Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-05-24
|ConcertGiven
By0uitorist
BY EIeno de Soya

BY Elena De Saya
There are not many American
born guitarists who make o
speciality Of the Spanish guitar
for concert use. Richard 8. Pick.
who appeared last night In Pierce
Hall. Ii one Of these. His concert.
sponsored by the Spanish Guitar
Society Of North America. at
tracted enough attention TO MI
the auditorium. while his success
warrants his return.
Time did not permit to hear
everything on the program. which
included early Spanish. French
and German classical as well as
contemporary music. Bach was
represented by i've selections in
the form Of q suite. Transcribed
from that for the unaccompanied
violin. OF these, the "Andante"
and the "Gavotte" gave the FIRST
opportunity to become acquainted
with Mr.. Picks art.
Bach's violin sonatas seem to|
exercise the fascination on seri-
Gus guitarists not unlike the
strange hold Paganini's compost
lions, for that instrument. have
on violists and ceilists. Whether
the effect justifles the effort seems
Of little Importance to performers.
At no time during Mr.. Picks re-
cital did the guitar seem 80 color
less and 80 insignificant as In
these transcriptions.
4 The artists inspired delivery
Of Ponce's unusually beautiful
Sonata No. 3" made one forget
the first impression. however, as
did his playing Of De Falla's i'm
pressionistic "Homenaje," Turina's
Spanish rhythms in the form Of
"0arrotin," "Raffaga" and Fan
danguillo," and Of his own COM
positions. Among these, Mr.. Picks
six preludes are a decided contri-
button to the repertoire Of the
guitar. They offer q mixture Of
the romantic and the gay, a touch
Of the classic. plus dramatic In
tens;ty, as In the "Andantino. u
Sympathetic vibrations Of related
tones. exploited to advantage.
added sorority to the instrument;
at least one did not have to strain
the ear quite so much to enjoy
the soft texture Of the first
"Andante," or the portrayal Of q
desolatet void, sadness and mys-
terry In De Falla's Homemade" In
spired by the grave Of Debussy.
Recital by Cerwonka.
The first seven songs on the
program Of Josef Cerwonka, tenor |
soloist at st. Anne's Church, in |
recital In the Phillips Gallery last
night, may not have been enough
to probe the extent Of his versa
tility. It was sufficient, however.
to disclose q difference Of ap-
proach vocally and interpretative-
~ to the Italian and German
songs. This may have been due
in part to the particular quality |
of his lyric voice. which has the
indefinable color that lends itself
to q natural bel canto such as
the Italians cultivate.
Mr.. Cerwonka made q great deal
Of Donaudy's "Spirate pur spir-
ate" 20 del milo amato ben" BY
the same composer: Tosti's Don |
ma, vorrei morir" and Torelli's
popular ITO 10 sal" IN close
partnership with Edwin Davis at
the piano. the two artists cooper
ated to perfection In their musical
infections. dynamics and style.
endless possibilities for
expression.
Whether it was the type Of song,
their tessitura or the German Ian
guage, but numbers. such as Schu-
bert's "Stuermischer Morgen" and
"Nebensonnen," seemed to OBJ
struct the easy low Of the voice
and rob 1t Of the luscious velvet
ness exhibited at the beginning Of
the program. In his delivery
there was always q sensitive re-
finement and poetic consciousness
that gave out the fine points that
went into each number. The char
acter of the other selections listed
this same subtletry which
Mr.. Cerwonka has already de-
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