Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-28

~ After a week of 'Messiahs" more or
- less, all over the place, with emphasis
on Mr. Hetzel's choral efforts at Central High
School there is such calm as the Sea OF
CaliIee might envy The New Year floats in
ON a tide totally void of Accomplishments by
musical cymba or trunpetS, and whole week
elapses before activities assume any kind OF
worthy proportions again
Even IT, however the concerts of the great
are muted during the coming week, and one is
forced to look back wistfully Paderewskis,
Iturbis, Cossackers and Clairberts, the week
following brings German music and musicians
into the foreground And this Is something
well worth checking of on the "muSts" of the
calender This years German Opera Company,
with the new manager, J. j. Vincent, is quite
out of the ordinary. Apart from Juliette Lppe,
who took herself OF a tangent musical
cloud, the company is full of the same prodigious
talent that marked it so auspiciously last year
plus much that is new-and, according TO MI
Vinc ent, who tramped all over the continent In
search of talent-remarkable
Prominent in the long roster of stars who
will sing out their hearts and souls on the
stage of the National Theater beginning week
from Monday viii be Max Roth Carl Braun.
Eleanor Starkey, Johannes Sembach, Marie
Won Essen Dorothy Citizens and, of course,
Nine Johannes Gadsd, who needs no intro
ductiOn in any place or at any time. Much
interest too, is conferred in Max van Schilling,
the new director, who is pne Of the foremost
authorities on Wagner, besides being the
eminent general director OF the Berlin
Etaatsopera.
And then there is that dance recital Of
Mary wigman at the National on the 9Th,
which is Of such very great interest to all
those who are smitten with the dance bug, or
otherwise.
A NEW book appears ON the Appleton horizon,
called, provocatively enough. What Do
You Know About Music?" The bright red cover
EavS "a md
the inside, and that it is "A liberal education
for every music lover"
There seems TO- be little doubt about the lat
ter If one could digest its ESQ pages at q
single sitting, one would be the wisest music
sleuth in the world, and probably the most ir-
ritating dogmatic pedagogue. Be that as it may,
the book Is recommended as household neces-
Eity for those who indulge in musical badinage
after the evening meal, and who wish to trip up
their neighbors in knowledge of the most noisy
Of the arts
Among the various subdivisions that the
author, Albert w. Weir, has provided this with
are harmony, folk songs, grand opera, light
opera, music criticism, stringed Instruments
music magazines, percussion instruments music
copyright wind instruments, Indian music mu-
s1cal history, musical FORM sacred music choral
music, chamber music, the orchestra, painting
and music and music terms. This is only very
small percentage of the many music fields that
1t delves into and pumps with devastating
thoroughness
The questions are likely to pucler the brow
Of the most astute musical generalissimo-in-
deed, one wonders If even st. Cecilia herself, in
her most patroniZng moments would be able to
snap out correct replies without rustling around
her own private dictionary. Here are a list of
some Of the milder queries: what four stringed
instruments preceded the violin?" what Amer
lean woman violinist born at New York In 1858
played the Bach double concerto with her teach
er, Joseph Joachim, at the Crystal Palace in
LOndon?" How were orchestras conducted in
the days Of Handel and Bach?" What Is a
'leit-motif?" what does the word tenor
really mean?" when was the term sonata
first uSed?" And below are listed some ques-
tons that seem not so easily answered:
What English king had band Of II trum-
pets 10 Hombones and kettlsdrums?
What celebrated painter selected flute con-
cert by Frederick the Great as a subject?
What modern German composer wrote a
symphonic poem based on Macbeth?
What two beautiful waltzes by Ziehrer are
still popular?
What is the rhythmic popularity Of the
ezardas?
What other Spanish word means the same as
'bolero"?
What is the difference between noise and
musical sound?
flynn for Aviators" during the World War?
What are Waits?
What popular German comedian wrote the
lullaby Go to Sleep, Lena Darling?
How Is kettledrum music written?
The answers to all these are safely tucked
away in the back of this large and generous
book To say that some of them do not seem
especially important might be unkind But it
is true. Many OF them however, win ignite the
curiosity of the most sage and venerable art
lists and, as q mental tonic strongly favored
with music it should do for the children, any