Evening star., 1938-10-30
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.

Two men sat in the lobby of the
Raleigh Hotel last night with a book
open on a little table between them.
One Of them was Moriz Rosenthal,
Titan Of the keyboard" come to
Washington on his golden anniversary
tour. The other was DR.. Hans Kind
Ter, conductor of the National SYM
phony Orchestra.
The book contained the Liszt Con
certo in E Flat" which Rosenthal will
play with the orchestra in Constitu-
ton Hall at pm. today. Pianist
and director were going over the score,
pausing here and there to discuss in
German nuances Of tempo and phrase,
now and then humming snatches by
way Of explanation. The famous
Rosenthal flngers-not large, but as
quick and expressive as shimmering
water-tapped out on the table the
way he plays some of the measure.
Mrs. Rosenthal, herself distin-
guished piano teacher, sat near and
put in word now and then about the
masters Interpretation of major
opus by the great composer pianist
who once was Rosenthals teacher.
Laying aside the book, Rosenthal
leaned forward in his chair and smll-
ingly awaited an interviewers ques-
tions. His first visit to Washington?
Yes, that was 40 or so years ago.
It's hard to me to remember the
details of my very first concert here"
he said. Its so long ago. I remem-
Der more clearly others in those early
years of my American concert tours
There were horse cars on Pennsyl-
vania in those days, he recalled.
Edward H. Droop has the exact date
of that first Rosenthal recital in the
safe at his music store at Thirteenth
and G streets NV. Mr.. Droop is cer-
tain of it because he wrote it beside
an autograph which the young Rosen-
thai gave him, illustrated by bar Of
music. It was on February 2, 1889.
at the old Congregational Church at
Tenth and G streets. and Rosenthal
appeared with the famous violinist.
Fritz Kreisler, then a boy in Lord
Fauntleroy suit and curls.
Grover Cleveland, rounding out his
first term, was about to relinQuish the
presidency to Benjamin Harrison.
Ragtime hadn't been invented and
people danced the waltz or the schot-
tische.
The young man who thrilled Ameri-
can audiences for the first time that
nj ha fo ln
thesaurus for fresh superlatives is rs
now. But you'd never think he was
that old. There's hardly a trace of
gray in his brown hair and mustache,
and those who go to Constitution Hall
this afternoon will learn-as did those
who heard him play the Schumann
concerto last year-that he's still the
artist who is ranked with a handful
OF the greatest pianists developed dur
ing the 10th century.
On Swing Music.
Is this, his 50th tour Of America.
his last? he was asked. Will he re-
| tire?
The short man with the massive
shoulders reflected. Then he said: mo,
I'll keep on playing. Perhaps not rs
extensively, but I'll play"
He said he though appreciation of
the best music had grown remarkably
in this country during the five decades
ne has been touring.
What Of swing music? The master
smiled tolerantly. He made this point
1T could be done better than it is.
They call it swing now. They used
to call it jazz. But it's still rag
time, the original name. I don't see
any essential difference"
Rosenthal recalled that a composer
named Gottachalk, a distinguished
writer of serious salon music, who
lived in New Orleans in the middle of
the last century, wrote syncopated
rhythms which were ancestors of rag
time. The pianist also pointed out
that some Of the great composers
had used syncopated rhythms at times,
so that raQtime merely was a deveIon-