Evening star., 1943-11-28

-\o;te:s
London Ensemble,
Revived, to Give
Concert at Library
BY ALICE EVERSMAN.


tet. The revival of the group, which
once ranked among the best o.
chamber music organizations, is o.
great interest from many points o.
view. Years have passed since tn,
famous London players have ap'
peared here, and they return nov
with the personnel intact except fol
the substitution of Laurent Halleux
second violin, for Thomas Petre
The other members of the quarte
are John Pennington, violin; Will.
liam Primrose, viola, and c. War.
wick Evans, cello. This experienced
foursome will present a program
consisting of Brahms Quartet in E
Flat Major, Op. g." the Debussy
Quartet" and Beethoven's Quar-.
tet in c Major, Op. SO, No. g."
Mr.. Evans, who founded the Lon.
don String Quartet in 1908, must b<
considerably surprised by the ad.
vance made in the appreciation o.
chamber music since the disband.
ment of the quartet in 1884. At thai
time he had much to say about the
conditions existing in this country
regarding the support of chamber
music and gave as reason for the
disbandment the impossibility of the
members to earn livelihood
through concert giving. He COM
planned that managers would not
think of booking string quartet tt
play in large hall, that conserva.
tories and chamber music societies
could not afford to engage them any
longer and that the American au-
dience was still in the state of find
ing chamber music difficult" and
requiring special preparation ano
understanding in order not to be
bored by it.
The famous story of the woman
who, after hearing a string quartet
concert, remarked, You must be do
ing awfully well. Next time you
come back perhaps you will be able
10 increase your members" was the
actual experience of the London
String Quartet in San Francisco
Mr.. Evans found that, as regards
chamber music In particular, the av-
erage American listener was afraid
to trust his own judgment and pre-
ferred to wait and see what the
papers say" At that period he
found that those who wanted to hear
chamber music could not afford to
go and those who could pay went
only because 1t was "the thing to
do"
In the short span of 10 years all
that has changed. Chamber music
is now played in halls Of all sizes
and invariably to packed houses
When people want to hear it they
are willing to pay and evidently
some strong beams of enlightment
have penetrated the musical con-
sciousness so as to create a greater
understanding of chamber music if
one were to judge from the crowds
that flock to the Library Of Congress
for every event. Now that the Lon
don String Quartet has been reborn
in more congenial surroundings the
heartiest good wishes are extended
1t for a long and prosperous exist
ence.
A mong Ne,c Books.
Music for All of Us" by Leopold
stokowski, published by Simon &
Schuster, New York. In writing this
book the noted conductor has in
mind the eliminating Of any COM
plexes about the understanding of
music and starts out by insisting
that responding freely to any kind
of music that appeals to one is
enough foundation to begin a deeper
education. From this point he out
lines briefly certain technical aspects
and goes further than any other
writer in explaining the different
techniques used by an artist in solos,
chamber music, orchestra in concert,
recordings and broadcasting. From
his 30 years of experience as con-
ductor he speaks of problems in
that line and then expands into
some of his researches of music and
motion pictures, television, recording
and broadcasting and, by way of a
review Of the music of various con-
tinents which he visited he envis-
Ions the role Of music in the world
culture Of the future. A highly, in
structive, entertaining and readable
book.
"Dmitri Shostakovich," by Victor
1lyich Seroff in collaboration with
Nadejda Galli-Shohat, aunt of the
composer. Published by Alfred A
Knopf. This very personal account
of the famous Soviet composers life
to date is authentic because of the
assistance given the author by i'm
mediate members of the Shostako-
vich family. Since the composer is
still young, his background and the
events of his formative and early
manhood years are all that can be
covered. 1t is doubtful if much more
will be added when the final biog-
raphy is written for the clear por-
trayal of the life of his family
preceding the revolution of 1905
and the disturbed conditions into
which Dmitri was born and passed
his younger years amply explain the
influences that made him the COM
poser he is. His mother, in par
ticular, and her sacrifices for him
form a powerful picture not equal by
her sons appreciation of what she
did for him. A revealing book that
creates sympathetic understanding
of Shostakovich's art.
"The Story of George Gershwin,' .
by David Even. Henry Holt & Co.,
Inc, New York. Completely diff
ferent is this biography of America S
composer who grew up in the slums,
was educated in Tin Pan Alley and
finally reached Broadway and the
worlds acclaim. The story of that
struggle, typical of the era, and the
perseverance, good luck and genius
that won final recognition is told
with simplicity and without any
effort to embroider the actual de-
tails by Mr.. Even. 1t stands for
what 1t is, the history of genius that
overcame poverty and discourage
ment to reach the top.
WARREN F. JOHNSON, Organist
J. CHURCH OF THE PILGRIMS
. 22nd and SITS. NV.