Cinema Music

On the assumption that the U. S. masses prefer their music light and syncopated, the Roxy cinemansion in Manhattan dismissed its symphony orchestra four months ago, installed Fred Waring and his jazz-making "Pennsylvanians." Fred Waring put on a series of brisk, comic turns but last week at Roxy's great waves of applause greeted every showing of an announcement that the symphony orchestra would be reinstated. Hugo Riesenfeld, leading pioneer for "good" cinema music. would be conductor. Good music had thus won a victory likely to have results in movie houses all over the U. S.

It is no longer considered disgraceful for famed "singers to swell their incomes by singing in cinemansions. Contralto Margaret Matzenauer sang last week at Roxy's where Contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink, another Metropolitan Opera alumna, has sung several times. Soprano Frances Alda, a mound of red velvet and jewels, last week did a turn at the Palace, Manhattan vaudeville house.

Tenor Beniamino Gigli had not decided last week whether to accept a $7,000-a-week offer for 20 weeks from Paramount-Publix, the cinema chain for which oldtime Coloratura Luisa Tetrazzina has been singing this season. But he was ready with the statement he promised his public in connection with his refusal to take a salary cut at the Metropolitan and the severance of his connection there (TIME, May 9). Excerpt: "Mr. Gatti-Casazza had a grudge against me. . . . None of my colleagues had a long contract to protect as I had. . . . They [the 32 artists who signed a letter protesting against Tenor Gigli's esprit de corps'] have acted in a tricky way. .

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