Evening star., 1949-01-02
'49 Challenges
D. G. Pride as
MuSiCCenter
By Alice Eversmon

S~o~~~~@AS "a "a 44S " ySo4 14 441kD
a certain amount of determination
to make fresh start in the business
Of living. 1t is rosy with promises
and apparently rife with oppor-
tunities for betterment In personal
and public ways. The solemnity of
times passing. undoubtedly causes
people to pause and consider what
has been accomplished and to form
sturdy resolutions for a more re-
warding future. 1t is not possible
to regard that future without the
blessing Of music, and because it has
done so much to brighten the dead
year it deserves a place in each
individuals plans for the next IL
months.
For what should we be grateful,
as regards music, in the past year?
First and foremost should be the
pride that this city now enjoys an
enviable reputation as an appre-
ciative center of art. There is hard
ly an artist of any reputc Tho is
not we'll known here Sc, al Sc
ries of events cannot be dupli-
Gated anywhere in the country.
Foremost among these are tie con-
certs held in the Library of Con-
gress where the renown of the place
itself adds considerably to the pleas
ure Of attending the programs held
there. Many art galleries combine
music with their specially, yet none
can match the beauty and signifi-
cance Of the National Gallery of
Art.
Water Gates Merits Unrealized.
AS much maligned as is Constitu-
ton Hall. it nevertheless is a his
torical building known throughout
the land. There is the unrivalled
Wate Gate. still not appreciated
fully in all that it has to offer for
summer time enjoyment of music.
The auditoriums in governmental
buildings provide an esthetic sur
rounding for the performance of
music, and other places such as the
charming Phillips Gallery have an
atmosphere all their own Ask any
visitor who sees them for the first
time what he thinks about them
and you will understand how much
they represent.
With the exception of grand
opera, every kind of music is heard
annually here The city teens
with music activity. and none OF it
is second rate Children are busy
with it, the schools foster it, the
Government helps provide it in its
service bands; different fourda-
tions support it; the public listens
to it, studies it, reads about it. 1t
draws adherents from every walk of
life Looking back on 1s4s in the
Nations Capital gives quite an
other picture than was to be had,
let us say, in 1900.
These are things to be thankful
for. They should also be sources
OF pride. They have been built up
through the years, each one ad-
vancing little more surely, until
1949 opens future in which Wash
ineton cannot be disregarded as
fourishing musical center. At the
very core of community life is the
National Symphony, now facing it's
greatest opportunity. 1t has
nourished the lifeblood of music
here for l8 years. 1t may have out
grown SOME Of its methods aid, If soi'
now is the time for a chapgs~~ Will
1t march onward to the f1rst rank
among orchestras or will the people
by their inertia let 1t wither and
die?
A Part of Life's Fabric.
The review of ones sins of omis-
sion during the past year cannot
be exclusively personal. Ones duty
as a citizen is important in the
scheme of living. It is not rele-
gated to material things alone. 1t
must be concerned also with .spir-
itual values and how to keep them
growing and expanding in the COM
munity. Music is enc of these. It
is not something to be part of an
intellectual conversation at a din
ner table. but force to he taken
into the heart. 1t should be per-
mitted to work its refining power
every day Of our life, not merely
during concert hour. If one has
not considered the importance OF
the support of music in forming
good resolutions for the. coming
year, 'then not everything is right
with the world.
While all of this follows the pat
tern OF many decades. music stands
on a new threshold this year.
Fresh vistas have been opened up
for it and changes are in the process
OF being brought about. With tele-
vision it will take on new mean
ing. But with all these hoped-for
advantages, the thing to remember
Is the personal reaction to music.
1t must not only stimulate the
brain, but the soul as we'll. It
must sink to the very depths OF
our lives, germinate there and come
forth with new fruit and new seed.
The destiny Of music in 1949 is ir
the hands of Americans. They must
not only nurture it, but give it
new life enriched with thoughts
and feelings born of our world re-
sponsibility, 1t should be a year
OF opportunity to impress on music
the vision. the godliness and the
courage that are our birthright.