Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-10-19
By HARRY BAcAs

By HARRY BACAs
When the National symphony
Orchestra opens its 25th season
In Constitution Hall tonight. rep.
|resentatives of the newspaper
win be on hand to review tn
and to report thu
audiences reception Of 1t.
Twenty -four years ago. wher
the orchestra began Its first sea.
son In the same hall. the news.
papers also were represented hui
they didn't wait until then K
|appraise the music, the perform
|ance and the public reaction. |
What they wrote days before
the concert Is a measure Of thu
distance the National Symphony
Orchestra has come In It's first
|quarter-century.
Success Anticipated
on Saturday, October 81, 1891
two days before the brand-new
Manifested orchestra was X
give its FIRST performance, ONT
Washington newspaper said:
There viii be cheering, there
win be vociferous applause!'
There win be d thousand
|notables there. and & Thousand
|othersis
There win be fine music, i'm
|pressiye, inspiring music. suit.
able for such III occasion, and
u viii be played N6liP'
Eager like The Eest Of Wash.
ington- that The infant orches-
tn should be d success. the
saaper allowed itself to report
The event befoFe II bad hap
pened.
Another paper declared with
greater circumspection, 1T
promises 10 be one Of the biggest
events in Washineton's musical
history"
A third paper, said simply,
Monday will be q great day for
Washington"
Big News Event
The clamor had continued
almost daily In the i've Wash
ington newspapers since the an
nouncement In the spring Of the
year that there would be q Ma
tional Symphony Orchestra.
In May, the papers had been
full Of the news. The orchestra
which DR.. Hans Kinder was
about to form would play eight
symphony concerts, eight
popular" concerts and eight
concerts for children.
The firSt two series were 70
be affairs at 4 or 4:45 o'clock.
The newspapers reported
every move the orchestra made
between that moment and the
opening concert. They gave
columns Of space to parties for
DR.. Kinder, optimistic quotes
from rival conductor Leopold
Stokowski, additions for prospec-
tive orchestra players and ac-
counts Of the orchestra's first
rehearsal.
They printed lists Of contribu-
tors, lists Of boxholders and the
complete roster Of the orchestra.
The Star began q series Of
sketches Of all the players. The
papers editorialized: Support the
orchestra"
BY late September. one paper
was reporting that season ticket
sales "are to be well over enor-
NOUS"
Mrs. Hoover Attends
The air Of enthusiasm was
dampened a little when It APP
peared President Hoover would
not be attending the opening con-
cert. DR.. Kinder noted wryly
that the President had seen at
to throw out the first ball at the
Washington baseball teams
opening game and offered to
give Mr.. Hoover an old violin to
throw out at the opening concert
If that would induce him to at
tend. IA
But then the papers an
nounced that Mrs. Hoover would
be there. and enthusiasm once
again rose high.
When It was disclosed, 10 days
before the concert, that q new
work was being written Tor the
by a trio Of European
composers Alfredo Casella, Ga
briel Pierne and Otterino Res
pighi--had not vet arrived,
there was no CONSERVATION. DR..
Kinder would replace the work
with his own arrangement Of
three 18th century Dutch tunes.
Ads appeared in all the papers.
The opening programme was
published over and over again,
starting with Weber's "Farei-
schltz' overture featuring Bee
thoven's Fifth Symphony and
ending with Tschiakovslxy's
'Marche Slav."
On the day Of the concert,
Monday. November 2, all the
papers were full Of stories and
pictures. DR.. Kindler's picture
was printed for the hundredth
time, together with FIRST ptfh.