Evening star., 1939-11-16

from audience and orchestra that
1t seemed not enough honor could
be paid the artist by his enthused
listeners. It was triumph in every
sense Of the word, shared by the
orchestra under DR.. Kindler's direc-
ton.
There is a very individual note
in Mr.. Spalding's beautiful tone
that lends itself to the highest
poetic expression. Whenever a pas
sage called for its use, such as the
cantabile measures following the
cadenza, 1t stood out like ray of
light on a jewel in setting of pre-
cious stones. At these moments the
artist abandoned himself to the op-
portunity given him and the result
was poignantly beautiful. Several
times in the first movement and
throughout the second the thrilling
sweetness of the combination of
lovely tone and the inner realization
OF what it would express held the
audience spellbound.
From a technical standpoint, in
this concerto, the ne plus ultra of
the violin literature, Mr.. Spalding
was superb. His fleet runs, perfect
trill and purely intoned double
stops were executed with a dash
and brilliancy springing from a
virile temperament. Not for an in.
slant did the lovely singing tone
suffer nor harshness of delivery
mar his work. For the customary
Joachim cadenza, Mr.. Spalding SUBJ
stituted one written by himself and
effectively patterned on the themes
preceding it.
Still feeling the thrill of such an
exceptional performance, the audi
ence returned after the intermissior
to hear the high light of the or
chestra's program, the Sibelius
Symphony No. 2 in D Major"
BY some authorities, this SYM
phony of the great Finnish COM
poser has been called his Pastoral,
but listening to yesterdays perform
ance, first played by the National
Symphony three years ago almost
to the day, the name is hardly cor
rectly descriptive. Pastoral mo-
ments there are, serene and simple
yet always underneath is a 1um-
bling unrest that at times breaks
forth into powerful and harshly
voiced expression. Finland's strug-
gle for independence from the Rus
sion yoke was uppermost in every
ones mind when the symphony was
written and there it stands, not
hushed by the folklike melodies, but
permeating every measure with its
mighty tone.
There are few moments of peace
ful contemplation in anything that
Sibelius writes for elemental forces
are at work yet their utterance is
always heroic, direct and exultant
It Is not a speech of mortals but OF
gods. Sibelius has a great leaning
toward the strong, glaring tones OF
the brasses and the deeper toned
strings. The effectiveness of theil
intermingling in the second sym.
phony, the primeval song of the
woodwindS and the tremendous lear
from soft, monotonous murmurine
to wild, full-throated sorority Is
overwhelmingly magnificent.
DR.. Kindler's reading Of the SYM
phony yesterday was a stirring one
in every point. the orchestra second
ing his indications with a release of
its full powers. The tremendous
volume of sound nevertheless held
an artistic restraint while the extra
ordinary vitality and changing hues
Of the score were admirably repro
duced.
The program opened with Pur-
cells Introduction and Passacag-
liza" from dido and Aeneas," al
ready a popular number of the Or
chestra's repertoire, followed by