Evening star., 1938-09-25

Magic Key program on its
fourth year of continuous entertain
ment today the world will be hearing
what amounts virtually to radio
debut for the beloved Polish pianist
When he accepts the opportunity to
perform for worldwide audience i.
will reduce the ranks of radio hold
outs from three to two, for only Fritz
Kreisler and Serge Rachmaninoff re-
main indifferent to the appeal of tie
ether. While the gifted master of
the keyboard is holding the atten-
ton of a world trembling from war
jltters the chances are that among
the countless millions of listeners there
will be two pairs of talented ears glued
to the loud speaker-those of ,Kreis-
Ter and Rachmaninoff.
Puzzled radio fans as we'll as musi-
cal leaders often have wondered why
these two artists consistently have
spurned all overtures from radio ex-
ecutives. Kreisler is known to have
turned down an offer of a million
dollars to play his violin in a 13-week
series of radio concerts. Although
reverence of artists and public alike
for Kreisler perhaps does not COM
pare with the affection for Paderew-
ski, the famous violinist Is generally
regarded as the No. musical at
traction of the world
Rarhmaninoff is considered the No.
2 attraction since PadereWski's partial
retirement to his villa in Switzerland
some years ago, although many musi-
clans will argue that Jascha Heifetz,
| another master Of the violin, deserves
the No. ranking. with Arturo Tos-
canini also contender for the honor.
especially since his notable radio series
last winter.
Kreisler and Rachmaninoff have
offered similar reasons for their re-
lection of offers to perform for the
worldwide audiences that only radio
can provide. They claim indifference
to radio because they feel 1t can't do
justice to their art; they refuse to
commercialize their are under spon-
sors, and they are wealthy, anyway,
and money isn't important Most
potent of these reasons is the first,
both artists taking the stand that
they feel that on the radio they
would lose control of their perform
ances to the men at the transmitter
controls. They fear the operator will
not properly interpret their playing
and believe that inferior artists can
be made to sound as we'll as they, the
greatest of instrumentalists.
TAKING diametrically opposed
position are such outstanding
musicians as Heifetz, Toscanini, Sto-
kowski and 1turbi, to mention few.
Heifetz, of later generation than
Kreisler and Rachmaninoff, claims
that the networks have experts op-
Grating the control dials. These op-
orators rehearse with the artists and
know just what to do. Heifetz con-
sequently says he plays for the micro
phone just as he plays for a concert,
knowing that the loud speaker will
be giving a faithful version of his art
OF course there is no accounting
for artistic temperaments. The gra-
cious Paderewski performed from a
tiny British radio studio some IA years
ago, but the confinement of the room
and the lack of an audience annoyed
him, and he vowed never again to
endure what to him was a gruesome
experience. Several years ago he was
persuaded to abandon his traditional
hatred of radio and agreed to broad
cast from his Swiss home to America
via short wave. Shortly before the
scheduled performance he became i'll
and called of the engagement.
Like Kreisler, Rachmaninoff and
nearly all other artists, the elderly
Paderewski has made frequent phono-
graph recordings. Kreisler and Rach-
maninoff reconcile their willingness
to make recordings and their refusal
to perform for broadcasting by ex-
planning they can listen to play
back of recorded performance and
reject it If unsatisfactory. In recent
years many radio performances are
rehearsed before a recording machine
with careful study being made of the
transcriptions before the performance
is actually performed on the air. How.
ever, Kreisler and Rachmaninof &C.
quired their anti-radio projudices ir
the early days of the arts develop.
ment, and they refuse to be moved
by the flawless radio appearances o1
their talented colleagues.
While the aging Paderewski is hold.
ing the worlds attention with hi.
radio rendition fans and artists alike
will be wondering if Rachmaninof
and Kreisler are listening, and, If so
will they concede the progress made
by the radio art, and will they pusf
aside the prejudices that have de-
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