Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
our musical schools and colleges are, as a
rule, limited in nothing but the material
capacities of their room space. But the
remedy is surely in the direction we have
indicated."
o
DINQLEYISM IN THE MUSICAL WORLD.
The Utopian plan of consolidating all the
TELEPHONE NUMBER, 1745.—EIGHTEENTH STREET.
musical societies of this country into one
The musical supplement to The Review Is great national association for the purpose
published on the first Saturday of each month. of limitingour musical activities to native-
born musicians and to opera given in
English
has been revived by one Winfield
15 THE PROFESSION OVERCROWDED?
Blake,
says
the Sun. Among his co-oper-
Are we over-educating in music? J.
ators
are
mentioned
Dudley Buck, Bruno
Cuthbert Hadden is of the opinion that we
O.
Klein,
John
F.
Gilder,
Frederick G.
are and says that many minds are at present
Gleason
of
Chicago,
Dr.
Gerritt
Smith of
extremely perplexed concerning the pros-
this
city,
Herbert
W.
Greene,
president
of
pects of an already overcrowded profes-
the
M.
T.
N.
A.;
Dr.
Floyd
S.
Muckey,
a
sion, into which such vast numbers of
throat
specialist;
Emma
Thursby,
George
young aspirants are endeavoring to push
their way. It may seem absurd to speak of F. Bristowe, John Wanamaker, George
over-educating the masses in the luxury of Sweet, Harry Rowe Shelley and a long list
an art like music. And certainly if we could of less well-known musicians. As soon as
stop at the masses, in other words, if all sufficient funds have been secured a pub-
but the very smallest minority of those lication is to be issued consisting of 200
who are taught music in one way and an- folio pages and containing a brief history
other would content themselves with re- of musical progress in America, numerous
maining mere listeners to and makers of letters and articles from prominent musi-
music for themselves—if we could stop cians and laymen, with a full explanation
here, no harm, but a great deal of good, of the plan of the organization.
*
*
*
*
would be done. Unfortunately experience
'
*
That
there
is
something
to
be said for a
has shown and daily is showing, more
movement
toward
more
national
music in
cleady, that a very large number of those
this
country
appears
from
the
following
who at first take up music as a relaxation,
ultimately come to see in it a genteel way estimate of the moneys paid each year to
of making a living, or of adding to an in- foreign musicians and musical institutions
come accruing from another pursuit; the abroad:
REVENUE TO FOREIGN MUSICAL ARTISTS.
unfailing result being that the profession
(Annual Average.)
of music has overflown to an extent un- To visiting players and singers not in
paralleled in any of the other professions.
opera companies
$500,000
To light opera and operetta stars and
Other professions are undoubtedly over-
combinations
500,000
crowded as well as the musical profession, To grand opera artists, choruses, com-
panies and hangers-on
1,500,000
but there the evil is generally recognized
$2,500,000
and candidates are warned and discour- To Total
teachers and institutions in Europe
aged. In music alone they are urged and
by American pupils
$1,000,000
beckoned to come on, and their increasing To cost of living in Europe paid by
pupils, parents and guardians
2,000,000
numbers are proclaimed with jubilation by To traveling expenses through annual
visits of parents and families, or tem-
those who know nothing of, or are indifferent
porary return visits of pupils
1,000,000
to, the grinding competition that awaits To cost of debuts in Europe, nine-tenths
of which constitute practical failures.
