■a
j\rt £)rama ]\Jusic
Edited by
Elinor Burtchaell — Clifford Zehrung — Emily Houston
(The following weekly features are printed in the Emerald as indicated:
Tuesday, Lemmy’s Ghost, Society; Wednesday, Art, Drama, Music; Thursday,
Poetry; Friday, World of Sports; Saturday, Library Browsings, Contributions
for any of these columns may be left in the Emerald Box at the circulation
desk in the University Library, or at the Editor’s office.)
About the exhibit of Childe Has
sam’s and Joseph Pennell’s etch
ings, water-colors and sketchings
held at the art building last week,
I may say I was both pleased and
disappointed. My disappointment
was due, no doubt, to my lack of
information—I did not know the
collection was one of “playtime
sketches” and not of the best work
of these two artists about whom I
had heard so much. When I wan
dered into the midst of Pennell’s
water-colors, I expected to find a
galaxy of color—and came away
with the knowledge that Pennell
did not strive for brilliance, but
effect, and that he achieved what
he strove foT.
The effect of these slight semi
impressionistic paintings is notice
able, and proves in fact their main
charm. Childe Hassam’s etchings
were rather fascinating, too. He,
like Pennell, made his drawings
while /travelling through j Europe
during his vacation. In these, we
find two of his characteristic
traits—the absolute naturalness of
his human figures, and his excel
lent portrayal of architecture. In
the former, he sacrifices the supple
qualities for the more human rigid
ness that is so often seen in nudes.
But he, too, like Pennell, gains the
desired effect in the final ensemble.
The crayon-sketches on jthe dark
paper held my. attention the long
est. Possibly because here I found
the richness of color that was lack
ing in the water-colors.
All, I was told by Professor
Sehroff, were hurried, not more
than thirty minutes being spent on
each sketch—and one could hardly
expect an “Angelus” !or “Mona
Pisa” in thirty minutes.
It can be explained why both
artists are at a disadvantage in be
ing judged by this , exhibition!,
Hassam, who is more famous for
his water-colors, exhibits only etch
ings, and Pennell, whose etchings
are better liked than his water
colors, exhibits the latter.
* # #
A bit of interesting information
I heard about Joseph Pennell con
cerned his tirade against bill
boards and sign-boards in New
York. He led an army of art en
thusiasts against the advertisers
who were prone to clutter up’ the
city. I did not hear who won—the
sign boards, I suppose. Both Pen
nell and his wife contributed to
Harper’s magazine. Mrs. Pennell
writes—her articles being illus
trated by her husband.
Somewhere, a long while ago, I
read a few lines that recur to my
mind every now and then, when I
see some of the vulgarities that
pass as art. The lines read some
thing like this:
“There is more art—more beauty,
in a battered copper kettle, hang
ing by the side of an old stone fire
place, or in the bare branches of a
tree against a twilight winter sky
than is ever credited to such ‘every
day’ things.”
For some unsolved reason the
public all too often accepts the
characterless atrocities found in
the “best homes.” Such master
pieces as the victory scene of three
dead pheasants, tied bouquet-like
and hanging with their toes ceil
ingward, or the usual study of the
too-perfoet, bugless fruit with the
inevitable split peach or sliced
watermelon (usual dining room
scenes—both') create aj mingled
feeling of wrath an<? pity in my
breast for the misguided philistine
who worships at a fals** shrine.
NEW ART BOOK
A new book on modern are
by Sheldon Chencv has been
■placed on the reserve shelf of the
library for those who are interested
in the subject. It is cleverly writ
ten, well illustrated and handles
a new phase of the esoteric art
which has had such a thoroughly
criticized and stormy ten years
of public appearance. Cheney ex
plains this modernistic change as
a classic extreme of the photo
graphic realism of the 19th cen
tury. So far as being able to
understand it, he says it is all a
matter of education (as anything
is, of course). T shall save time by
giving the exact words of the auth
or:
“Not to be able to appreciate the
works of Kokoschka’s (one of the
foremost exponents of modern art),
just because they seem rough and
un-photographic argues plain ig
norance. Continued dislike of the
art after all that has been written
about it and all of the modernistic
exhibitions in the last ten years
indicates a case of plain bigotry—
stubborn adherence to a set notion
of what art is.” All of which has
all the winning qualities of a man
arguing in a foreign language.
