The Hand That Evokes Music From the Ether [Theremin] 10/2/28

Science invades music! This most unruly of all Pierian pastimes becomes an object for experiments. Professors of acoustics and investigators of aerial vibrations tell amazing tales of exploration and discovery, and urge professional musicians to co-operate. The latter being hard of hearing, cer-tain scientists see fit to use the cave-man method and hit the unwilling ones with the club over the head. Professor John Redfield writes an astonishing book on Music “as a science and an art,” bristling with invectives and full of righteous indignation. At times, the author is magnificently unjust or delightfully autocratic. He would forcibly remove pianos, uprights or grands, from the conductors or the composers room; he would “shoot at sunrise” all individuals who call themselves teachers of harmony; he would relegate into Morondom all vocal instructors and would leave no instrument untuned in the orchestra. No soothing book, but what will you? Musical Babbitts cannot be sufficiently thrashed, and revolutions are not made in white gloves. Mr. Redfield’s book is a revolutionary book in this-that it relentlessly preaches the necessity of rejuvenation of an art that shows all symptoms of decrepitude.