Evening star., 1949-02-21

did technique was kept tuoyant
and light so that the many nu-
ances he developed In the Con-
certo" held an artistic touch not
always associated with a per-
formance of this work. The mel
lowness Of his touch is another
adjunct Of his playing that en-
bellishes both the Gershwin num-
bers to a considerable degree.
It was as finely detailed a pres
entation of the solos as has, been
heard, reaching a climax, in the
Rhapsody" in the brilliant ca
denzas. It amounted to a tri-
umph for the young and modest
artist who was recalled many
times by, the applause. He was
given most admirable assistance
by Mr.. Mitchell who kept the
tempt and the spirit of the ors
chestra at white heat.
There is nothing to be done
about the fact that a Gershwin
program follows the same pat
tern. There was the Cuban
Overture" as a beginning, IAN
American in Paris" and what
Robert Russell Bennett calls "a
symphonic picture" In his ar
rangement of excerpts from
"Porgy and Bess." This last num-
Der is so excellently contrived that
1t blends together all the best
moments Of the opera IN q man
ner to make it an outstanding
symphonic work. None Of the in
tensity or the unusual lyricis,n Of
the original score Is lost and its
general. character has been faith
fully preserved. In "Porgy and
Bess" Gershwin wrote one Of the
greatest American operas and Mr..
Bennett has enlarged its a2pre-
citation in the orchestral arrange
ment he has given it.
Mr.. Mitchell stressed the great
aliveness of Gershwin's music in
his directing by rhythmic exact
ness and by the inspiration he
conveyed to the players. Only in
"An American in Paris" did the
performance depart somewhat
from the artistic design of the
other numbers. The Overture"
and the opera arrangement were
polished musically yet. in the long
run. it was the perennial vitality
and appeal Of the music itself
that enraptured the audience and
brought the conductor and musi-
clans an ovation after each per-
formance.
Ida Krehm Plays at Gallery.
The National Gallery of Art
presented Ida Krehm, piarist, as
the artist of the Sunday night
concert. The program she played
covered a wide territory conclud-
ing with the brilliant "Carta
Jaca" by the Brazilian composer,
Wanna, and SIX excerpts from
"Doce Preludios Americanos" by
Ginastera of Argentina. 1t also
served to disclose the musical
sympathies of the artist and a
pianistic equipment Of exceptional
quality. - ..
Miss Krehm has q powerful
touch and an amazingly fluent fin-
ger dexterity. These outstanding
gifts. however, are not controlled
to a sufficient extent to make her
performance either impeccable or
thoroughly pleasing. She is in
clined to allow the weight of her
tone to get out of bounds with a
marked overshadowing of the
right hand by the left. This Wig
orous approach. which was i'm
pressive in the opening measures
of the Introduction" OF the vi
valdi-Bach Concerto Crosse in
D minor" robbed her tone of a
persuasive softness., When such
was attempted as in Chopin's s
'Nocturne in B flat minor" 1t
lacked distinction.
AS yet she is not a master Of
proper dynamics nor Is she able
to keep fleet passages transpar-
ent. There is little imagination
used in interpreting so that feel
ing for the meaning Of the music
becomes negligible and only its
mechanical presentation Of i'm
portance. Some of her numbers,
the "Andantino and Allegro" by
Michael Angelo Rossi and An
tonic Soler's charming Sonata In
D major" for example. were set
forth delightfully."- and the three
Etudes of opus IS by Scriabin and
the "Carta Jaca" were played in
a mastery fashion.
The unevenness of Miss
Krehm's pianism seems unfortu-
nate, and certainly unnecessary,
with a talent such as hers. The
rhythmical unbalance of Chopin's
"Ballade in F major" and it's er-
ratio delivery showed a musical
immaturity in the finer senses and
Debussy's la terrasse des audi
ences au clair de lune", want Of
sensitivity. Splendidly capable on
the mechanical side. she has yet
to tone down her sonorous ef-
fects, to deepen her expression OF
poetic moods and to avoid the
hurry that tends to make cloudy