Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-01-28
NEWS OF MUSIC
BY DAY THORPE

4 -
Friday Morning Music Club Con-
| cert: Frances Bres. violin; Lorelei
CARPENTER viola; Carroll Nation.
Charlotte Shear piano: Villa Mae
koehn, piano. In the Cosmos Club
Assembly Hall PROGRAM: Sonata for
s Mozart a1 Ex,,, viGlS n G. < 4i3
| Mozart: Sonata In n Two Pianos,
| X. AS. MoZsrt.
The Friday Morning Music
Club celebrated both the 20Oth
anniversary of the birth of
Mozart and the acquisition of
the clubs new Bosendorfer piano
yesterday with a concert de-
voted entirely to the music of
the Salzburg master.
After the late-morning con-
cert, held in the Cosmos Club,
the clubs annual Embarrassing
luncheon for the National SYM
phony was attended by many of
the members, who heard in
formal talks by Howard Mitchell,
conductor of the symphony
Sylvia Meyers, harpist; Mrs
Hans Klagsbrun, chairman of
the Administration Committee
and Carson Frailley, president
of the Symphony. Mrs. Horace
Smithey was POSTMASTER.
The duet for violin and viola
one Of two Mozart wrote for his
friend, Michael Haydn, to help
him meet a commission for six
is model o. writing for two
instruments whose sound is gen.
orally associated with that of ar
accompanying medium such as
piano. Musically. the work is
comparable to the best Of Moz-
arts chamber pieces. Never doe.
it sound merely like half of a
string quartet. Frances Bres anc
Lorelei Carpenter were in gooc
form.
The brilliant coloratura motel
'Exultate. Jubilate" is a piece
demanding a light and flexible
voice OF the utmost agility. l,
was probably not ideally suited
to soprano Carroll Matoon, who
however, gave an enthusiastic
and vigorous, if not entirely pol
ished, performance of the famil-
lar music.
The center of attraction yes
terday morning, it is fair to say,
was none of the several good per-
formers on the program, but ra-
Their the two large Bosendorfel
pianos which filled the stage OF
the assembly hall. One was the
new instrument of the Friday
Morning Club, the other one
loaned by the importer until the
clubs piano arrived from Vienna
fortunately, both pianos are
now at home in Washington, as
the second has just been pur-
chased by Mr.. and Mrs. Gregory
Smith OF Georgetown.
I The music was, of course, the
sonata in D for two pianos, the
performers were Charlotte Shear
ana Villa Mae Koehn, and the
result was no less than enthral-
iing-a fitting birthday present
for Mozart. The two instruments
were in tune with each other
but unfortunately they had no,
been voiced the same.
A new color, a new dimension
was added to the music by the
two instruments built in realiza-
ton OF an ideal which most OF
the great piano manufacturers
OF the 10Th century no longer
were Interested in, or were con-
trained to compromise in order
to build an instrument of tre-
mendous fortes. and one suited
TO producing the orchestral
color of an oil painting rather
than the precision and clarity
OF an etching.
( The Bosendorfers, which were
very ably played by both artists.
showed the greatest sensitivitv
TO touch between pianissimo and
mezzo-forte, and a characteristic
IN which most pianos are weak
"a bass which is full and true
put which never is inclined to
overbalance the treble. The sound
Is slightly dry and very sharply
focused, and the dynamic range
at the command of good players
seems to be unlimited, particu-
larly on the quiet side.
The Friday Morning Music
Club can congratulate itself on
Its new and, in the United States
rare instrument. 1t is obviously
ideal for classic music. Whether
1t is versatile enough to. suit
itself to Debussy, Ravel and
Schumann remains to be seen.