500,000
the objects of their rejoicing. The blunder
is a cruel one, for as we shall see later on,
Total
$7,000,000
the only prospect before the great body of
O
young musicians is to take the bread of
THE DONIZETTI CELEBRATION.
poverty out of some one else's mouth, and
The little town of Bergamo in Italy has
to reduce both Peter and Paul to a state of not witnessed such bustle and excitement
semi-starvation.
for many a day as has been evident for the
There does not seem to be any remedy past few weeks, with its many prepara-
for the deplorable overcrowding unless a tions for the Donizetti celebration, which
check can be placed upon the number of occurs the early part of this month. A
those going in for music at the very outset. short time ago there was an exhibition in
That is to say, if teachers and heads of Vienna of souvenirs of the dead composer;
musical institutions could only be prevail- these relics, as well as many from the
ed upon to honestly tell an intending French capital, will be on exhibition, as
student that he had no natural attitude for well as those in the National Library at
music, that he had no future in his voice, Bergamo, including the piano at which the
no "racing capacity" (the phrase is Von great master composed most of his works
Bulow's) in his fingers, the output of "half- —on the front of which is a brass plate
baked" musicians would be very consider- requesting that it should never be sold, as
ably reduced, and the profession, as a direct from within had come to his ear the voices
result, would suffer less from over-pressure of Lucrezia, Lucia and Roberto—the manu-
within its ranks. But this is too much to scripts of the cantata composed for the
expect. No prospective student was ever wedding of the Emperor Ferdinand with
yet such a dullard that some teacher would the Empress Maria Anna Carolina, and the
not undertake his musical "training," and manuscripts of many early compositions
that were never printed. The skull of the
maestro figures also among the relics.
The French committee, at whose head is
the Italian ambassador to France, Count
Tornielli, has as its acting president Pro-
fessor Delia Sedia. M. Malherbe and M.
Lecount, also on the list, have contributed
to the souvenirs that have been sent to
Bergamo for the exhibition, the majority
coming from the library of the Opera and
the Conservatoire, consisting of letters to
various musicians; also some religious
compositions, libretti, books and busts.
The Vienna committee, that has at its
head Cavaliere Engel Eisner von Eisenhof,
will send the score of "Linda di Chamou-
nix" in manuscript, with a dedication to
the Empress Maria Anna Carolina. The
inauguration will take place on September
8 if the monument, which is somewhat be-
hind hand, is completed; if not, on the
10th. The monument is to be placed in
the square adjoining the theatre, facing
the main street; while the theatre, which
is to be thoroughly remodeled within and
without, is to drop its old name, Ricardi
Theatre, and be known in future as the
Donizetti Theatre. The operas to be given
are "La Favorita," "Lucia" and "Elisir
d'Amore," and Mmes. Calve", Melba, Patti
and Nordica are to take part, while in the
requiem by Donizetti, which is to be given
in the old church of Santa Maria Maggiore,
three hundred artists from all parts of
Europe are to take part. On this occasion
there will be a book printed entitled "Nu-
mero Unico," in which will appear contri-
butions from many well-known names in
music and literature, including Zola, Dau-
det, Massenet, Dubois, Saint-Saens, Weck-
lin, Francois Coppee, D'Annunzio, Tam-
agno, Neera and Corradini.
0
HARCHESI'S VISIT.
The notable event of the season, at least
for musical students, will be the coming
of Mme. Mathilde Marchesi. There is no
doubt that she is the most famous teacher
of singers in the world. The great Gerster
was her pupil, Nevada and Eames studied
under her, as did Smeroscci, Emma Calve,
Sybil Sanderson, Frances Sayville and
Gabrielle Kraus. She considers her great-
est pupil to be Mme. Melba. There are very
few ambitious girls in this country who do
not know something about the Marchesi
method and the wonders it has produced.
Her tour through the country will probably
cause, therefore, as much interest among
the younger musical contingent as did the
last one of Paderewski. It is said that for
her six months' stay in this country
Marchesi asked $60,000. Finally she agreed
to take $40,000.
The celebrated teacher is now 71 years
of age, having been born on March 26,
1826, in Frankfort-on-the-Main. She was
a pupil of Nicolai, in Vienna, in 1843, and
of Garcia, in Paris, in 1845. She became
well known as a concert singer and in
1854 became professor of singing in the
Vienna Conservatory. Her present school
in Paris has been established fourteen
years. Despite her advanced years she