Evening star., 1933-03-19
THIS coming week there will
| appear at Constitution Hall

4 youngest virtuoso before the
public today 1gnace PadereWSki,
the greatest pianist Of his day,
and Yehudi Menuhin, the young
genius of the violin, will prove
that where ait and the supreme
gift of understanding it is con-
cerned, there is no question of age
or nationality. The. opportunities
for greeting the magnificent
Paderewski are growing fewer and
this man who has been called "A
Musical Odessey" is resting more
and more on the shining laurels
he has won through his enormous
genius and astounding personal
ity. The applause of frenzied au-
diences entice him less often to
the routined giving of concerts.
Yehudi Menuhin, standing on the
threshold of life and predestined
for the select company of great
musicians, returns with the
glamour OF fresh European sue
cesses about him to proclaim that
the young prodigy has developed
into the young genius.
In announcing that his recital
would be in the nature of a bene-
mt, PadereWSki is following a Gus
tom he adopted ON his first Ameri-
can tour. During the six months
he spent in this country in 1891
ne gave 1T concerts. For each
Of these the public had turned
out in enormous numbers and Law
iBhed on him all the admiration
his extraordinary playing had
aroused. His last concert, which
was to take place at the Metro
politan Opera House, has been Or
ganized to help raise a fund for
the building of the Washington
Arch and PaderewSki seized the
opportunity offered to make re-
turns to the kindly Americans by
donating his services for this per-
torrance.
On his second tour in 1892 he
gave four recitalS for charity and,
wishing to finish with a fitting
gesture toward the land which had
so generously received him, he Of
fered to play for the two open
Ing concerts of the worlds fair
on May 2 and 3, 1893 Not only
did he turn over the large receipts
OF these concerts in full, but he
postponed his departure for Eu-
rope for week and travelled 1000
miles from his last concert date
in order to participate. In 1900
PaderewSki made still more sub
stantial return for the monetary
gains he had made in this coun-
try by establishing trust fund
OF $4,000 for aiding musical de-
velopment in the United States
and in particular to encourage
American composers. According
to the initial arrangement, the
trustees were authorized to offer
prizes every three years for the
best compositions by native Amer
lean COMPOSERS. Henry Hadley,
Horatio Parker, Arthur Bird and
Arthur Shepherd were the first
to benefit by this generosity.
Perhaps no pianist since the
time OF List has aroused such
personal interest on the part of
the public as has PadereWski. His
marvellous hair. once of a glorious
Titan red, framing a face whose
features had the majesty of ain
eagle, his exotic temperament and
his largeness Of soul all drew the
public attention which, when
combined with the marvel of his
playing, raised him to the plane
OF a demi-god. He inaugurated a
new era in piano playing. Such
technical mastery, tone, color and
pedal control had not been heard
before and his inspired interpre-
tations soon placed him above all
other pianists. Walter Damrosch
said Of him that he might also
have been the worlds greatest
composer, but then he could not
have reigned for so long as the
worlds greatest pianist"
1t has been said that art is
Poland'S revenge" PaderewSki
has again chosen an all-Chopin
program for his concert this week
and thus Poland's dead genius will
be interpreted by her living rep
reSentative. PadereWSki's devotion
to Chopin has always been eX-
treme. Some years ago at the
Chopin Centenary Festival in
Lemberg, PadereWSki made the
opening address. Here, at this
very moment, there rises amid us,
above us, the radiant spirit of one
who was. Through heartache,
through creative pain. he marked
to his country's glory the burning
trace of his existence. He was a
smuggler, who, in harmless rolls of
music, carried contraband Polish
patriotism to his brothers across
the border; he was a priest who,
far and wide about the world,
brought the sacrament of their
martyred home. He Is ours and
we are his; the whole of our COL
lective soul is in him made mani
fest. Blessed be the past, the
great, the sacred past which
brought him forth"
GIT is rare that child of genius
becomes a man of talent"
had been written regarding Mozart
and without doubt this same
thought has been in the minds of
many as they waited for the next
step in the development of Yehudi
Menuhin. He is now l6 years old,
long trousered. and otherwise
clothed in a young mans dignity.
He celebrated his 18th birthday
by giving a recital at Carnegie
Hall on January % and the long
awaited moment for according
him a definite place had arrived.
In Europe. a few months before,
an English critic wrote of him:
TT is inaccurate to speak of him
as prodigy any longer. There
is only one term for Menuhin-he
is a miracle"
An eager crowd filled every nook
and Granny OF the big hall ready
to welcome the little boy who had
deliphted them with his marvel