Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-06-25
Benno Rabinof Gives
Violin Recital at
National Gallery
BY ELENA DE SAYN.

The National Gallery of Art pre-
sented Benno Rabinof, violiniSt, of
New York in recital last night, ac-
companied at the piano by his
talented wife, Sylvia Smith. Miss
Smith, heard in her own recital at
the gallery week ago, proved an
ideal partner as an accompanist,
providing the right kind of back
ground for the violin yesterday.
Introducing himself as a serious,
technically accomplished artist, Mr..
Rabinof showed throughout the pro-
gram preference toward a lighter
type of classical music, with stress
placed upon the poetic and graceful
rather than the forceful or dra-
matte. Beginning with his arrange
ment of Vivaldi's Suite in A Major"
the violinist displayed a sweet, in
gratiating tone and ample tech
nlque, an impression later confirmed
in his delivery of Wieniawski's
Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op. o."
which he played brilliantly. While
his playing has fire and polish, one
missed certain healthy sorority in
the cantabile passages of the first
and second movement, for which
its composer was famous.
Mr.. Rabinoff excelled in his per-
Torrance of the rarely heard Vieux-
temps "Rondino, Op. 80, No. 81
also in his arrangement of Sara
safes Song of the Nightingale" and
in Victor Herberts neglected "A la
Valse," the engaging type of these
pieces serving as splendid vehicle
for his natural self-eXpression. The
remaining numbers on the program
were the Mozart-Kreisler 'Rondo in
g Major" the somewhat pallid
Chopin Rabinof "Mazurka," the
Rlmsky-Korsakov-Ra Flight |
of the Bundle Bee" and the Pag-
anini-Auer Caprice No. a."
Miss Thigpen's Recital.
A song recital of a high order was
given by Helen Thigpen, Negro So
prano, at the National Academy of
Music late yesterday afternoon at
the unusual hour of $780, The sing
er had the artistic support of He'll
NUT Baerwald at the piano AS the
public was late in responding to the
scheduled time and kept coming even
after the recital began, there was a |
delay of nearly half an hour at the
start.
Miss Thigpen's standard type pro-
gram offered such familiar songs as
Brahms "Nachtigal," and Der
Schmied." S chub ert's "Wohin?"
Franz's Tn Herbst," Debussy's Beau
Soir" and "Mandoline," Rachmani-
nof's 20 Thou Billowy Harvest
Field" and Floods of Spring" Sc
lections from oratorio and opera.
She proved herself equally prof.
cient in all the fields. And her sing
ing of Hear Ye Israel" from Men
delssohn's Elijah" was especially
commemorate for its experiences and
execution which spoke of talent and
experience. She was enthusiastically
ly applauded and recalled.
Beginning her recital with Bach's
"Bist Du Bel Mir" and My Heart |
Ever Faithful" Miss Thigpen showed
at once her fine musicianship, good
enunciation and the evenness of her
voice, which responded to all the
taxing demands placed upon it by
these songs and by those which fol-
lowed.
The sopranos operate repertoire
was represented by the "Recitative
and Air de Bijoux," from Gounod's |
Faust" She closed with Cohen's
"Epiptaph for a Poet" Newborn /
Again" arranged by Heilman; Dett's
I'm Coin to Thank God" and His
Name So Sweet" arranged by Hall
Johnson.