At Wanamaker's

Through the reaches of a great department store, empty of its shoppers, drifted one evening last week the sound of sweet, incredibly sweet strings, played on by sensitive, appreciative fingers. It was the first concert given with the Rodman Wanamaker collection* of rare Italian violins, violas and cellos, in the auditorium of this Manhattan store. Alfred Casella, famed Italian composer, musicianly, masterly, led the string orchestra picked from the New York Philharmonic,' Dr. Alexander Russell played the organ; Josef Szigete, Hungarian violinist, played on the famed "Chant du Cygne" made by Stradivarius in 1737, when he was 93, Saint-Saens' "Le Cygne"; played it cleanly, limpidly; let no unwanted sentiment blur its colors.

*Assembled in Europe last season by experts solely for concert purposes, never before played on in the U. S. The instruments were: First violins--the Joachim Stradivarius, 1723; the La Chesney Stradivarius, 1687; the Montagnana, 1747; a Tecchler, 1722. Second violins--the Dancla Stradivarius, 1710; a Guadagnivi. Violas-- a Guadagnivi, 1780; Gaffriller, 1727. Cellos--a Ruger, 1765; a Tecchler, 1730.