The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1937-11-01
SYMPHONY GIVES
fine CONCERT TO
CAPACITY CROWD
Musicians Discipline,
Conducting Praised
Nv WILLIAM NEWMAN

tn open it's seventh season yes
terday afternoon in ConstlCuIloh
Hail, the National Symphony Or
chestra, under Hans Kinder. OIL
fered a program that ranged from
the sixteenth to the nineteenth
centuries with certain chronolos-
ical gaps. and brought great ana
obvious pleasure to an audience
of near capacity dimensions.
The orchestra is excellent TINS
season, despite its numerical
weakness in strings and orasSeS:
with money enough to make gooo
these deficiencies it could take It's
place with many older and more
celebrated organizations, for 1t mas
q fine spirit, is beautifully dis
ciplined to all the more SENSITIVE
nuances, and is especially FORTH
nate in it's woodward cholr-a
section difficult to establish ana
to maintain.
CLASSIC ORGAN MUSIC
The program began with a fine
transcription of some classic 1tal-
ian organ music, a toccata by
Freshcobaldi, which made the
most effective display of the or
chestra's massed tone that the
afternoon witnessed. There tol-
lowed an account of Tschaikow,
sky's fourth symphony that must
have satisfied every student OF this
masters tuneful and somewhat
historical art; for Conductor
Kinder minimized the over
wrought emotionalism and
stressed the melody, adjoining it
with many carefully wrought ex-
amples of the difficult art of
phrasing.
The famous pizzacato move
ment Kinder allowed the men to
play almost without the aid of
the baton. They did it brilliantly
and with a breathless softneSs
that was enchanting. However.
his impulse to quicken the pace
of the trio caused him to make
demands in the matter of tempo
which no piccolo could fulfill and
resulted in an unneceSS ary
blemiSh, one quickly forgotten in
the sentimental excitements of
the finale.
HAGEMAN FAMOUS
The assisting artists of the after
noon were the Wagnerian Sing
ers, five specialists gathered, we
are told, from the festival perform.
ances of Austria and Germany.
Richard Hageman, formerly of
the Metropolitan Operas conduct.
ing staff, was in charge. OF the
group, the bass, Alexander Kipnis,
is the only one famous on both
sides of the Atlantic. He has sung
with the major opera companies
= Of both Americas and was for
years notable figure in Berlin
and Bayreuth. He is a great
artist, so amazingly endowed that
not even years of Wagnerian abuse
have robbed his voice of its power
and its flexibility.
He dealt expertly with excerpts
from die Meistersinger" anc
'Tannhaeuser," the latter marrec
by the rhythmical eccentricitie.
Of a lost trombone substituting
Tor a missing bass trumpet. Of
the Importance of his colleague.
the listeners might well have beer
less persuaded.
Nine. Hilda Konetzni will ado
nothing to Americas musical ex
perience that could not be &C
quired at less cost from native
singers. Henk MORT has the
heroic power that Wagner exacts
Of tenors who aspire to sing the
role of Siegmund and seems tc
have troubled himself to acquire
no other artistic asset. The bari
tone. Joel Berglund is mediocre
despite the long journey from
Sweden, and the Czechoslovakian
contralto, Marta Krasova, also has
Travelled far, let us hope, to hel
own profit, but surely not to ours