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Should Ihe Artist Bo In Uniform?
{(continued from jxige 12 i
”\\ ell." Menuhin replied. “I don't
feel that it s entirely up to me. We
shall all have to do what the situation
demands. Certainly. I don't plan to
pla\ the violin if the enemy is at our
door.
"'t et. there is the point that some
of us might still sene our country
and the war effort by other activities
Insides cam mg a gun. When we first
entered the war, I felt that I must par
ticipate in some sort of war acti\ its.
More for want of anything better to
do than as a result of careful delibera
tion I decided to tour the arms camps,
plas ing to whatever soldiers were suf
ficients interested in fiddling to at
tend. This was purels a |iersonal feel
ing. I gase no thought to public re
sponse and in fact minimized the
significance of the whole thing.
“I was therefore, both astonished
and gratified to feel a response among
ms soldier audiences that I had rarely
felt in the concert halls. Ihe attitude
of ’barter was not present. The boss
there were gathered not because thes
were compelled to do so or felt ’it ssas
the thing to do. but because thes
ssere genuinely interested, i ou keep
them merely bs interest in sour mu
sic. and what enthusiasm you evoke
sou know is sincere.
“There is sers little serious music
available in the camps, and there is a
minorits of the soldiers who miss it.
(hi ins tour I have met boss who have
studied at different music schools, who
were sers grateful for the opportunity
to hear some serious music.
”1 think in judging whether a man
should be sent into actual battle, we
'hould consider the chances of replac
ing him in society. In an occupation
in which I<M».<MHI men. let us sas. are
engaged it is easier to replace them
than in a profession where there are
ma\be thirty topflight performers.
“This, of course, all depends on
how acute i> the danger that faces us.
lo repeat, one would not fiddle when
an imader threatened one's home.
"Of course, there is the other side
of the picture. Any new experience en
riches the artist and he. in turn, hands
on his more mature talents to the au
diences for whom he performs. Di
mitri Shostakovich's new Seventh
Symphony, composed while he was
fire warden in Leningrad, is an ex
ample of this.
"I have also plaved for the Red
Cross, the American \\ omen's \ olun-
tary Services, the British War Re
lief. the Russian War Relief, and for
other war groups as my contribution
to the war. I feel that everyone must
do his share in his own way. Some
can serve in the armed forces, others
can sell bonds or do other patriotic
work. Rut the |M*rs«>n who cannot do
even these things should not feel out
of things, because he can make his ef-
forts by just doing what he normally
does, quietly and a little better, help-
ing to keep the kind of living and cul
ture for which we are fighting from
disintegrating. W e must not lose that
kind of living and culture even as we
fight to preserve it.
"I am continuing my violin con
certs and I am giving as main as pos
sible. until I am called upon to do
something else. \n artist should. It is
important that the group that repre
sents our standard of living maintain
itself."
Menuhin is evidently deeplv con
cerned with his role in the war effort
and has given the matter much
thought. I hat was evident from the
way in which lie answered inv ques
tions. lie gave no pat, ready replies.
Lach sentence was carefully thought
out and fell deeply.
I lie New ^ ork l imes in an edi
torial some months ago. touching on
this very subject, said: “How can Ye
hudi Menuhin, the violinist, for ex
ample. best serve his country? He
gave one good answer to that question
last week. One way i" to play the vio
lin. Rutting aside the direct pleasure
he gave his audience, by plav ing at
Carnegie Hall for the benefit of the
\meriean Women's \ ohmtarv Serv
ices. lie induced |>eople to contribute
money that they should otherwise not
have done, and was more effective
than lie would have been trying to do
something that hundreds of others
could do just as well."
W e think that about sums up Menu
hin's own feelings in that matter, hx-
eept that before I left he added: "We
Jews are inclined to be sensitive on
this subject of participation in the
war. I think that one happy result of
this is that we do more than our
share. American Jews have never
needed urging. They have always
thrown themselves headfirst into all
patriotic endeavor. And this war i" no
exception."
W hen Menuhin returns this month
to New York to perform at the Lewi-
sohn Stadium concerts, he will be
completing a hectic season in which
he gave as many, if not more, con
certs for soldiers and war benefits
throughout the country as he gave
public performances.
We prefer him with a fiddle under
his chin rather than with a gun on
his shoulder. And we think the thou
sands of soldiers for whom he has
plaved and the thousands of war vic
tims who have been aided by the
funds he helped to raise would agree.
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