Evening star., 1934-12-17

AAAObAAOA bAAS SAAA oSok,
On the program selected for yester-
days concert Of the National Sym
phony, DR.. Kinder chose just the
numbers that would please holiday
minded public. Lovely old French
Noels in the excellent overture which
Philip James has written, q beautiful
old Concerto per Ia Notte di Natalie" !"
by Manfredini, both heard for the first
time in this city, and Rimsky- -Korsa
koff's charming Introduction and
Polonaise," from his Christmas Eve"
contained the religious and festive at
mosphere which belongs to this season.
There was a viril quality in Mr..
James conducting of his own overture,
the first guest conductor to direct the
National Symphony, which imme-
diately established community OF spirit
throughout the hall. Skillfully writ
ten, with the two French carols,
"Venez, Divin Messie" and "Rejouis-
sez-vous, Divine Marie" for basic
melody, 1t contains an undercurrent
Of Joy that was always present in the
early Christmas celebrations. A con-
crete work satisfying for its finished
form and elaboration Of simple melody,
it was a joyous introduction to the
rest Of the program. Mr.. James was
heartily welcomed for his spirited read
ing of this charming number and
forced to acknowledge several recalls.
Deeply impressive was the classical
Concerto" by Manfredini. particu-
larly the Pastorale movement. Italian
grace gave a flowing suavity to the
more severe form and the spiritual
character was enhanced by use Of two
violins as solo with an accompaniment
| of strings and piano. Although weak
ening somewhat in the two following
movements, the Pastorale was sum-
cient in its purity of outline and re-
| ligious significance to place the Con-
certo" on a equal footing with the
cherished masterpieces of composers
who, many years later, thought in the
same musical idiom as Manfredini.
Between the concerto and the Rus
sian version of Christmas Eve" by
Rimsky- Korsakoff, DR.. Kinder gave
two of the Brahms Hungarian
Dances" those heard before by the
National Symphony being so well re-
ceived that DR.. Kinder chose Nos. /
and for yesterdays program. Their
verve and elan were stressed in q well
accentuated reading that was reve-
lation OF the artistic elasticity Of the
orchestra. Somewhat in the nature
| of a Christmas gift the addition by
DR.. Kinder Of the Fifth" and Sixth
Hungarian Dances" as encores, the
opening chords being interrupted by
| the delighted recognition of the au-
| dience.
An atmosphere apart but fitting In
excellently with its temperamental
swing was the Nights in the Gardens
of SPAIN" by De Falla, with the
Chilean pianist, Blanca Renard, as
soloist. Although De Falla has put
most of the descriptive material in the
orchestra. Nine. Renard played the
piano obligato with a crisp, clear
touch and a true Spanish color that
stood out above the more complex
orchestra scoring. 1t will be pleasure
to hear this excellent artist again in
a longer and more individual program,
for her success was very genuine, as
the audience tried to convey with its
applause.
The program finished with the
charming number by the Russian, who
delighted to visualize In music the rich
fairy lore of his country. A most
satisfying concert. Dr. Kinder sent
his auditors home with his personally
expressed Christmas good wishes.