Evening star., 1949-02-07
By Alice Eversmon

The largest group of concert
patrons this season, counting those
in Constitution Hall and those
forced to leave because no seats
were to be had. turned out to hear
Artur Rubinstein's piano recital
yesterday afternoon. Dorothy
Hodgkin Dorsey, under whose
auspices the artist appeared. util-
lied the stage to take care of the
overflow but when this was filled
several hundred had to be turned
away. In the Presidential box were
the Chief Executive and Mrs. Tru-
man with guests who remained to
hear most Of the encores that
followed the long program.
OF an artist such as MIR. Rubin
stein it appears incredible to say
that he played better than ever
before considering the standard
he has maintained for years.
There was In his performance yes
terday however, Q finer and more
poetic quality and it grew in in
tensity as the program progressed.
More impressive still was his archi-
tectural plan ever engrossing in
the manner in which detail as
sumed an important part in the
forming Of the overall picture.
The great popularity Mr.. Rub
instein gained through his screen
appearances no doubt has some
thing to do with the size of the
turnout for yesterdays concert.
It could be so judged from the
cries Of delight all over the hall
when he announced De Falla's
Ritual Fire Dance" as the next
encore he would play. But there
is more to his popularity than the
new impetus attained since his
performance on the screen for he
Is eminently an artist who can
give his audience the greatest
amount Of pure enjoyment. 1t a
passage has any technical pitfalls
no one is advised Of 1t by his man
ner nor does he indicate just how
beautifully or grandly he will play
the next measures. In short, he
Is a pianist that sits down and
plays, simply and with personal
pleasure and his listeners receive
il in the same mood.
He began with the Bach -Busoni
'Toccata in c major" magnif1-
Gently performed. His sonorous
tone kept its wealth of vibrancy
throughout. potent in it's an
nouncement of the "Preludio," j."
subtly colored for the Inter
mezzo" and lending itself fexibly
to a remarkable definition of the
"Fuga." In all that he played, the
beautiful contrasts of light and
shade, the sense of proportion bent
to the line of the music and the
grasp of the essence of the music
itself summed up into a perform
ance of profoundly musical and
artistic satisfaction.
The Brahms Sonata in F
minor" that completed the first
half of the program offered again
innumerable opportunities for
tone tinting and for sensitive por-
trayal Of emotion. It Is youthful
sentiment that prevades the work
and reaches its apex in the "An-
dante" where the wisp of harsh
or Indifferent treatment would
dispell its beauty. Rubinstein's
clairvoyant understanding was
Translated into hsareadine by the
Impressive use of 'nuance 50 that
Its intimate nature was tenderly
revealed. Since the core Of this
Sonata" is the "Andante" and
"Scherzo." he built up the latter
with equal skill. So much is said
in the four movements that end
with the overshadowed Retro
spect" that the final allegro"
seems superf1uous. The artists
VI A14dAAO OCA1fC1y VI ~ wac w VIC
taken as a thing apart.
The latter part Of the recital
was given over to Polish music
leading off with the four "Mazur-
kas" of opus so which the COM
poser, Szymanowski, dedicated to
the pianist and finishing with
works by Chopin. Szymanowski,
whose idol was Chopin, sought to
preserve the national spirit Of his
country's music. The "Mazurkas"
are short and only the second and
fourth have a pronounced rhyth-
mic pattern. Intricate in harmonic
structure, which Is of modern
vintage, there Is less clarity and
directness in the treatment of the
native elements than Chopin uses.
BY contrast the "Ballade in Al
fat" Scherzo in B fiat" and the
three preludes and waltz that
formed the Chopin group had
greater Smoothness of form and
more inherent warmth.
A master interpreter Of Chopin,
Rubinstein brought all his vir-
tuosity and comprehension to the
playing Of these representative