There are about one hundred and
seventy-five illustrations of good
examples of modern art in the book.
They attracted my attention—not
as you might suppose, though, I
had disturbing thoughts of the
cross-word puzzle craze being de
throned by the modern art craze,
which might be called something
like, “Guess-What. ” One never can
tell.
DRAMA
The announcement that Eugene
is to have a short season of light
and comic opera appears to have
aroused much pleasant anticipation
for those University students and
faculty members who are particu
larly interested in music, and dra
ma. Campus conversation indi
cates, however, that the interest is
not confined to this group, only.
The Brandon Opera company,
which is to appear at the Heilig
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, is
a proved company. Its merit may
be judged by the fact that after
playing an entire week in Portland
it was able later to return for an
other week with even greater suc
cess than attended it the first time.
The repertoire for Eugene is well
chosen. For the opening night the
cast of more than 30 will present
“The Bohemian Girl,” one of the
outstanding successes. This will be
followed by “The Spring Maid,”
the fascinating vehicle in which the
noted Mitzi made her great suc
cess: “The Mikado,” Gilbert and
[Sullivan’s opera gem; and “Robin
Hood,” America’s best loved stage
production.
i To lovers of music the principals
in the company need little intro
duction. Theo Pennington, soprano,
is said to possess one of the most
beautiful voices in opera today.
She is to be on the campus during
her stay, and will sing at assembly.
Others are Harry Pfiel, tenor; Carl
Bundschu, baritone; and Imra Tice,
soprano.
“THE IDEAL HUSBAND”
“The Ideal Husband,” like the
greater part of Oscar Wilde’s work,
is a more or less clever representa
tion of an epoch or a condition in
society—decadence. It is the de
cadence of a people which has
reached the height of its creative
genius and has turned its gaze in
ward to view with supercilious eye
the machinations of its own exist
! enee.
Hence, any production of “The
Ideal Husband” should be judged
on the extent to which it creates
this atmosphere. The Guild hall
offering of the comedy last week
was not perfect.. The entire cast,
with a few exceptions, was far too
enthusiastically decadent. Gerda
Brown, as Mrs. Chevely, is less
marked by this defect than the
others, chiefly because the char
acter she portrays is not necessar
ily decadent. Her work is master
ful. Perhaps a trifle too master-:
ful.
Claire Gibson, taking the part of
Lady Chiltern, showed an admir
able restraint, and won sympathy
to a difficult part. Darrell Lar
sen should attempt perfection of
carriage. His idiosyncrasies of pos
j ture and walk are too noticeable,
i He, in the part of Lord Goring,
! was a trifle too volatile to be con-[
vincing. Nevertheless, despite these j
; faults, Larsen’s inherent dramatic J
sense gives a magnetism to his per
i son which is felt whenever lie is
on the stage.
Florence Couch is not, probably
could not be English. But whv^
! should we ask her to be? She is
! too absolutely enticing as a pro
duct of American freedom to spoil
by lacing up in corsets and cus
i toms.
Three of the cast of “The Ideal
j Husband” took it'upon themselves
to burlesque their parts. Perhaps
: Wilde intended the parts to be [
j burlesqued, |ierhaps the director
j was working his audience for guf- t
faws rather than polite titters.
| Paul Krausse, as Lord Caversham, j
i Jeanne Gay, as Mrs. Marchmont, j
j and Margaret Booth, in the part
of Lady Basildon create figures
that are grotesque; Krausse is hu
| morous.
Beatrice Beebe, as the antiquated
i Lady Markby, is English. She is
| perhaps the most English of the
I troupe. Delbert Faust, as the
Vieomte de Nanjac, is perhaps the
least English of the troupe, but, of
course, he is excused on the grounds
of his foreign ancestry.
The textual emendations which
Mr. Beddie has made in Wilde’s
comedy are not altogether pleasing.
They jar one. The introduction of
modernism and modern terms is
hardly legitimate. It is difficult
to contemplate enjoying Shake
speare with the impetuous Romeo
whispering to his love, “Come, my
pride and joy, we’ll grab a hack
and ditch this burg!”
LEON K. BYRNE.
MUSIC
“Music is a great universal lang
uage, needing no translation. Tols
toi writes a great tract, and it is
sealed to all save those who know
the particular language in which
he writes. But Tschaikowsky
writes a symphony, needing no
translation to men of every tongue
and type with its immortal mes
sage of beauty. ”
DR. WILLIAM P. MERRILL.
