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48 PAGES,
With which is Incorporated THE KEYNOTE.
VOL. XXV.
No. 14.
Published Every Saturday at 3 East Fourteenth Street. New York, October 2,1897.
estimate? Evidently it is not merely a question of
degiees of culture and intellectual development.
Why are some nations more musical than JSIo one will contend that the English are nileiior
to the Germans in the matter 01 education and
others? In what traits of national charac- general
development. Still more preposterous
ter must we seek an explanation of the would it be to deny that the English have artistic
and aestnetic proclivities, since it is they
great and strange differences of musical genius
who have given the world a Milton, a bhakespeare,
taste? No theoretical writer on music, no and a Byrou. It is only in the plastic arts, and es-
in music, that the English have failed to
composer, has ever treated this interesting pecially
produce international celebrities equal to those
psychological problem with the elaborate- produced by the German and French. Must we
seek the reason m the physiological and psycholog-
ness and profundity which it clearly re- ical
conditions of the national life, in the cnaracter
quires.
and temperament of the people, in the natural sur-
Rubinstein, in the autobiography which roundings, environment ana mode of life?
•'Undoubtedly, all these factors are very impor-
he dictated for a Russian historical period- tant,
and can not be ignored in a thorough study
ical, adverted to the musical status of the of the problem. But it seems to us that the con-
the greatest influence must be attributed
leading nations, and, in his usual savage trolling,
to the social and political conditions under which
way, offended many schools of music by a the English have developed their national charac-
We know that politically England is the
classification which seemed arbitrary and teristics.
most advanced country in the world, that nowhere
unfair. He expressed the opinion that the are the institutions and governmental arrange-
more fully and firmly established, that no-
predominance in Europe of Bismarckismon ments
where is the individual freer in the exercise of his
the one hand and of Wagnerism on the faculties and the manifestations of his nature. In
England personality finds complete expression and
other, when all ideals are turned upside satisfaction
in political and social existence. There
down, makes the period a critical one for are no restraints, no artificial and oppressive pro-
which hamper the individual member of
music. While the technical side of the art hibitions
society. These conditions have imparted to the
has made gigantic strides, creativeness national character that positiveness, that sober ra-
that confidence and independence, which,
and originality have disappeared, accord- tionality,
as we all have come to recognize, distinguish the
ing to him, for an indefinite time. But in English. The English have no occasion and no
need to retire into the world of dreams, illusions,
spite of this, here is what Rubinstein found and
imaginings. They are too practical and their
to be the actual state of affairs with refer- energies are absorbed by their activity in the po-
litical and social sphere.
ence to music:
"The exact opposite is found in Germany—in
"Germany, after all, remains the most musical the Germany of the pre-Bismarck period, accord-
nation in the world. If we are to express it in per- ing to Rubinstein. Here is what Rubinstein said
centages, we find that, while the German music- of the conditions under which German music at-
lovers constitute fifty per cent, of the total num- tained its highest degree of perfection: 'The exis-
ber, the French constitute sixteen per cent., and tence of nearly forty courts was extremely favor-
the English (the most unmusical portion of man- able to the encouragement of the arts and the intel-
kind) two per cent. Even the Americans love and lect. Each court tried to compete with and outdo
appreciate music far more than the English. In the others in patronizing and promoting science
spite of their extreme cordiality toward me person- and aesthetics. So far as intellectual culture is con-
ally, I am bound to say that the English neither cerned, the divided Germany offered a better at-
feel nor comprehend anything in music. Real mosphere than United Germany.' The triumph of
music exists only in Germany—I mean high, seri- the policy of 'iron and blood,' however important
ous music; in France they have but one form of politically, was a blow to the spiritual life of the
music, which is finely developed and much valued, nation. The new Germany has less leisure, less
but it is not to be compared with the German stan- inclination to sentimental indulgence, less interest
in the world of dreams and fancies. That is why
dard and culture."
we have witnessed a decline in German music, a
The musical critic of the St. Petersburg neglect of the art realms."
MUSICAL AND UNMUSICAL NATIONS.
Novosti, in referring to Rubinstein's sum-
mary judgment, points out that he attempts
no critical analysis or explanation of the
alleged differences. Rubinstein was an
acute observer and he enjoyed rare oppor-
tunities for studying audiences of various
nationalities; but he attempted no philo-
sophical explanation of his recorded im-
pressions. The Novosti writer tries to deal
with the subject in his own way, and we
quote as follows from his article, translat-
ing his words rather freely:
The writer goes on to develop the idea
that beauty, and especially beauty in
music, is most cherished when and where
it affords a means of escape from the sor-
did and narrow world of reality, in a polit-
ical sense. When there is no freedom for
the citizen, no large and rich social life,
there is an irrepressible impulse to retire
into the ideal world—the freer world of
sound, color, and imagination. Applying
this theory to Russian conditions, the
writer continues:
"How, indeed, are we to account for the aston-
ishing differences admitted even by those who are
not prepared to accept Rubinstein's mathematical
"We do not love music so much as the art world,
the world which allows us to forget the ugliness of
the real world. It is the intoxication that we seek,
$3.00 PER YEAR.
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the emancipation from the burdens and restraints
of real life. Sports, gambling, licentiousness, and
vice are the coarser and lower methods of obtain-
ing relief from the misery of reality, and those are
happy and exceptionally gifted who can find satis-
faction and spiritual rest in beauty, in art, in the
contemplation of ideal things. If beauty in music
is not intellectually appreciated by many, emotion-
ally it is certainly accessible to all. Music appeals
even to those who can not grasp the meaning and
significance of the composer's creation. Melody
caresses the ear and stirs the emotions. It holds
attention captive and diverts it from the prosaic
and narrow world."
The writer claims that close investiga-
tion would corroborate the theory that op-
pression, suffering, and misery have always
inspired and been helpful to art, while
prosperity, political activity, and peaceful
industry have been "the causes of aesthetic
decadence, says the Literary Digest. He
is not ready to say that humanity has lost
more than it has gained from the conquest
of political and social freedom, and that
England and united Germany have not
been compensated for their artistic decline.
He simply points out what he considers a
historic and psychological fact.
A YOUNG VIOLINIST'S DEBUT.
Prof. E. Mahr, head of the violin depart-
ment of the New England Conservatory of
Music, has scored a great success with his
talented pupil, Master Willie Traupe, who
made his debut not long ago in one of the
promenade concerts given by the Boston
Symphony Orchestra. Although the boy
had played several times before at con-
certs given under the management of the
New England Conservatory, this was his
first appearance before the general public,
and he became an instantaneous favorite.
His selections were H. W. Ernst's special-
ly difficult "Airs Hongrois," with orches-
tra, and as a response to five recalls a
"Chaconne" and "Gigue" by Rust, un-
accompanied, all of which were rendered
with surprising dash, accuracy and
finish.
Willie Traupe is barely sixteen years old,
and for the last six years has studied under
Mr. E. Mahr, of the New England Con-
servatory of Music. While he is talented
in a marked degree, yet his advancement
as a promising musician is largely due to
the efforts of his painstaking and conscien-
tious teacher, upon whom he reflects the
greatest of credit.