Justifiable If It Makes People'
Happy Although Mischa Elma the famous violinist, prefers to play musie by the. classical - composers rather than by the modern school, he docs not scorn such a modern con venience as a zip fastener for keep-Ing his Stradivarius tightly locked in ase, Cheeful" and full of te, Mr. Elman chatted gaily about dance musie, (against which ko holds Prejudices), Chinese music, modern violinists, and chess, one of his favourite recreations, in an Interview with the "North-China Herald" at the Cathay Hotel on March 14. Dance: musie he excuses on the grounds that anything which makes people happy justifiable, "Tam only interested in the happiness of the human being", he said, and the fact that he is able to give' this happiness in a diferent enter Into the question. '"jazz", however, should sick to jazz, and not attempt to play As far as Chinese mesic 1s con cerned, Mr. Elman considers that It is hard for a foreigner to get a real emotional reaction to It, but the many hundreds of Chinese who were now interesting themselves in Western music, should be able to give form to their own native musie. Mr. Elman said that the Chinese had made great progress during the last Afty years og regards the appreciation of Western musie.
Youthful Forgetfutness With a (winkle in his eye, Mtr. Biman. recalled an occasion many yours ago, when, at the age of five, he made hig rst public appearance. Ho was to play before a group felons at the palace of a. Russian countess. The journey from his own home occupied two hours, and Arrival at the palace, It was found that he hod left his bow, one quarter size, behind at his house. As. there was not another of this size available, the select audience had to wait two hours white the little bow was pro: cured. The delay put back his re vital practically into the small hours of the morning. ed until two o'clock Mr, Elman explained why he kept practically exclusively to the classical Composers og distinct from the modern school. "E don't honestly think that the moderns have written any: thing worth while," he said, rate, not So far as the violin is con-corned. 'The violin, you must re= member, Is the instrument which most closely resembles the human voice. It can't stand discords, It hax fo have real melody, and only thet does it show Its true' value, Modern composers are trying to use the vio-fin Just of a unit in an orchestra, and the Instrument never. really stands out in their compositions."
As far 98 violinists themselves are concerned, Mr. Elman thinks that the standard is much higher to-day' than ever before, and it is more dimieult to get to the top as a result. The possibilities of the violin had been 'SIL but exhausted, apart from a very fow violinists. This high standard. towards which violinists had been progressing for generations, would be kept up as long as the violin retained ts" present form. "It. is Ue only instrument that has gone through no changes or modifications." said Mr.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.