The Daily Alaska empire., 1949-10-12
5(HApIR0 PLANS
 VARIED PROGRAM ,
 FOR JUNEAUITES

Paradox is fast becoming tht
 word for Alaska, in the career o.
 Maxim Schapiro, noted pianist wht will be presented in concert tomor- , row night by the Juneau Business {, and Professional Women's Club.
 The program in the goth Century Theatre will start at 8:30 o'clock. Tn Alaska" he said, "a country
 of overpowering primeval grandeur where one is so close to awesome
 force of nature-here, of all places /, are persons of discriminating musi-
 cal taste.
 Far to the North" he contin- ued his contrasts, "in Fairbanks !, for instance, I play on a big Stein-
 way, yet in the Capitol City. so
 much closer to the shipping centers
 there is no concert grand piano
 available.
 "Ah well,' Schapiro philosophical "one serves ones art. That service
 is not measured by the instrument 1 the size of the hall or of the audi i, ence, nor by geography. In Sitka,' ?
 he explained, T was dismayed to
 learn I would play on an upright
 an instrument not adequate to my
 announced program. adjusted my program to it, and had the great i satisfaction of knowing had given
 great musical pleasure to everyone in that crowded hall at the Sheldon Jackson School"
 On this, his third Alaska tour
 Schapiro has observed complications in the spelling of his name and some stories called him Morris. Tn Sitka,' he said, half the posters
 were spelled with the e, and halt without.
 T understand" he went on, that
 somewhere in the advance publicity the simpler spelling was emphasized that, for instance, you were asked to remove the e.
 BRING "C" BACK; OK "Oh, please bring it back!" he
 pleaded. Tt is as though you had altered the shape of one ear There are three ways of spelling the sound Because I began my musical career in Vienna, used the German spell ing. Now it has become part of me-"
 Russian-born Schapiro is proud of the American citizenship he ac- quired five years ago. T became an American" he said, mot for convenience, but because of deep conviction. America is not just a country--it is a profound spiritual idea. By choice and by philosophy I am an American"
 Schapiro so loves Alaska that he requested his manager to allow him far more time in the Territory than in any other section where
 he will play.
 "On a concert tour,' he said, "it is
 simply unheard of to spend three
 weeks for four concerts in one region, even so vast a one as AL aska-
 But I must have more time here it is my inspiration. Here, find
 myself part of infinity and in the
 care of Nature, out of all trouble even while in turbulence. With all the bumpiness and fear of a rough flight the other day-and am still bumpy-it is part of this great country, and now part of me. How Beethoven would have loved Alaska: He surely would have writ ten an Alaska sonata or some other monumental work. I shall especially
 enjoy playing his Waldstein Sonata here tomorrow, in this country of power and grandeur and sensitive ness"
 On his return appearance in Ju- neau, after two years, Scnapiro will open his concert here with Beeth- oven, then play a group of five Chopin compositions on the occasion of the death centennial of the great Polish French mposer Chopin died October 16, 1849). In this group will be a Ballade, Ber-
 ceuse, Tarantelle, Nocturne and
 the" Polonaise.
 The second section of Schapiro's program will open with nine etudes including "Ragtime Bass" by vir-
 gil Thomson. Schapiro had the
 honor to give the first performance