All-American

"A young American, full of energy," tall, slim, graceful is Harold Barlow, a native of the Middle West (Plain City, Ohio), a representative of the Far West (Portland, Ore.), a graduate of Reed College and the Columbia University Music Department, who has had the daring to organize and lead an orchestra "composed solely of Americans and dedicated to the performance of compositions by Americans."

Last week this all-American orchestra performed in Aeolian Hall, Manhattan. After Brahms' Second Symphony, which was taken on with spirit and vigor, there was heard for the first time B. Sherman Fowler's Moonlit Sky. Said the program:

The Moon, in its majesty, rises above the horizon, sailing ever upward in its splendor. A cloud passes over its surface, momentarily dimming its brilliance. It emerges, and the Lady of the Moon is heard making love to the Man in the Moon. He becomes irritated by her persistent wooing, and bursts forth in anger. An argument ensues, and the teasing voice of the Lady is heard with an occasional growl from the Man. Hysterical laughter, then reconciliation and all is again serene, as the splendor of the Moon shines forth in its calm majesty. The Lady in the Moon again makes love, and although the Man protests it is in a more pleasant vein.

The music was considerably better than the words.

There followed another tonal translation, Rip Van Winkle's Homeward Journey--Washington Irving in terms of Herr Dr. Richard Strauss, by one William Schroeder.

Harold Barlow and his native team do not yet possess the polish and precision that one expects of high-grade organizations. There is no question, however, but that they have won the right to some additional hearings. Later, perhaps, America may have an efficient orchestra, capable of extracting the best from the works of MacDowell, Loeffler, Carpenter, Deems Taylor. That would be indeed worth while.