Evening star., 1958-05-04

NANAa HARnANtA1A NA aAoaNAa
music Is widely felt 70 be a
fine and praiseworthy en-
deavor. I myself think so,
and every year at this time,
rejecting on Mr.. Bales spring
festival Of modern music, I
wonder why ! do.
Topical Theater
In the American theater,
the new and the topical have
almost supplanted the drama
Of before the turn Of the
century. Middle-aged WASH
ingtonians can easily re-
member when every season
was good for a dozen classics;
Shakespeare, The School for
Scandal. "She Stoops TO Con-
quer." and perhaps "volpone"
or "The Cenci." Today. the
repertoire starts with Shaw.
a revival or two excepted.
and the hit is invariably a
piece the ink Of which is
scarcely dry.
The book seems to occupy
a middle ground. Every week
has its new best seller, but
the modern reader does not
eschew the classics, or any
kind Of book whatever, as
anyone who steps into q
drugstore knows. 1 am al
ways astounded in that busi-
ness enterprise in which
knowing what the custo-
mer may want--and having
it's so essential. to see that
absolutely everything in lit
erature is available, promi-
nently and steadily. From
sex and mystery through
great books" TO the end
reaches of the most recondite
and scholarly. your corner
drugstore. unless 1t is a very
small one, will carry it.
Would any other caterer to
the general public, any news
paper, magazine, radio or tel
evision station, symphony
orchestra or theater, put its
trust in such extreme eclec-
ticism?
The music world finds itself
in g third situation. Con-
temporary music, insofar as
the general run Of the public
is concerned. is accepted on
tolerance, If at all. Howard
Mitchell would lose 80 per
cent of his audience if half
Of the music he played with
the National Symphony were
contemporary-unless it were
what we speak Of as pop
ular" or "shorthair," a dis
tinetion that has no counter
part in either the world of
/books or theater. and is less
than a century old in music.
Modern music is for the
connoisseur. whose judgment
is that it is comparable in
achievement to that of any
former single age. But the
connolsseur is not numerous
enough to pay for what he
likes. so the general public is
solicited on the logical
grounds that all music will
die unless its present stock
is cultivated, and that the
general public must. to a
certain extent. resign itself
to being patron for the sake
of culture and civilization.
Strange Situation
If I am not mistaken, the
modern composer is accorded
greater acceptance in Europe
than he is here. but even so,
the situation is strange
enough. There have been in
dividual artists in every field
who have consciously been
disinterested in a public
larger than three or four, but
has America ever known an
art as widely engaged in as
music, with the public show
ing so little sympathy for the
new? Whatever the answer
may be. it would be disastrous
today for the composer to
take the sometimes offered
advice to go meet the public
halfway. In the past it was
possible. Handel could do it,
Haydn could do it. Today the
temper Of both artist and
public has changed; the
former is more personalized,
the latter more irresponsible.
Now if the artist demands
everything from the public
he may Starve, but he will
have the cold comfort of not
being a suicide.
The Koh'on String Quartet
and Isabelle Byman, piano,
initiate the American Music
Festival today with a pro-
gram devoted entirely to the
music of Charles Ives, a man
who in life was unknown to
the world of music as a busi-
nessman. and likewise un-
known to the world Of buSi-
ness as a composer. Next
week brings a Joint concert
by the glee clubs of Ran
dolph-Macon and Washing