Motion Picture News (Jan-Feb 1922)

792 Motion Picture News Music and the Picture Stock Rescores Symphony Noted Conductor of Chicago Orchestra Writes New Orchestration for “ Rhenish ” McCormick Declares Music of First Importance “ It is more important to provide good music for motion picture audiences than any other,” declares S. Barret McCormick, managing director of the Allen Theatre, Cleveland, who has grappled with various exhibitor problems which have raised their heads from the time he came to the Allen last May, with foresight and resourcefulness and whose attention to the musical programs, in collaboration with his orchestra conductor, Philip Spitalny has set new presentation standards for the motion picture theatres of the Forest City. Manager McCormick has presen'ed at his theatre such standard compositions as Tschaikovskv’s " 1812 March,” the costumed performers on the stage carrying out the composers story of battered Moscow, whose citizenry fired their own buildings rather than let them fall into the hands of the approaching French under Napoleon. The set showed the Kremlin, the symbol of the heart of Russia, and the splendid orchestra played the stirring March until the audience was one with the musicians. Cowled figures accompanied “ Les Preludes;” two scenes from “ Cleopatra ” showed the arrival on her barge of the Egyptian queen with Mark Antony awaiting her to demand tribute to Rome and instead falling victim to her beauty and charms, and later on her throne after Antony’s self-inflicted death. Colorful costume vivified “ The Two Grenadiers,” which has for its theme the never-dying spirit of France. “The New World Symphony” and Rimsky-Korsakoff’s brilliant “ Scherazade ” with tableau and bacchanale, have also been elaborately presented and other bigger things are planned. THE Xeiv York Times recently gave space to the following musical history concerning the Strauses and the Strausses. The article is reprinted principally because of its adaptability for use in theatre programs and in connection with newspaper copy in which the theatre musical bill may be tied up by a small amount of ingenuity in re-writing. Even those musically versed have been known to confuse the various composers named Straus (or Strauss). Probably there is none so base as to mix Richard Strauss, at present conducting the Philadelphia Symphony here, with Oscar Straus, composer of the lately revived “ Chocolate Soldier.” But now comes Artur Schnabel, a Viennese pianist who made his American debut in Carnegie Hall the other day, to tell a little about the Strauses and the Strausses, and to help in a measure to straighten them out. “ There are,” declares Mr. Schnabel, “ three famous Straus (or Strauss) families — composers of Vienna. Oscar Straus, composer of * The Chocolate Soldier,’ is musically and racially distinguished from the others. He is a Jew, while the other Strausses are not. “ Oscar Straus, at the present moment, is living in comparative luxury in Vienna. His Frederick stock, conductor of the Chicago Orchestra, has rescored Schumann’s “ Rhenish ” symphony in E flat, and in so doing probably will have the approval of every musician familiar with the original. A number of notted conductors have threatened or promised to rescore not only this symphony but others. Among those who have expressed dissatisfaction with “ Rhenish ” was Theodore Thomas, and Felix Weingartner in his book on “ The Symphony Since Beethoven,” speaks thus of Schumann’s weakness in orchestral technique : “ Almost always he is working with all his resources ; he does not bother to work out the parts in accordance with the nature of the individual instruments. With a naivete almost childlike he thinks to attain fullness and power by doubling the instruments. For this reason the sound is thick and clumsy, the color gray on gray; the most important voices, if you play them exactly according to his directions, sometimes cannot be brought out so they shall be heard ; and a real forte is generally quite as impossible as a real piano.” Schumann himself had an uneasy consciousness that all was not well with his instrumentation, as is shown by his withdrawal of his D minor symphony after its first performance in 1841, his keeping it for ten years and revising it and changing its scoring. But his deficiency of early training and his lack of experience taught him neither what was wrong nor how to remedy it. We went to work by time he spends in the famous coffee houses of that city. He is commonly to be found there from 2 till 5 in the afternoon, and from 11 o’clock at night until some early hour in the morning. He is in receipt of royalties from practically every European city, and, of course, from America. He sits surrounded by musicians of lesser note and wealth, whom, to a degree, he supports. With him, also, much of the time, are the leading composers, librettists, actors, actresses and singers of Vienna. “ Richard Strauss, at present in this country, is of another house of Strauss, and himself and his works need no introduction to Americans. “ The third dynasty has the most members. It is that of the Waltz King and the famous conductors of the Imperial Court Orchestra of Vienna, playing actually for the Emperors of Austria. The founder of this dynasty was Johann Strauss, Sr., the famous first Waltz King. He, like all of the elder sons of this family, was the Imperial Court conductor. Johann, Sr., had three sons — Johann, Jr., Joseph and Edward. Johann, Jr., became Court conductor. He was the most famous of the three sons, having composed a series of waltzes — among them ‘ The Blue Danube.’ ” doubling many of the instruments, thinking! thereby to gain sonority and power, and in the! opinion of some the new version is not in many a respects an improvement upon the old. Perhaps Schumann’s revision of this one! symphony may have implanted in the minds of! some of his admirers an idea of the possibility! of doing the same sendee, in a better way, for! the others. But reorchestrating a symphony is a much 'I more serious and daring undertaking and means! a much more drastic surgical operation.! Whether it is proper at all might well be then subject of discussion. How far is it proper,! necessary or allowable to go in changing or tarn-! pering with the works of a master, to make :■ them “ practicable,” to bring them back to life when they are in danger of death ? At any rate Mr. Stock has been brave in making an attempt and according to all reports he has been!, successful — so far. Seattle Theatre Conduct I ing Musical Contest Manager Von Herberg of the Jensen and Von , Herberg circuit, Seattle, has hooked up with a j movement for better music now in vogue in the? I city with a contest in which a prize of $500 is ? offered to the civic, musical or fraternal organi j zation which presents the best musical program,^ j of four numbers for rendition by the Coliseum j theatre orchestra. All programs offered in the contest will be j played at one of the regular Sunday concerts 5 which have been one of the features at the j Coliseum for several months. There will be no expense attached to the J entrance into the concert. All that is necessary ‘ is that the society wishing to enter communi ] cate with Manager Frank Steffy of the Coliseum J theatre, so that official entry may be made and j a date for the suggested program fixed. The i only condition is that the four numbers sug j gested be of such a character as will be satisfactory to the musical requirements of the orchestra. Conductor Kay is to be judge of this phase of the contest. Because of the high class music now offered at the Coliseum, the theatre has become known as “ Seattle’s symphony centre.” It is hoped by Manager Von Herberg to create larger musical interest in Seattle by this contest. Organizations such as the Seattle Civic orchestra have already joined the contest, and offered their program to be presented, and interest throughout the city is already attracted by the offer. Ij Rothafel Acts as Judge in ! Band Contest S. L. Rothafel, in charge of presentation at the New York Capitol Theatre, acted as one of the judges in a musical contest between the § Band of the Philadelphia Wanamaker Store and that of the 15th Infantry of the Newj" York Guard, held recently at the 22nd Regiment § Armory, New York. Mr. Rothafel was as : sisted by Lieut. Santleman of the U. S. Marine : Band and Patrick Conway, conductor of Con : way’s Band. |I2 One Straus and Some Others Personalities About Various Composers Whose Names Are Similar THE WILLIAMS PRINTING COMTANT, NEW TOBK