Evening star., 1933-02-26
.OR the first time In the his
r. tory of this country a SYM

:. tO1y Va tlAo SOuAiVAJ ~ AAA
phony orchestra. made pos
sible by the united contri-
..tbutions Of the men, women and
'1children of the Nations Capital,
Twill be the feature of the inaugu-
kal celebrations. The concert to
{be given on March 3 will be in
sscribed imperishably in the his
.torical chronicles of all Inaugural
'tions as the first time three such
yartists as PonSelle, Tibbett and
Zimbalist have appeared on such
IAN occasion and the first time
Washington has had an orchestra
that was able to support three
Such world famous stars.
To many it may seem as just
another concert of celebrities, but
it Is more than that. There are
degrees of celebrity and Saturday
will see on the program three
names that stand for the highest
achievements in the concert field
today. Two of these artists are
American born. Not in the years
of opera in this country have we
had an opportunity to be so
genuinely proud of a singer as we
can be today of Tibbett. He is a
vindicatiOn of our talent and a
beacon light Illuminating the
qualities that will make American
artists one day leaders of the
world. His performances en- the
concert stage have for some time
opened the f1oodgates of enthusi-
astic praise, but his creation OF
the character of Emperor Jones
this Winter has been so aStonish-
ing for power and finesse that
critics have found even the su-
perlative phrases inadequate to
make the public understand how
great is this artist.
Rosa PonSelle also is an Ameri-
can product, although her Italian
parentage makes her exceptional
voice and artistic temperament a
reasonable heritage. Neverthe-
less, Miss PonSelle was born in
America, educated here, and is
Americas finest singing actress.
For many years Efrem ZimbaliSt
has been an American and, rank
ing as a violinist of artistic su-
periority and individuality, he has
given out his talent in abundance
to the land Of his adoption.
Such artists of repute are ap-
pearing with the National SYM
phony Orchestra in celebration
that has the eyes of the world
fixed upon it. At the last inau-
gural, four short years ago, the
National Symphony was not even
thought of. Yet in the space OF
two years it has taken its place
as a Junior but efficient member
of the orchestral world along with
the New York Philharmonic, the
Boston and the Philadelphia Or
chestras.
The pride of the citizens of this
city is being substantially ex-
pressed in the response to the
appeal for funds to continue this
orchestra that has been made.
The love and desire for good
music is shown in the returns that
have followed Mr.. Kindler's plea
to name what compositions the
public would like to hear repeated.
Up to date Ravel's "Bolero" leads
the list, followed by Schubert's
unfinished S y m p h IN y -
Respighi's pines of Rome" LISTS
Hungarian Rhapsody, No. q"
and Kindler's Dutch Tunes OF the
Sixteenth Century" Some of
these numbers will be on the
March II program. When Mr..
Kinder made his appeal he said:
"This orchestra belongs to the
people Of Washington. want
them to feel that it IS theirs.
There is no better way to crystal
lize that feeling than to have
every one interested indicate
what he wishes us to play"
It is but natural that one should
bask in the reflected glory of such
an orchestra and be pleasantly
warmed by the consciousness that
other cities, famous conductors
and celebrated artists are prais-
ing what one has helped to make
possible. However, this Is not the
moment to sit back and be con-
tent. The orchestra has reached
the same difficult point that every
artist reaches in his career. It
has made good Ind proven its
capability. It now faces the ne
cessity of not only developing fur
ther, but of keeping up to the
high standard it has set for it.
self. Any artist or any public
man will be willing to admit that
1t requires as much hard work to
keep on, after having arrived, as
to work for the first acclaim OF
success.
There is no going back for our
Symphony Orchestra. It must &c
on and climb the steep hill OF
success and ours be the shame II
we have not done all in our power
to assist it. Whenever an indi-
Vidual musician has shown un-
usual talent, it has never been
difficult to find the means to fl
nance him through a period OF
study. It is perfectly understand
able that he must be freed from
financial worries in order to con-
centrate on his artistic develop
ment. The same holds true OF
the orchestra. And all moneys in
vested will bring return a hun
dredfold for who can measure the
rewards of music in dollars and
cents.
There is, of course, the actual
money return on an investment.
If the orchestra is given financial
freedom so that it can be selec-
tive as to it's members and exact
ing as to rehearsals, it cannot only
hold the place it has won, but
be the leader among orchestras.
There is a civic pride in this. The
National Symphony Orchestra
can justify its name becoming in
reality the orchestra of the Ma
ton with a countrywide series OF
concerts in its schedule. This Is
not only a possibility, but a fact,