Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-08-25
BY IRVING LOWENS
Star Music Critic

known British scholar, writer.
teacher, and composer, Sir
Jack Westrup, will talk about
"MuSic-Its Past and Its
Present" in the Whittall
Pavilion under the auspices
of the Louis Charles Elson
Memorial Fund.
The annual ElSon Lecture
is invariably a noteworthy
musical event, and during
the past Is years, the library
has brought some of the fin
est minds in music to inter-
eSted Washington audiences.
Among those who have lee
tured in the series in previous
years are jacques Barzun,
Archibald Dawson, Karl Gel
ringer, Glen T. Hayden, Jap
Kunst, Marc Pincherle, Car
roll C.. Pratt, Gustave Reese,
Curt Sachs and Egon WelleSz.
The lectures are not tech
nical in nature; they are ad-
dressed to the intelligent
layman. They are much in
the tradition followed by
Louis Charles Elson himself
zone of the most respected
American music critics of the
late 10th century,, who
served as City Lecturer On
Music" at Boston for seven
years, delivering 240 lectures
before lay audiences in that
series alone.
Background Of Lectures
The late Mrs. Bertha Elson
endowed the foundation
bearing her husbands name
in 1945 in order to preserve
his memory by insuring a
continuing tradition of lee
lures by other men sincerely
gifted in the difficult art of
talking intelligently about
music.
Sir Jack is almost as well
known on this side of the
Atlantic as he is in England,
thanks to his many lectures
since the war at leading uni
verSities throughout the
country and his many pub
lished writings.
At home, he has been
Heather Professor of Music
at oxford University since
1947. He is also president
of the Royal Musical As
ISOLATION, chairman of the
editorial board of the multi
volume New oxford History
of Music" (now in progress,
which will undoubtedly be a
standard authority in the
field for many years to come,
and editor of one of the most
influential of all music mag
azines, Music and Letters"
"Sharps and Flats"
Like Louis Charles Elson,
Sir Jack also did his stint
as a practicing music critic,
and among the most enter
tanning of his books is a
volume of collected columns
called "Sharps and Flats"
Even though this came out
back in 1910, it has not dated
in the least.
An exceptionally brilliant
product of Sir Jacks easy
erudition in his Introduction
to Musical History" not a
book on music appreciation,
but rather a guide to the
potential music historian,
showing him some Of the pit
falls he is likely to encounter,
and explaining the tools Of
the trade.
Sir Jack is also the author
OF the volume on Henry Pur-
cell in the Master Musician"
Series (now available in paper
back as a Collier Book. as
we'll as biographies of Handel
and List.
But most important Of all
he is an outstanding speaker
-urbane, witty. and lucid.
The September 3 lecture
begins at $50 pm. 1t is free
to the public, but cards of adj
mission are required. Requests
for tickets will be honored
as long as the supply lasts;
reservation may be made by
phoning the Music Division
(STerling $1,000, extension
/. 374
HIT BY STORM - Water
leaking through a portion of
several bookstacks in the
Music Division of the Library
during last Tuesdays heavy
transforms made it necessary
for officials to suspend pub
lie services in that Division
for the remainder of the
week.
Water which backed up
from the aged drainage sys-
tenn via a janitor's sink in
the main building was discov-
cred by guards as 1t began to
leak through several decks
containing music materials at
about 8 pm.
Some 80 staff members
either on duty or called to
duty Immediately - worked
until 4 am. the next morning
removing books and records
from the flooded area, Gov
ering others with protective
plastic, and disposing Of
water from the floor.
Materials removed from the
shelves for drying and other
treatment, as we'll as for
precautionary reasons. we're
occupying space normally