Music

Now that all the hullabaloo anent the “Merry Mount”which Howard Hanson composed, and for which Richard Stokes wrote the libretto, has died down, it may he progitable to recall that at the very least, this newest of American operas to be produced by the Metropolitan deals with a couple of characters you can give a hang about. Wrestling Bradford, the role which Lawrence Tibbett had largely done in blackface in “Emperor Jones” (both characters being poor devils tortured-by-apparitions), is at least representative of a type which left its mark, however unsavory a mark tht be, upon American life. And Bradford is by all means a human being, and no over-stuffed pretty boy such as the Latin composers delighted to offer us. Lady Marigold Sandys, somewhat exotically protrayed by character as ever trod operatic boards. As for the muisc, you must know already that Hanson can write for choruses; that he is uninspired when only one or two voices are involved; and that he might have done better by Stoke’s civilized book. Jo Mielzier’s sets are imaginative, anyway.

BLOCH EXHUMATION

Hans Lange, who must spend a lot of time in symphonic sarcophagi, exhumed a week ago Bloch’s well – written “Winter – Spring” poem, and granted it an eloquent performanes by the Philharmonic-Symphony. Surely this work never deserved the decease which overwhelmed it. It shouldn’t have to wait around for a Lange.

DAMROSCH DEBUTS

Walter Damrosch, for charity’s sweet sake, made his debut as a concert pianist, sans silken pantaloons and curls, under the baton of Ossip Gabrillwitsch at Madison Square Garden last weekend, playing the Franck Symphonic Variations for Piano and Orchestra, and playing them with surprising ability. Not to be outdone, Gabrilowitsch turned over the baton to Damrosch, and played the Schumann A minor concerto not long thereafter, to the distinct advantage of the large audience and the Musicians’ Emergency Fund. John McCormack sang at the same concert.

BEETHOVEN ASSOCIATION

The Beethoven Association gives us programs with solavish a hand tht a mere recital of items and participating artists would consume more space than I care to think about. Just to give you an idea, Myra Hess, pianist; Mishel Piastro, violinist; Lotte Lehmann, soprano; Felix Salmond, cellist and Erno Balogh, piano accompanist, were last Monday evening’s performers at Town Hall. That they furnished a magnificent evening goes without saying. I’ll mention only the Hess-Piastro-Salmond playing of Beethoven’s “Variations on {SPAN}’Ich#bin{/SPAN}der Schneider Kakadu’ ” and Miss Lehmann’s and let it go at that.

MUSICAL ART QUARTET

Simeon Bellison, solo clarinetist of the Philharmonic, joined the Musical Art Quartet the other might so they could handle Brahms’ B minor Quintet (Op. 115) They did, and handsomely.