ON THE CAMPUS
To the lovers of music and the
campus in general comes the wel
come news that another assembly
program is planned by members of
Mu Phi Epsilon, music fraternity
for women. It is to be Thursday.
The program includes a violin quar
tet of Maurer’s “Concerto;” a
small orchestra number of Pinck’s
“Pirouette,” “Divine Darilla,” a
dainty melody written in 1750 by
an unknown composer; “A Russian
Snow Song,” and a solo by Theo
Pennington of the Brandon Opera
company. Miss Pennington has
been in Portland with the opera
company during the past few days
and consented to appear on the
Mu Phi Epsilon program. The tra
ditional close of the program is the
“Triangle Song,” by the entire
group.
An assembly program by Mu Phi
Epsilon is given annually and is
always anticipated with real inter
est. Phi Mu Alpha, men’s music
fraternity, gave an excellent pro
gram at an assembly last term.
A delightful musical program was
given Sunday afternoon under the
auspices of the Alpha Tau Omega
fraternity. Numbers included the
new University string quartet, com
posed of Rex Underwood, Alberta |
Potter, Buford Roach, and Lora
Teshner. Other numbers were vio
lin and piano solos.
A wealth of interesting musical
concerts is planned for the future,
beginning with the Mu Phi Epsilon
program tomorrow. Albert Spauld
ing, violinist, will appear Tuesday,
February 24, and Florence Easton,
soprano, will present a conceft
March 10. The two artists are well
known in musical circles. Their
| coming will be a treat for the cam
pus.
The home concerts of the orches
tra and glee clubs are to be de
cidedly interesting with many new
features. The two glee clubs ap
pear together this year. Both the
orchestra and glee club concerts
are scheduled for next term.
Perhaps the most interesting mu
sical of this year will be held ht
the formal opening of the new mu
sic auditorium in March. At the
time of the opening there will be a
series of four concerts. The first
night of the formal opening will be
marked by an organ concert by
John Stark Evans. On Sunday af
ternoon the vesper choir will give
a program and the two following
evenings will be devoted to miscel
laneous programs. The auditorium
is finished, with the exception of
the curtains which have been or
dered from New York.
Following the opening, other eon
! certs are scheduled in the auditor
ium. A program of opera num
bers is to be given by Mu Phi Ep
silon in the series of musicals. It
will be under the direction of Mad
ame Rose McGrew.
“Crimson Eyebrows,” a delight
j ful Chinese opera, will be given
under the direction of Anne Lands
bury Beck. It is to be given in
true Chinese style with no curtains
and lighting effects for the
changes. It is similar in some ways
to the “Mikado,” given here pre
viously, and promises to he even
more pleasing.
Sergei Rachmaninoff, the emi
nent Russian composer and pianist,
appears in concert in Portland to
night. His program includes his
own “Etude Tableau,” and “Pre
lude.”
• • •
Os-ke-non-ton (Running Deer), of
the Bear Clan of the Mohawk In
dians is an excellent baritone. That
Indian music may not die, he is
presenting concerts of the music
of various tribes. He appeared re
cently in Town Hall, New York, in
an Indian setting and sang in the
Indian dialect, songs from tho
Zumi, Blackfoot, Omaha, Dakota,
Mohave-Apache, Tewa, and Nava
jo tribes. His voice has been de
scribed as excellent in quality and
very resonant. He has an appeal
ing personality combined with a
dramatic instinct. In March he
goes abroad to tour until Septem
ber. He appeared last year in a
successful concert in London.
PRIZE OF EUROPEAN TRIP
OFFERED AT PRINCETON
Princeton.—To the Princeton stu
dent writing the best essay on
“Princeton’s greatest need,” will
be given the opportunity to tour
Europe free next summer. The tour
is offered by the United States
Lines Student Tours, and its value '
is $586. The route suggested in- j
eludes Paris, Geneva, Rome, Flor-!
ence, Venice, and London. The win- i
ner of the competition may map
out any tour he wishes however,
provided it does not exceed $586.
COLORADO STUDENTS WILL
ROW ON $1,000,000 LAKE
University of Colorado. — Colo- j
rado University will soon enter
into another branch of sports if
present plans materialize. Construc
tion of a $1,000,000 lake, four miles
east of Boulder by the Public Serv-1
ice company of Boulder, is consid-'
ered an ideal place for rowing, and ]
if opponents can be obtained and
the cost does not prohibit, this sport
will become a reality in Colorado.
