The Washington times., 1937-12-25
PERCY GRANGER
TO Give PIANO.
CONCERT HERE.
TsChaikowsky W or k
Is His Selection
BY WILLIAM NEWMAN

splendid ensemble resumes its con
certS on January 9. is Percy Grain
ger, a picturesque figure among
the pianists. He should evoke tor
rents of sound from his Steinway
when he opens the imposing first
movement of the Tschaikowsky
piano concerto. which he is to
play with the orchestra here.
Granger has been with us since
before the war, yet seemingly gets
no older. AS a composer he has
concerned himself almost exclu.
sively with refurbiShing English,
Celtic and American folk,Song and
dressing their quaint and char
acteristic melodies in strange mod
ern harmonieS, that, nevertheless,
seem to fit. The interlude Of the
war made a clarinet player out Of
him, and when that serious instru.
ment failed to satisfy his passion
for the unusual, saxophonist. He
has a kindly feeling for popular
music, at least for its bizarre
colors, which he turns to his own
highly decorative and sometimes
eccentric purposes.
ENGAGING VISITORS
Two engaging visitors end the
years major musical events. They
are Bidu Sayoa, lyric soprano,
and Richard Crooks, tenor Of the
same classification, both Of the
Metropolitan Opera. That means,
Of course, that they could write,
Of the Chicago, st. Louis and
San Francisco operas after their
names were it not generally un.
derstood that practically all the
stars now active in Americas i'm.
ported opera derive from its his
toric home in New York.
Crooks is an American as popu.
lar in concert as in opera. It ap-
pears that the mantle Of John
Mccormack has descended upon
his shoulders, for he comes Of the
same race and can eXalt the same
departments Of song with the
1uster of a rarely sympathetic
voice and the cunning of a keen,
interpretative sense. His concert
career has occupied the larger
part Of his life since he began as
q boy soprano.
Miss Sayoa is from another
race and world Just now she is
occupied with what promises to be
a highly successful effort to take
over the Bori roles at the Met and
satisfy an army devoted to the
lovely little Spaniard and her art,
JOINS MISS SAYOA
Mr.. Crooks will provide the
songs that appear on the program
Of Mrs. Lawrence Townsend's first
concert in the Mayflower series
Monday morning and will join
Miss Sayoa in operatic excerpts.
Jascha Heifetz will play a violin
recital in Constitution Hall on Sun
day afternoon, January 2. Since
he shed the glamour that sur
rounded his music making during
the first years Of his career here
as a Wunderkind, Heifetz has
found scope for his imagination
only in his art. He will satisfy
one element among his admirers
with a performance of the D
major Mozart concerto, Of which
one has every right to expect
classic perfection, and he will
challenge the same group with a
transcription of a famous or
chestral work, DebuSSy's After
noon Of a Faun," which he has
reduced to a violin solo with
piano accompaniment.
Children old and young will be
made happy by the performance,
Sunday, at the Rialto Theater, OF
H u m per lin ck'S "HaenSel and
Gretel," sponsored by the Wash
ington Popular Opera Association.
Dr.. Walter Bauer has joined this
group as conductor Of this per
9ormance and has drawn his cast
from the highly successful COM
pany that operates chiefly with
native talent at the New York
Hippodrome.
STRESSES q. s. MUSIC
The Philadelphia Symphony
chooses to stress American music
at its concert in Constitution Hall
on January II. The major work
announced is the third symphony
by Harl Mcdonald. 1t adds the
chorus to the symphonic voices
and makes use Of a dramatic So
prano solo voice. The choir comes
from the University Of PennSyl-
vania, and the SoloiSt will be
Selma Amansky, Of Philadelphia
Ormandy is to conduct this con-
cert, and he takes occasion to
stress an anniversary He will
offer Cailliet's transcription Of a
PaSsacaglia by BuXtehude and Of
that attractive piano suite by
MoussorgSky entitled. Pictures in
an Exhibition"
Margaret, Speaks, one Of the
most successful radio artists of
the present, comes for a song re.
cital at Roosevelt High School on
January 5. under auspices OF the
Community Center Department OF
the D. c. public schools. Details
Of her program have not been re.
ceived.
TRUDI SCHOOP RETURNS
satires on life are the speciality
Of Trudi Schoop and her comic
ballet who come to the National
Theater for a matinee perform