Evening star., 1937-11-06

machines I'm Europe, and people who
came to hear 1t did so as we would today
to hear a radio If there were only one
set in existence.
Mozart wrote q couple OF fantasies sor
the contraption. These were excellent
musical compositions. Beethoven's work
Tor the mechanical organ, the psuedo-
symphony in praise of Wellington, some
times called the battle symphony, was
pure pot-bOiler which reflected no credit
on his genius. 1t is interesting to real
ize, however, that these great figures were
interested in one of the forerunners of
our several modern mechanical music
makers. Little more is heard of the
sneering attitude toward these various
inventions; it has been lost over the years,
especially in the past decade, as it be-
comes increasing apparent that these
are master music makers, wholly with
out any touch of what the average per-
son means when he used the word me
chanicsl' in regard to an art.
II there is any fault in mechanical
music today, and, of course, it is not per-
feet, 1t mostly lies with the use, and SO
goes back to the user. If we use recorded
music properly, with some firm grasp of
the place music ought TO occupy in a
civilized life, we will not abuse it as re-
CARDS too frequent performance.
Those great piano numbers, for in
stance, the thirty-two Beethoven soma
tss, sometimes called the Bible of the
pianist, may be played to DEATH too,
although not as quickly as modern jazz
tunes, whose numbers are as the leaves
OF the trees in autumn, and nowhere
near as lasting. Fallen leaves may be
made into compost, and help new things
grow into life in years to come, but what
Is more dead than last years foxtrots,
with some exceptions?
The fine organ fantasia instanced
would pail on any ear, if it we're heard
morning. noon and night, in Washington
or Vienna, or anywhere else.
Music is a sensitive plant.
Whether ii is Watered with our tears,
or stimulated by the loud laughter of
the big apple" it cannot stand constant
repetition.
1t is said that Beethoven, when he
wanted to multiply "a by l3. had to put
down thirteen 24s, and add them. He
couldn't multiply. but he could add.
If We, as listeners, multiply the sounds
in our ears by constant repetition of
musical works within too short a time.
We tend to stultify our own love of music.
II we add playing upon playing, it works
out to the same sad sum.
Musical amateurs who like TO plav
chamber music, the famous quartets and
trios, know how necessary it is not TO
meet too often.
A genius may live with his music, as
familiar companion, but how many per-
sons are geniuses? Yet they may be sin
cere lovers of music.
The stGlty to play some instrument
well will allow one TO hear music oftener.
But this age has bred vast number of
lovers of music who cannot play. Theirs
Is the pleasant duty of listening. They
will find that too much music is bad.
They will be tempted to overdo it, but
they should resist as best they can. One
good way is TO read more about music.
When one is tempted to listen again TO
number heard only the day before, turn
10 some good book and read about the
composition instead. The modern lis
teners problems are different from those
of any music lovers who ever lived before.
II we have modern musical means. we
have modern problems, too, as the result
of them