Old Don, Old Squire

In the wild mountain land above Nice last week there were strange goings-on. A woeful old knight was seen riding a ribby white horse as seedy as himself. He encountered a band of brigands, attacked them singlehanded. He mistook the sails of a windmill for threatening giants, charged into them to his own near- destruction. After him on muleback plodded a faithful red-faced squire, but with all his remonstrating he had no more control over his crack-brained sire than did the cinemen trying to film the proceedings. The red-faced squire was old George Robey, famed British comedian, playing the part of Sancho Panza, and the rickety don was the great Feeder Ivanovitch Chaliapin, brass-lunged old Russian basso.

Writer Paul Morand wrote the film version of Don Quixote, Composer Maurice Ravel the music. The producers are hoping that again, as with Bolero, Ravel has exercised his flair for writing music which will please all kinds of people. To pay its way the film will need music more captivating than Massenet's flaccid operatic score. Chaliapin has been given two supporting casts, one English (Nelson Film, producers), one French (Nelson and Vandor, producers). He is said to be asking $200,000 as his share of the returns. Because he asked $4,000 a concert. Chaliapin's last U. S. tour was a fiasco. This autumn he is returning for less money to a well-booked season.

Ricci Abroad

Chancellor Franz von Papen of Germany took his first evening off since entering office in June to go, one night last week, to Berlin's great Philharmonic. Thither also went Poet Gerhart Hauptmann, Albert Einstein and many another notable. Unlike U. S. bigwigs, Germany's first, citizens make a practice of attending important concerts. The scene, the air of suspense were similar on this occasion to one three years ago when the crowd interrupted the concert with 20 minutes' cheering and Dr. Einstein rushed backstage afterwards with tears in his eyes.

When he played in Berlin three years ago Yehudi Menuhin was 12, the same age as last week's performer, Violinist Ruggiero Ricci. But although his fingers were nimble, his bowing free, his tone surprisingly smooth, the little Italian boy did not cause Chancellor von Papen to arise and cheer or Albert Einstein to rush backstage. Ricci's playing used to have an emotional quality which made few critics hesitate to class him with Menuhin. Lawsuits followed in which his parents claimed that his guardian, Beth Lackey, was exploiting the boy. The courts returned him to the parents who have let him go on. Neither the transactions nor the publicity added lustre to their golden egg.

Songbook

For people who have worn out their old sheet music George Gershwin's Songbook was published last week in heavy, expensive binding.* Each song has been given a smart, syncopated drawing by Constantin Alajalov, a fancy piano transcription by the composer.

*Simon & Schuster ($5).

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