him TO keep his
orchestra in the public eye. Mr..
BreeSkin, as I have observed his
policy at the conductors desk,
has never conceded an inch to
those who believe that mechani-
cal music will eventually empty
the orchestra pits of the motion
picture theaters. What he has
contrived to do-and / think
with considerable measure Of
success lis increase his regular
audience by prudent and well
chosen selections from the liter
/ ature of music, plucking occa-
sionally from the library those
numbers which give his solo rnu-
sicians a Spotlighted opportun-
ity.
The heavier classics are
thrust aside for the lighter and
more melodious scores as
rule. If his excursion next
week into the realm Of diff
cult violin Instrumentation is
unusual for theater orchestraH
so perhaps is his method Of in
forming Washington about it.
But more eyes will be trained
on the Earle Orchestra when
the overture begins and more
ears tuned for the strains from
the strings. Again the end
iustifies the means.
What is showmanship? Well,
for one thing, it's the little
trick Of Rosa Ponselle's which
leads her to pause for q mo-
ment, as though she were saying
q prayer, before she begins her
selection. It's Toscanini's eccen-
tricities and gymnastics which
make him q strikingly tndivid-
ualistic conductor. It's De Pach-
mann'S pausing in the middle
Of a piano Selectio- to observe
--"Only De Pachmann can play
like that"-and later Coz mend
ing himself as greater than
Paderewsli. It's Roxy'S pre-
tending to lead a full symphony
orchestra without knowing
music except by ear and memory,
as he admits-a stick waver.
It's John McCormack's superb
dignity, singing with a slight
cold, manipulating a handker-
chief more gracefully than a
couqette with fan, and re-
spending to encoreS.
It's Walter Damrosch's taking
profound music and by simple
worded explanations and an
alysis convincing non.musicians
on the radio they like 1t. It's
the Metropolitan Opera House
surrounding Marion Talley with
such sea of home town girl
makes good" publicity and bally.
hoo some critics were afraid to
give an honest appraisal of her
voice. It's Ted Lewis and his
OF high hat. It's the thing
which inspires a master Of
ceremonies to apparently lead.
ing the orchestra although he
doesn't know a thing about
music, It's what leads Mr.. Bree-
skin to make an impressive en-.
trance. It's what causes the
curly headed Mr.. Brusiloff to
part the plush curtains and
appear after the elevator has