"Bogie"

Famed in Chicago is Pianist Moissaye Boguslawski for the muff which he wears in winter to protect his talented fingers from the stiffening cold of Lake Michigan's bitter breezes (see cut). Another stunt of "Bogie" Boguslawski was to play for Chicago's Station WJJD all the piano music of Bach, all the sonatas of Beethoven, in what he called a "musical marathon." Beethoven took nine weeks, Bach twelve. Two years ago Mr. Boguslawski said the music produced by most contemporary composers "gave him the hiccoughs." Fortnight ago this ebullient musician came out as a composer himself. The M. M. Cole Publishing Co. presented 20 Boguslawski piano pieces, 120 edited classics for children. Simple, but not for musical dunces, the exercises so tickled the Cincinnati Symphony's Assistant Conductor Vladimir Bakaleinikoff that he chose four of the Boguslawski compositions to orchestrate for his coming season of children's concerts. The publishers thereupon commissioned Pianist-Composer Boguslawski to write 180 more children's teaching-pieces, edit 400 classics.

Such a flood of desk work will not separate "Bogie" Boguslawski from a keyboard which he keeps in an almost constant state of agitation by teaching 250 pupils, performing in numerous concerts and broad casts. Once a protege of the late Publisher William Rockhill Nelson of the Kansas City Star, Mr. Boguslawski learned what makes a news story from his patron. When straight news about himself is scarce, "Bogie" is likely to come forth with such a project as his proposal to promote world peace through voice culture, since animosity arises when unpleasant tones are heard. Mr. Boguslawski likes to toy with the idea that he may be the 20th Century reincarnation of Poland's Frederic Franc,ois Chopin. Agile and talkative Moissaye Boguslawski's interest in maintaining circulation in his fingers has sound precedent among other pianists. Josef Hofmann and Paderewski dip theirs in hot water. Percy Grainger slaps his on his kneecaps. Only pianists' stimulant of which Pianist Boguslawski disapproves is whiskey. He drinks hot tea, likes to accompany it with thick sandwiches of corned beef on rye.

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