Evening star., 1932-01-17

that the StrawinSky Con-
certo was not written on an
order for Samuel DuShkin
MIR. Dushkin explained on his re-
cent visit here with the Philadel-
phia Orchestra that 1t was
written at the request of a GER
tain German music firm, which
also handles Mr.. Dushkin's vari-
Gus works and tranScriptionS, and
that it was ordered by that firm
at a time when it happened the
violinist was in the vicinity. DuSh-
kin, hearing about it, naturally
became interested, met Straw
insky for the first time, Sug-
gested that he undertake the
work for the composer, and the
composer, who had heard the
violiniSt on several occasions, be-
came delighted at the prospect
and invited him to visit him ano
to help him with certain technical
matters relevant to it. There
upon DuShkin went to Nice, later
to a little place outside of
Grenoble, and had the very good
fortune for six months not only
of being the guest of StrawinSky
but of watching him work and
finally of helping him in this
work.
Mr.. DuShkin is alive with
StrawinSky's genius. He talks of
him with a ZeSt that is as notice
able as his zeSt at playing the con-
certo. "StrawinSky," he says, lis
not a futurist, as so many would
have him. He is an artist OF to-
day, not of tomorrow. Three
years from now his work will be
as different as his work Of yes
terday is to today's."
How long did it take him to
write the violin concerto?"
Two years and six months. He
began thinking about it two years
ago, and then Slaved at it for six
months"
What do you mean by slaved?"
"Just that. Working day and
night, increasingly. You know,
after it was done he had some
kind of a breakdown. He had to
60 to a sanatorium and rest for
a while"
els he vigorous about all his
muSic?"
Absolutely. He does not COM
pose easily. He wrestles with it,
almost fights over it. 1t doesn't
just f1ow."
What kind of hours does he
give up to it?"
HE compoSeS, in the strict
sense, during the morning. And
in the afternoon and evening he
goes over it, edits it and orches-
trates it."
"Is it true that he doesn't like
Wagner"
NO, it is not. He doesn't ad-
mire his methods, since they are
foreign to his own, as much as
he does, for instance, Mozart.
But to say that he doesn't like
some of Wagner's works Is ridicu-
lous. He is very fond of a good
deal of his music" Hence Mr..
Gilman's assertion is probably
true, namely, that Strawinsky is
quoted as having said: Without
any intention to belittle Wagner,
I must confess that find his
compositions unimportant.")
1t seems that Dushkin and
Strawinsky have become very
good friends. For that reason, as
well as many others, since the
former has as much faith in this
concerto as the composer must
have, he is a little hurt that some
of the critics have been so scath-
ing in their attacks on it. After
all" he says, they are mainly
disappointed because Strawinsky
isn't writing in the same mood as
his "Sacre," for instance. But
why should he? He is a creative
artist. He will never do anything
that he has done before. He isn't
influenced by outside things. All
his work is himself. That is why
you can never tell what he may
do in the future-and that is why
his music is music of this mo-
ment rather than that of the next
or the next.
"You know it is a curious fact
that each of his works has
taken 10 years to become popular.
He has undergone, too, the same
process, for instance, that Wagner
did. At first he was hooted out
of court, then taken over by the
musicians and finally by the pub
lic. And then as each new work
appeared underwent the same
treatment"
It is a fact, nevertheless, that
StrawinSky has a great hold on
the public at present. DuShkin
points out that each time work
of his is announced on a program,
in Europe as we'll as over here,
the house is crowded. DuShkin
believes StrawinSky is a genius
because he is held by no bands
and no conventionalitieS. In this
violin concerto, for example, III
the opening phrases he uses the
violin against background of
braSses, which has never been
done beforehand in the rest of
it he has written little to satisfy
the average violin virtuosoS. "You
notice there are no trillS, no vir-
tuoSos excitements which any
other composer would have felt 1t
necessary to inject"
Thus StrawinSky, a man who
goes his own way. Who is writing
Uhat he wants tn write and not