Page:Czecho-Slovak Student Life, Volume 18.djvu/444

Truly, he need have never so much as written a note, and he would still be very well known as an artist of the keyboard. This is easily pointed out by the fact that he toured America as pianist and accompanist to his fellow countryman, the world renowned Jan Kubelik, and that he played his own piano concerto with that venerable musical organization, the New York Symphony Orchestra. so successfully.

Mr. Friml is also one of the most successful of composers ever known from the standpoint of material rewards. His highly melodic and scintillating popular operas are whistled from coast to coast. Since his comic opera “Firefly” was produced with such tremendous success in 1912, he has composed a very large number of comic opera successes including such sparkling gems as, “High Jinks”, “Katinka”, “You’re in Love”, “Tumble Inn”, “Sometimes”, “Gloriana”, “Kitty Darling”, “Blue Kitten”, “Bibi of the Boulevarde”, “June Love”, Cinders”, “Rose-Marie”, and the “Vagabond King”. This gives one a good idea of the very prolific manner in which Mr. Friml can compose musical comedy successes.

All the music of Friml invariably shows his superlative artistry. This artistry of his, combined with the fine opportunity of having received a solid musical foundation at the Prague Conservatory under the world famous Dvorak, no doubt goes to make him the figure he is today in the world of music. Wherever music of a higher order is played the name of Rudolf Friml is known and stands forth authoritatively.

When the Passion Play of Santa Clara was staged March 21–25, 1928, little Jeanne Halamicek, 8 year old soprano, child prodigy, was included in the east, singing in the nativity scene. She, together with her 9 year old sister, violinist, is arousing much interest in music circles of the West coast, for this extraordinary child sings with perfect understanding in six different languages. LeRoy V. Brant of the San Jose News writes of one of her concerts: “The little singer rendered songs in several different languages, and without faltering sang such difficult selections as “The Jewel Song” (Faust), “The Aria” (Sampson and Delilah), “My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice” . . . Her dramatic instinct was even more surprising than her technical skill.” Of Joan Halamicek the writer says: “Miss Joan drew from her violin a surprisingly big and beautiful tone, and in her most difficult passages her intonation was correct. Most notable of all was a maturity of understanding, of expression, that made one wish to see her at play with her dolls, to be sure that she had any of the instincts of a child.”

Both have a repertoire of about eighty compositions and are able to render a change of program on every evening of the week.

A new art gallery is to be opened at the State spa of Jachymov, where a collection of the representative works of all the leading living Czecho-Slovak artists will be housed in the State-owned hotel. The project is receiving the support of Dr. Tiso, the Minister of Health.