The lake is two miles long and one
mile wide.
REPORTORIAL INSTINCT
STRONG IN TEXAS YOUTH
University of Texas.—Embryo
reporters on The Daily Texan have
the much needed reportorial in
stinct, the Texan says. Every mem
ber of the beginning class was sent
to cover Governor Ferguson’s in
auguration, and when tho doors of
the capital were closed at 10:30
every member was inside and on
the job. Some of them went in the
windows when the crowd at the
door made entrance seem hopeless.
PENNSYLVANIA STADIUM
TO HAVE 83,000 CAPACITY
University of Pennsylvania.—
Plans are being made to increase
the size of the stadium to seat 83,
000 people. The present stadium
with a seating capacity of/ 56,000,
is far too small.
MARCEL AND CURL
75c
Gay Thompson
861 WILLAMETTE ST.
Phone 10191-R
Brandon Opera Co
THE BE/T LIGHT OPERA ORGANIZATION IN AMERICA
3 DAYS—
4 PERFORMANCES
next
THUR.—FRI.—SAT.
The world’s most popular light and comic operas
Thur. Nite __ ,r
Feb. i9th BOHEMIAN GIRL
Most tuneful, colorful and romantic of all
light operas
Fri Nite
Feb. 20th “SPRING MAID’*
The smart, fascinating opera in which
Mitzi scored her greatest success
Sat. Mat.
Feb. 21st
THE MIKADO
Gilbert & Sullivan’s gem of gems
Sat. Nite _ _ „ _ _ t.
Feb. 21st ROBIN HOOD
America’s greatest and best loved opera
“Flooding the Earth with the Music of Paradise’’
„ Superb company of 30 people
PRICES INCLUDING TAX
Nights—Floor $1.65; balcony, first 6 rows $1.10,
last 7 rows 50c. Matinee—floor $1.10, balcony 50c.
All seats reserved.
SEAT SALE NOW
Copyright 1924 Halt Schaffner & Marx
Spring styles that will suit your
taste—$35 to $60
You probably have some very definite ideas about the
width of your trousers, the fullness of the cuffs and the
drape of the coat. If so, you’ll enjoy coming here. You’ll
find exactly what you’re looking for. You’ll also find all
the new colors and fabrics along with some exceptional
values.
NEW ARRIVALS:
SPRING STETSON HATS
REGIMENTAL STRIPE TIES
INTERWOVEN HOSE
Wade Bros.
Hart Schaffner & Marx Clothes
THE LATEST COLLEGE FAVORITES ON BRUNSWICK RECORDS
Here’s
The Cotton Pickers
r
Again!
Their first record in 6 months:
that howling new success—
“The
Prince of Mils”
Out at the Old Soldiers’ Home they throw away their crutches when the
Cotton Pickers play. And you’ll forget how light (or heavy) she is on your
feet when you dance to their snappy selections.
This is the Cotton Pickers’ first new record in six months. They’ve been on a
long tour. But you’ll enjoy the way they play “The Prince of Wails,” with
“Jimtown Blues” on the reverse side. At 75c this record is a real “buy.”
You ought to own this one.
Here are a few other Brunswick records we’ll gladly play for you. Come ini
any time. We get quite a kick out of playing them over ourselves!
MY BEST GIRL—Guitar and Voice.. .
DREAMER OF DREAMS—Guitar and Voice.
Nick Lucas, The Crooning Troubadour
HONOLOU—Fox Trot with Vocal Chorus by Paul Sylvano .
SHANGHAI SHUFFLE—Shimmy Fox Trot.
Gene Rodemich’s Orchestra
I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS— Fox Trot with Vocal
Chorus by Frank Bessinger.
WHY COULDN’T IT BE POOR- LITTLE ME?—Fox Trot
Isham Jones, Guest Conductor with Ray Miller’s Orchestra
ROSE MARIE—Fox Trot from “Rose Marie”.
A LITTLE BIT OF THIS—Fox Trot, introducing “My Road”
from “Be Yourself”.Carl Fenton’s Orchestra
2768
75c
2760
75c
2788
75c
2759
75c
Seth Laraway’s Music Store
968 Willamette Street