Evening star., 1947-04-27
) Aid Of Other
Hand Admitted
ByC yCasadesus
By Alice Eversnon

The performance last week Of
Ravels Concerto for the Left
Hand" by Robert casadesus with
the Philadelphia Orchestra was one
OF the special events Of the season.
His strong and supple playing Of Ii
aroused great enthusiasm. It Is in
terestjng to know that the soloist
told the orchestras conductor, Eu-
gene Ormandy. that the Concerto"
would be an extremely difncult work
for man with only one arm to play.
The Concerto" was written for Paul
Wittgenstein who lost his right arm
IN the first World War. He found it
necessary to make changes In the
score In order to be able to per-
form 1t.
Casadesus explained that the
muscles and strength Of the right
arm assist the left and the balance
thus maintained permits the con-
centration Of power in the performs
ing arm. The pianist sat with his
right hand resting on his knee but,
In feeling, 1t was playing with the
other hand. The distribution Of
weight took place in the quiet arm
as well as in that guiding the I'm
gers playing. Deprived Of that SUBJ
conscious support by the amputation
Of the right arm, the left would be
weaker and less flexible In action.
Muscle coordination.
This brings out the important
factor of muscle coordination In all
music performance. Every properly
trained artist feels the reflex Of his
playing throughout his body and
knows how to call upon the correct
muscles for assistance either through
relaxation or proper effort. He
uses not only his intellect and
emotions but his entire body. He Is
a complete unit forging all his pow.
ers into q full portrayal Of the music.
II one Of the elements Is out Of bal
ance, the effect Is noticeable for only
then is the music vital and alive
when all function together.
The singer is more alertly con-
scious Of this flexible coordination
OF muscle perhaps than Is the in
strumentalist He has, besides, con-
centrated on breath control, an iin-
portant agent not so fully recog-
nized as necessary by performer
using fingers and arms. But correct
breathing Is vital for all expression
of music whether it is put directly
into tone or serves merely rs an
energizer. Athletes and dancers
know how much the buoyancy Of
well-filled lungs and properly di-
rected breath assists in tightening
the body and giving It grace and
free movement. For musicians it
gives not only alertness and spring
but a clear brain.
Body Tone Aids Technique.
Very often faults may be renae-
died by analyzing the functioning Of
the body while performing. Slug
gish and heavy muscles not only
weigh down the entire technique
but the intellect as well so that
there is no flash Of inspiration or
joy in either the mechanical. or the
interpretive side Of performance.
This condition has a communicative
power to the listener who seeks
stimulation from an artist as much
as an opportunity to hear the music
itself.
It would seem, then, that Witt
genstein's playing of the taxing
Ravel work was q greater achieve
ment than that of Casadesus. He
had, by the time the concerto was
'premiered, learned how to transfer
all his powers to his only arm. It
it possible that 1t developed In .
compensating way just as other or
gans Of the body will to carry on
in spite of deficiency. But Casa
desus. in his study Of the work, ap-
preached it first, perhaps, as simply
a left-hand virtuoso number, found
that a silent partner could not be
overlooked and took advantage OF
the natural cooperation Of his right
arm to gain the powerful and bril-
liant effects he attained.