Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-01-15

Long, repetatlVe, relaAeo, melo-
die, luxurious, intoxicating-he
wanted his symphony to be
something like 1t. The in
fiuence. he believes. win not
be noticed by the uninstructed.
except perhaps in the unusual
number Of movements both
pieces have-1lve.
IT can't cut It," he told
Johnson on the phone one day.
The conductor sighed but held
on tight to the new symphony
of which he had seen only a
few sketches. "All right" he
said, "weIl make 1t the feature
Of the program, and start with
the Roman Carnival and end
UP with Rubinstein In the
Brahms D minor" You have
to think pretty highly Of Thor
johnson. He calls his draw
and plays his hand.
Critics Enthusiastic
The de Gastyne third SYM
phony was given last Saturday
and Sunday in Cincinnati-the
first performed major work Of q
young composer temperament
ally unsuited to writing any
thing but major works.
The hall was filled for both
concerts. and while the crowds
may have come to hear Rubin
stein, the great pianist GER
tainly did not corner the at
tention Of the critics, who
could without dificulty have
ended their stories with e. =.
also was played a symphony
by the ost-DebusSy French
composer, de Gastyne." All. at
least those of the Enquirer.
the Post, the Times-Star. and
the Dayton Daily News. were
enthusiastic remarkable
command of orchestral color.
Of rhythmic play and fertile
thematic invention -. "en-
ergy. imagination, ingenious
instrumental effects -, and
so on
Thor johnson. too, liked
what he had bought.
/ talked to him on the phone
this week, and found that al
ready he has commissioned
the fourth symphony for next
season.
"De Gastyne is truly q gen.
ius in his handling OF the or
chestra. in my opinion. he
said. THE music sounds. 1t
moves. and it has good tunes.
The public liked it, the mu-
sicians like it. Why shouldn't
want another?"
Rubinstein Cuts In
Rubinstein, apparently. was
no less impressed. He told de
Gastyne that II he would write
him a concerto he liked as well
as the symphony. he would
play 1t. While the great Ru-
binstein has always shown
himself q friend Of unrecog-
nized talent, he usually, at the
present stage Of his career.
confines contemporary music
to his solo repertoire. Orches-
ira managers like to present
Rubinstein in the classics. His
offer to de Gastyne can hardly
have been made lightly. for
one cannot recall Rubinstein
in a concerto more recent than
one by Falla or Rachmaninoff.
Following the success Of the
Cincinnati premiere last week,
the third symphony has al
ready been announced for
performance by the BIC Or
chestra in London this June,
and by the Danish State Or
chestra. Thor johnson will
include 1t in out-of-town con-
certs when the Cincinnati
Orchestra goes on tour later
this year.
De Gastyne. or. to call him
by his full title, Marquis de st.
Maur, Count de Gastyne. and
Viscount de Montauriant. is at
present a Washingtonian. He
comes from the Island of Re.
of the southern coast Of
France. The name of his
symphony. Lille Lumiere," is
the nickname Of his homeland.
He is slight, effervescent. en-
gaging, and witty. His father
is an artist, his mother an au-
thor, and his grandfather q
famous French motion picture
producer.
Whatever career would have
attracted the child Serge is not
known, for he and his family
went underground during the
war and Serge, himself, became
the head Of a sabotage squad
engaged in derailing trains. It
was only in the full maturity Of
II years-the maturity Of a
child who has gone through
war--that he turned to music
as his life work.
Mozart, Berlioz His Idols
"Berlioz' Is the name most
frequently on his lips, and
Mozart he calls 1.-THE father
of us ALL" Stravinsky and
Bartok he admires, not, / be-
lieve, without some reserva-
tons.
He is instinctively musical
The FIRST time I met him. about
six weeks ago, he played o. lew