Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-09-19

countries.
The eight members Of the
long visit at the Esplanade He
they had never seen anything
ike 1t in their experience. and
even the phenomenal reception
given them in Leningrad and
Moscow did not equal 1t.
When the program ended last
night. the vast audience which
packed Smetana Hall and filled
the aisles and corridors outside
the main auditorium broke into
prolonged applause which con-
tinued undated until, after
some minutes, Conductor
Charles Munich felt compelled
TO give the audience an encore.
IL Curtain Calls
When the encore was finished.
again the huge crowd broke
into thunderous applause. The
conductor took one curtain call
and then another and still an
other, but the crowd would not
let up nor did the applause
subside. I counted IL curtain
calls made by him, and timed
the applause. 1t was IA minutes
before the crowd finally gave up
hope Of a second encore and
started reluctantly to leave the
hall
What the performance here
clearly demonstrated is that the
people behind the Iron Curtain
are hungry for flrst-rate music
played by masters and seldom
get to hear q really superb
orchestra such as the Boston
Symphony Orchestra.
Members Of the orchestra told
me afterwards that the Russians
came up to them in Moscow and
Leningrad after the performance
and declared that never in their
lives had they heard such preci-
sion playing. The Czechs could
nave said the same thing here
in Prague.
Standards Seen Lower
My wife and I attended plays,
operas and musicals here and in
East Germany and the stand
ards Of performance, except for
the voices, are well below the
standards Of Paris. Frankfurt,
Milan. Vienna and other big
cities in western Europe.
It 10 interesting to observe
that not only in the economic
realm but in the realm Of art,
literature, music and culture in
general the so-called Peoples
Democracies cannot compete sue
cessfully with the free lands of
the western world.
Personally, I want to thank
publicly the United States State
, Department for promoting and
sponsoring the current trip Of
the Boston Symphony Orchestra
behind the Iron Curtain. hope
the practice of sending Western
artists to perform in Eastern
European countries will become
a permanent one and that it will
be done on a steadily increasing
scale. know of no better way
Of letting a little light shine
through the dark curtain which
shadows half Of Europe.
Cite Odd Experiences
Some of the musicians in the
Boston Orchestra told us of their
unusual experiences while in
Russia. One Russian woman in
Leningrad confessed to them
that when she was assigned to
act as interpreter to the visiting
American musicians she was
terrified, for she had never met
an American and had been told
they were all monsters.
Another Russian women seri-
ouSly asked a cellist in the
orchestra whether it was true.
as she had been informed. that
all American women dye their
hair lilac.
Several Of the American musi-
clans told me that conditions in
Leningrad were far worse than
In Moscow and their hearts went
out to the people there. People
on the streets were poorly clad
In coarse fabrics. and went along
the streets with blank staring
faces like zombies. I'VE never
saw a single person in Leningrad
laugh or even SMILE" one of
them observed.
This same gravity of express
sion characterizes most of tn
people on the streets of Prague
and other Czech cities. They
walk along the streets with I'M
seeing eyes as if completely
wrapped up in themselves. They
do not appear to see you as you
pass the m but stare right
through you or else don't even
glance in your direction.
The Americans from Moscow,
on the other hand, said they
md conditions far better in
Russia. The people here, they