Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-14


Of musical talent in this country Is
the theater orchestra pit. Here the
seeds of such prodigious talents as
are George Gershwin's were first sown,
Here Irving Berlin started on his popular waltz
career And here have flouriShed from time
to time certain promising strains of Jazz"
which suggested better things and were per-
haps overlooked in the general. run Of banality
that is so often the tempo Of the average Ameri-
can musical revue.
Setting aside the higher planes Of opera and
the orchestral field and composers whose fame
has been launched through the ministration
Of their purely classical fingers, the stage at
this time is formulating music of its own which
may or may not lead to something f1ne.
Strengthening this belief comes the shrewd and
well tempered opinion of Olin Downs-erudite
music critic of the New York T1mes-who
youchsafes the prophecy that certain Arthur
Schwartz may eventually lead the musical
comedy revue from its comparative state OF
conventional inertia into something Infinitely
better and infinitely more worthwhile
This it seems, is the first time that 1t has
been suggested that musc-in its own right
should do anything to bring about the saliva
ton of the stage. And yet Mr.. Downs says
emphatically that to his mind the music tIlat
Mr. Schwartz has written for new revue en-
titled 1.-The Band Wagon" is so nasterful in
its entity as to bring forth the praise OF ARCH
angels, and should do much TO rareIy the
stagnant atmosphere of such theatrical things.
witty" and "piquant' are the names applied
to the score which the composer has contrlved
for this revue-which names incidentally mlgnS
be used in connection with much American
music that is being written today-apart from
the lyric chorals and orchestrations supplied SO
appealingly by Deems Taylor and Howard
Hanson.
\ AR. DOWNS said, in part: ut remains that
wi the melodic facture and the workmanship
mot
only delightful for what they are but rather
Intoxicating for what they may hint OF the
future.
Americans are not a people who sit down
in the presence of achievement. There are
plentiful signs that MIR. Schwartz himself Is not
going to rest on his oars or be content with
what he already DOES so well But inevitably
his colleagues of the revue and musical COM
edy will have to beStir themselves. The Il.
brettists will have to wake up. The audiences
having been walked up by some new ideas, VIII
not readily forego the desire for more OF them
and they will be intolerant OF too much medioc-
rity in the wake of such creative efforts One
may indulge in the desperate hope that through
these deeds of the composer and hbrettists
American musical comedy will raise its stand
ards and in doing will be more indicative
of the real temperament and mentality OF place
and period than has been the case for many
moon.
Authenticity Is as regrettably lacking in the
symphonic productions Of American compos-
ers as it is usually absent from the hobbling
productions of the musical theaters. The Band
Wagon is American in essence, but not bump
hously or provincialy Who dares to
breathe the hope that the show which opened
recently may constitute promise Of distant
day when we shall have q school Of American
musical revue, comedy, operetta or what not.
with characteristics as truly distinguishing as
those of the operetta schools Of Paris or
Vienna or other representative centers Of art?
Best Of all, If the indications Of Mr.. Schwartz's
ma9fc are trustworthy ours win not be q school
which casts its ideas in any one mold, or limits
Is forms by any fxed tradition"
"A /HEN an authority such as Mr.. Downs casts
wv his eyes on the music of review and
finds 1t good there must be something TO 1t.
N augers well, too, further afleld than one
might expect For, there is little question but
that that inescapable mouthpiece Of the musical
art-the radio-will transmit to the listening
world the substance Of Its merits and that the
younger as well as the older generation VIII
soon be imbibing its fruits.
As q matter OF fact the Importance Of the
radio at this time Is not 70 be overlooked. 1t
Is educating . great part Of the country IN
what 1t considers to be (and~ frequently is not)
music. The more Mr.. Schwartzs that come
along the better it viii be for the sophomore
except for "jazz" occasions. If "3aZx" Is guided
by Gershwins and SchwartzS there may be hope
for its future. AS it is 1t seems to be becoming
gentler I'm its various manifestations and more
as IL 1t were trying to get back to the grace
full lyricisms of the lace-and-bustle days. It
will, Of course, never 60 Victorian on us-it
win never he docilly dulcet L. Gilbert and
Sullivan. But at present It's noises have begun
to mute themselves, its rantingS are turning
into mellow roar and its raucous tootings
and impolite chickering's are going back where
they came from-and what with Mr.. Downs
spotting Mr.. Schwartz on the horizon all may
soon be q distinctly pleasing American tin