Film and Radio Guide (Oct 1945-Jun 1946)

November, 1 945 FILM AND RADIO GUIDE 15 CLASSICAL RADIO MUSIC FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS BY MARY DINGLE Dumont-, Colorado On a Quiz Kids Program recently John Stuart Curry advised that the talents and traits of a child are carried to adult life. The above-average or artistic child will be the above-average or artistic adult. Grant Wood drew chickens at the age of three. Even when confronted by difficulties, genius will find its way. But what are the values of fine music for children and amateur adults who have little talent for music? A man who fed cattle on ocean steamers and worked in gold mines for some forty years tells me he enjoys the Stradivarius Violin Program. He has a sentimental heart under his “salty” exterior. He knows the beauty of ocean and of rugged divide; why not of sound? A Latin friend who sings well without training listens to the Metropolitan Opera Program every Saturday. The children in my school were especially interested in the Brahms Dances last winter. We heard some Brahms music on the radio. W e read about Brahms. We have a portrait of him. We sing the “Lullaby.” They preferred the Second, Fifth, and Sixth Dances. Some of these were made familiar in Music Appreciation Hour and some by “incidental” acquaintance as we played them on the phonograph during Arts and Crafts Hours. Children who have never cared for symphonic or classi cal music find that short periods of listening acquaint them with strains of melody and with patterns of rhythm until long programs become significant. Children recognize as friends melodies that occur in popular music and moving pictures. Among these are “Hora Staccato” from “One Hundred Men and a Girl,” the Tschaikowsky tunes from “The Fifth Symphony,” “The Sixth Symphony,” “The Piano Concerto,” the “Waltz,” the “Serenade,” and the Chopin melodies used in popular music. The association of story and music in opera adds meaning to music. Beautiful scenes in Disney musicals create “dream castles” which give musical hours imaginative significance. Associate story, painting, nature, moving pictures and radio listening if you wish to help children grow to a fuller life and achieve new peaks of enjoyment. They will appreciate the long symphony concerts and acquire rich new interests. SOME PROGRAMS WHICH PRESENT CLASSICAL MUSIC American School of the Air (CBS) Adventures in Good Music World’s Most Honored Music John Charles Thomas (NBC) New York Philharmonic (CBS) The Pause That Refreshes (CBS) The Family Hour (CBS) NBC Symphony Music America Loves Hour of Charm Firestone Concert (NBC) Great Artist Series (NBC) Portraits in Music Army Band Navy Band Marine Band Music You Want Palmer House Concert Orchestra (NBC) Great Moments in Music (CBS) Cities Service Concert (NBC) Saturday Concert (Blue) Metropolitan Opera (Blue) Metropolitan Auditions Boston Symphony (Blue) Carnation Hour (NBC) SOME BOOKS ON LISTENING TO FINE MUSIC Adventures i n Symphonic Music, Downes. Farrar and Rinehart, $2.50. Music for the Millions, Ewen. Arco Publishing Company, $5.00. What Is Music? John Erskine. Lippincott, $2.75. Music for the Man Who Enjoys Hamlet, Haggin. Knopf, $2.75. Evening with Music, Skolsky. Dutton, $3.00. Metropolitan Opera Milestones, Peltz. Metropolitan Opera Guild, $1.00. Psychology for Musicians, Oxford, $2.50. The Understanding of Music, Harper, $2.00. Music Appreciation for Children, RCA Manufacturing Company, Inc., $1.25. Victor Records for Elementary Schools, RCA, 15c. Skill in Listening, National Council Teachers of English, 35c. Music on the Air, Kinscella. VikingPress. EMOTIONALIZED ATTITUDES AND APPRECIATION OF FINE RADIO MUSIC There has been little experiment or research in the field of musical attitudes, but one feels it is crucial. Music gives release and self-realization. Fine music is parallel to fine reading for emotional maturity. It relieves