Evening star., 1948-02-09
By Alice Eversmun

V1Oun rcC1CalS were IN the lore
ground yesterday when Louise Beh-
rend appeared at o'clock in the
Phillips Gallery and Max Pollikof1
at 8 in the National Gallery of Art
Mr.. Pollikoff had a last-minute
change of accompanist due to an
arm accident to Eugene Helmer,
scheduled to play for him, his place
being taken by Joseph Adler. Al
though it was evident that first
class ensemble was not arrived at in
the short time left for any rehears-
ing, Mr.. Pollikof managed to carry
off the recital in spirited fashion.
He is gifted with abundant tenn
perament which gives his an elan
and an emotional expressiveness
far beyond the average. Glazoun-
offs Concerto in A minor" gained
in full exposition of its sentiment
in spite of the, soloist's lack of
proper backing from the accompan-
ist. He played it with vibrant tone
and broad effect that singled out
its inherent beauty, especially the
beginning Of the second movement,
fashioning its phrases with rich
sound and musical care.
His temperament gives a special
sparkle to his brilliant and sure
technique. The last section of the
Hindemith Sonata for violin
alone" was a climatic demonstra-
alton of his proficiency in this
respect while his entire reading of
the taxing work was mastery. The
composer has placed demands on
the performer of every conceivable
kind yet the sureness of his aims
does not permit the Sonata to
remain simply a show piece. Co.
herency of form is as pronounced
here is in other works of his as we'll
as the genuineness of his ideas
although their musical expression is
still of the very new. The Inter
is lovely moment in the
unfamiliar style of the surround
4ag movements. THE Sonata"
served as summing up of Mr.. Pol
likoff's musical and interpretive
powers as also the purely technical.
The artist was presented also as
a composer in two short following
numbers. His 1.-THE Country Fid-
dler Dreams" Is patterned after
Wieniawskis "Mazurka" although
the local scene is different. In the
work, a country fiddler
plays for a wedding, falls asleep and
dreams a different kind of music,
and is awakened abruptly to take
up his tune where he left off. Mr..
Pollikoff has taken a hillbilly fiddler
through the same procedure. Nei-
ther this numbmer or his "Notturno"
both played here for the first time,
are more than entertaining program
works. Fine musicianly playing
went into the performance of the
Nachez arrangement Of Bach's
"Partita in E Minor" and the pro-
gram closed with Wieniawski's pol
onaise Brilliante in D Major"
In the afternoon Miss Behrend, who
has played here frequently, devoted
the first part of her recital to Han
del's Sonata in D major" and Mo-
zart's Concerto in E flat major" a
work still debatable as being wholly
Mozart's. The young artist, who is
well equipped technically and of
musical consciousness, gave a
straightforward delivery to these
with full regard for their
prescribed shadings. Her tone, while
large, is inclined to shrilliness and
want of suavity although the posi-
ole unresponsiveness of her instru-
nent may contribute to this effect.
It was the quality Of tone that
she drew from her violin that inter-
fered with a full appreciation of her
Ideas of Ysaye's unaccompanied
Sonata, op. 27, No. 8" known as
the "Ballade Her playing as far
as technique was concerned was