Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-12-29
Louisiana Story Suite Given
Local Premiere by Ormandy

1.-THE new works clearly comprehenS-
lible at first hearing by his own
knowledge and conviction regard
ing their content.
Chief interest centered in the
first local hearing of Virgil Thorn
sons suite, Louisiana Story" Ar
ranged from the music written for
the Aim Of that name, it is primarily
descriptive music. The program
notes outlined the idea of the film,
making the suite thoroughly under
standable, II that were necessary.
But 1t was not. The music is Of
kind to stand by itself. 1t is con-
structed with surety and under the
guidance of real absorption of at
mosphere and events and these &C
quire a strong protective power.
First OF all, Mr.. Thomson does not
muddy up his score with complex
: tiles and the delight of the music is
its clarity. 1t Is warm hearted, too,
casting an aura of poetry about all
the events pictured even of such
pOesy lacking subjects as a marsh
buggy of an alligator. The story is
concerned with a noil project in the
bayous and a native boy who is
brought into his first contact with
outside civilization. The pictorial
aspects of the situation are grasped
by the composer with great SYM
pathy and his use of folk tunes
serves to enhance the effect. He
achieves something of a Dvorak
flavor in his employment of these
lovely melodies but is skillful In not
allowing them to become too sac
charine.
The work is written in four move
ments, each with a descriptive title.
It moves from the lanquid Pas
torale" through mounting tension to
the dramatic moment of the boys
flight from the alligators with re-
markable cohesion and with no mo-
mentS of weakness. Throughout, the
atmosphere of the place is para
mount and this is notable descrip-
tive writing, in keeping before the
mind the special environmental in
huences. To this end, Mr.. Thomson
makes use Of various orchestral and
harmonic devices of originality yet,
with points highlighted by modern
touch, the music on the whole has a
pleasant and somewhat nostalgia
LONELINESS. The composer was pres
ent to hear the performance and to
bow In response to the applause
when discovered.
This concert, which belongs to
the special series, had as soloist the
noted violinist, Zinc Francescatti,
who was heard in Prokof1eff's Con
certo in G Minor" Jascha Heifetz
introduced the concerto here some
six years ago, but it has not been
favored by soloists since. The rea-
son is obvious, for it requires ex-
ceptional discernment ana tech
nique of monumental proportions.
In both respects, Mr.. Francescatti
more than met the prerequisites.
At the same time, this is not music
in Mr.. Francescatti's genre. His
beautiful tone is almost too richly
tinted for its needs and his tenn
permanent applicable to more
definite emotionalism. Some meas
ures in the first movement and the
whole Of the Andante offer the best
opportunities for the kind of vital
playing in which excells. yet even
here it does not go deep enough.
The dark texture of the music, its
repressed style with no orchestral
setting of, lacks persuasion and ex-
ternalizes itself in brilliant techni-
cal passages. In its lyricism, Pro-
kofief puts some Of his real self into
the music, but his charming whim-
sizes and bold strokes are missing.
It Is difficult to concur with Helfetzs
statement that this Is one Of the
greatest concertos written. The re-
straint of spirit is too evident and
cannot be captured by scintillating
technical means or such clever and