Evening star., 1932-03-06

| York Philharmonic in the place
of ToScanini, is the pill merchant.
Sir Thomas is not a pill mer-
chant. But his father waS-and
it is, perhaps, due to the success
of these small medical nourlSh-
mentS that his son was able to
devote his life so completely and
successfully to music. Trained at
Rossall School and Wedham Col
lege, oxford, in musical apprecia-
ton, he first conducted a touring
opera company back in 1902. His
first orchestral conducting was
done three years later with the
Queens Hall Orchestra in Lon
don. Here his promenade con-
certs have become an institution
almost a tradition. Sir Thom-
as only other appearance III
Washington occurred back in
1928. when he was guest conduct
or of the Philadelphia Symphony
Orchestra.
Sir Thomas is said to have lost
as much as a million pounds on
opera. His pet scheme at the
moment is an Imperial Opera
League, which he told reporters
when he recently landed in New
York has a vast membership of
10000 and considerable money"
EMERSON MEYERS, one of the
- younger musical giants in
this town, who has given some
very credible accountings of his
skill during the past season, does
not find that all's right with the
world. In fact, he is greatly at
odds with those who have at
tended his recitalS in a critical
capacity. Mr.. Meyers vents his
diSpleasure with the press in an
article recently published in the
Says he: II am always on the
watch for comments of conStruc-
tive criticism, and so the first
thing 1 do is to examine the per-
son who is so interested as to
speak to me or of me- Are they
even capable of any opinion con-
corning an artistic rendition of
anything? That is the vital and
important first question and, if
subdivided into its possible quoti-
ents, could be the last question.
Suppose I first examine the
common or garden variety of
newspaper critics. 1t seems to me
that newspaper editors think
nothing of or care nothing for
the public opinion concerning the
music or a sincere artist. Those
people assigned to cover concerts
and recitalS seem to me, as far
but musicians. The best I've seen
was one who played the fiddle in
a high school orchestra. Usually
the critics are movie news editors,
stock market reporters or society
writer's, who volunteer (or are
aSked) to do the work for an oc-
casional by the-line' or extra
fee - With the exception of
a few good ones rarely ever take
the words of newspaper critic
without grain, or, perhaps, a
ton of salt.
It don't believe either that the
player of one instrument can
give a true opinion on the con-
cert of the player of another and,
as far as any instrumentallst
understanding singer, why
speak of the impossible?
MR.. MEYERS examination of
1'A newspaper editors is unusual
and the fact that the best" he
has seen was one who played
the fiddle in a high school or
chestra" leads one to wonder just
how far he has delved. 1t would
be interesting to ascertain, too,
Just who is the "stock market
reporter" with musical tastes.
Mr.. Meyers theory that the play
er of one instrument cannot give
a true opinion of the player OF
another and the inStrumentalist
incapable of judging the singer
is also an interesting idea-but
one which seems particularly out
of Joint. That is as much as to
say that because Mr.. Kinder
plays the cello he cannot apprecl-
ate a good or bad voice when he
hears one. In his general scheme
of things, then, Mr.. Meyers would
have a Rosa Ponselle criticize a
Jeritza, a Kreisler a Heif1tz, d
Gigli Martinelli, and, perhaps,
Josef Hoffman an Emerson
Meyers.