Evening star., 1950-01-25
By Alice Eversmon

The program of the Phila-
delphia Orchestra in Constitution
Hall last night came to a brilliant
close with the playing of the
Paganini Concerto in D Major
by the French violinist, Zinc Fran
cescatti. Conductor Eugene Or
mandy took this occasion to bring
Prokofieff's much discussed Sym
phony No. s" for a first hearing
here, opening the short program
list with the Overture and AL
legro" from Couperin's La Sui
tane," in Darius Milhaud's trans
cription.
This city can go on record as
having heard Prokofieff's last two
symphonies played within a week
of each other. On last Wednes-
day, the National Symphony pre-
sented his Symphony No. S"
which the composer himself desig-
mated as hymn to the spirit of
man. The symphony played last
night, written two years after the
Fifth, carries no explanation from
its creator of its intent. It does
not need any. Seldom has a new
composition made plain its sub
stance so clearly. And seldom,
too, has SO emotional a power been
incorporated into a work of these
modern times.
Another Prokofieff is. here re-
vealed, more mature and more
Iangulshed. The straight line of the
music's movement. in spite of some
redundancy, does not waver. The
speech is more closely allied to
the Prokofief of the Fifth SYM
phony" with its sober directness,
and with only a bow here and
there to the composer of sardonic
humor or carefree themes. It is
the melancholy retrospection that
stands out so powerfully in the
work. 1t is as though the COM
poser has reviewed his life and
the events through which he has
lived and written a chronicle of
them in this music. The emo
tional reaction is as strong in
Prokofieff's way as was that of
Tschaikowsky in his style.
No one, of course. has the right
to assign certain ideas or inten-
tlons to a composer unless certain
that they are true. 1t is impossible,
however, to follow the expansion
OF the first coldly stated theme
into the sentiment filled develop
ment of the first movement with
out being conscious that the inner
most feelings of the composer enter
into it. There are serene moments
when a Prokofief melody comes
forward. but they are sadly stated
and the clash and fury of life, or
of the world about, form large
areas of torment. Even when the
light-hearted tunes of peter and
the Wolf" intrude in the last
movement, they seem but to en-
phasize the passing Of all such
fantasies.
This is the more underscored by
the harsh. crashing finale. It is the
closing of the book with bang on
the fruitless review. The Sym
phony's divisions bear the custom
airy names of "Allegretto moder-
ato," Largo" and "Vivace." The
Largo" is heartrending in its
sombre beauty. True, all this is
set forth with a large supply Of
dissonance, with many bleak pass
ages and with much discordant
sound. This is immaterial for the
surety Of Prokofieff's writing, the
striking effects in the orchestra,
particularly that achieved in the
brass section, and the remarkable
blending of melody and strife, are
the work of a master. The Sym
phony No. 6" is by far the greatest
symphonic composition to come
from Prokof1eff's pen.
Mr.. Ormandy's superb analysis
of the work and his sympathetic
feeling for it resulted in an ex-
ceptional performance. The mem
bers of the Orchestra responded
completely to every desired effect
and the variety of detail, and the
ebb and flow of color, could only
be furnished by an ensemble
united In intention. The con-
ductor was recalled several times.
After the turbulence of the