"Fliver 10,000,000

"Fliver 10,000,000"

Bostonians wriggled, grimaced and guffawed last week at "a joyous epic; fantasy for the orchestra composed by P. S. Converse, inspired by the familiar legend 'The Ten Millionth Ford Is Now Serving Its Owner.'" When the Boston Symphony ceased its jolting cacophony, no insults were hurled at Composer Converse, bowing on the platform. His sense of humor, unlike that of Composer George Antheil (see above), is not inscrutable.

Subtitles in the manuscript tell the story of the rattling, crashing, squeaking, honking burlesque:

Dawn in Detroit; Chanticleer [a siren] announces the dawn; the city stirs; the call to labor.

March of the toilers. Din of the builders. Birth of the hero; the hero emerges from the welter, full-fledged, ready for Service; he tries his metal.

The, hero wanders forth into the great world in search of adventure.

May night by the roadside (America's romance).

The joyriders (America's frolic).

The collision (America's tragedy).

Phoenix Americanus, the hero righted and shaken, proceeds on his way with redoubled energy, typical of the indomitable American spirit.

Said Composer Converse, whose orthodox repute is established: "I did it just for fun," acknowledging that "Flivver 10,000,000" had been inspired by Composer Arthur Honegger's "Pacific 231," serious-minded interpretation of a locomotive plowing through the Rocky Mountains.