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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
d'etre of the club, let this be the first, last
and eternal consideration. A musical club
is ruinous to the interests of music and
musicians when it invites or accepts free
services of professional artists. No person
ARTISTS' DEPARTMENT.
or body of persons is justifiable in taking
EMILIE FRANCES BAUER, Editor.
that which is a man's living, and giving
TELEPHONE NUMBER. 1745.-EIQHTEENTH STREET
The Artists' Department of The Review is him nothing in return, not even thanks;
published on the first Saturday of each month
for where is the club that does not believe
MUSICAL CLUBS AND THEIR INFLUENCES. that the benefit to the artist is ten times as
"THE musical club fad, if so beneficial a great as to the club. Not that the club
function may be so termed, is grow- should not have this benefit. It should,
ing to an enormous extent. Every great but it should pay for it, and then it would
city has large numbers of them, and cities be in position to provide what is really in-
of smaller dimensions have clubs in pro- structive and artistic, instead of picking
portion. The good work that is being up the first best that is willing to give
done by these clubs cannot be gauged at services, who nine times out of ten
does it because he is unsuccessful and
all.
Most of them consist of amateurs who thinks this will help him along. If
desire to build up their knowledge of his- a man be a stranger it is undoubtedly
tory and form, and in such cities as are de- part of a musical club's duty to give
prived of orchestra, the study of orches- him a chance and a hearing, but it should
tral works by means of two pianos forms be done on a financial basis as it is de-
an interesting and large part of the work. grading to the dignity of a club to be
The clubs also create an interest in musi- an object of charity, especially if this
cal matters, are often instrumental in favor be accepted from one who possibly
bringing artists to a locality where they needs the money and needs it badly.
would not otherwise come, and in setting
Another serious mistake in a club is to
forth talents of their own communities.
use incompetent club members to illustrate
But it must not be believed that musical examples instead of engaging the proper
clubs are unalloyed benefits to the art for interpreters. What is the object of study
which they stand to serve, nor for their if the best results can not be obtained?
communities. Nothing in the world is so Take for instance a Bach study. There
entirely good that harm may not come will be a very instructive, well-written
from it if it be wrongly handled, and so paper, and as illustration, different mem-
many clubs that come into existence to bers will be asked to prepare a Bach num-
benefit the cause of music fall so very ber. Now Bach is not easy to play, and is
far short of accomplishing this that a in most cases criminally misinterpreted.
few suggestions may not come amiss. What is to be gained by having a half
One of the most serious pitfalls in clubdom dozen members hastily throw together
is prejudice. Whether this be favorable some Bach pieces that every one knows
or antagonistic, it matters very little, the and cannot recognize in this amateurish
harm is the same. For the greater part, hodge-podge. How much better to pay
clubs are composed of women who are so- some authoritative Bach player a moder-
cially charming, attractive and altogether ate amount, and have a Bach study mean
delightful, but this in no way signifies that a Bach study.
REVIEW
they are competent musical censors. Often
the determination to foist a totally incompe-
tent person into prominence for social rea-
sons is ruinous to success, for this same sen-
timent will keep a competent person out.
This has no part or parcel in the elevation of
music, but is absolutely the same element
that makes society the vapid, inane thing
that it is. Cliques are the death marks to
progress, and few people who pose as work-
ers in the cause of music realize how little
thought is given to music, and how much
to glorification of self or of the clique. It
is true that the social standing of a club as
of an individual is much to be desired and
carries weight over those who are in every
way better, but of lower caste, yet art is
art, and if this be the object, the raison
Musical clubs are also detrimental to the
cause of music when the members with-
hold their support from musical attractions
other than those in which the club is per-
sonally interested, as music needs all the
encouragement and support that a city can
give it, and one good piano recital, or
evening of chamber music will be of more
actual benefit than a whole season's club
work which at best exists only to put peo-
ple into a more receptive condition when
opportunities to hear do come along.
There is a line of club work yet un-
touched from which most beneficial results
might be expected, and that is among chil-
dren to whom musical history might be
made interesting, and with the right sort
of musical illustrations, it would seem as
though the proper seed might be planted
in time to produce great benefit to the
musical atmosphere of the future. Chil-
dren only want to be interested in the
right way, and they show results quicker
than at any other age, so here is good work
for the club enthusiast.
THE CHURCH AND MUSIC.
TN Chicago they are building a twelve-
story structure in Washington street
which will be a church, a club-house and a
music hall combined. The seating capac-
ity will be for 2500 people, there will be
two tiers of boxes, twenty in a tier, and
seats for a chorus of 260. The Rev. Frank
W. Gunsaulus has resigned his position to
devote all his attention to the new church,
concerning which he is enthusiastic. He
points out that there are 150,000 persons
living within a radius of a mile who have
only the People's and the First Methodist
Church to attend. His idea is that the
church should compete with the theatre
and other places of amusement in being at-
tractive to the public by giving concerts
gratis or at nominal prices, and by provid-
ing club-rooms for the young people of the
community with various amusements.
If ever there is to come a union between
the church and elevated intellectual amuse-
ment of a musical nature, it might be ex-
pected to come through Dr. Gunsaulus, for
never was a man more fully and admira-
bly equipped for this sort of work. Dr.
Gunsaulus is pre-eminently sincere in his
clerical position, yet he is not blind to hu-
manity and all that this implies. Of an
extremely artistic nature, music under
his direction would be of a high order,
and here is the success or failure of
such an enterprise. The entertainments
of such institutions as the Y. M. C. A.
have been for the greater part cheap af-
fairs, and in every way tend to injure
rather than to benefit music in a commun-
ity. Inferior performers always work a
double injury, in the first place they drive
people who understand and enjoy music
away; on the other hand people whose
tastes might be raised are fed upon all that
is commonplace and ordinary. There are
few avenues which might be as helpful to
advance the cause of mtisical art as that
herein planned, or indeed the Y. M. C. A.
course, if enough care and money were
given to make it really and sincerely artis-
tic, but under the existing conditions mu-
sic were better left out of the Star courses
altogether, for the idea that an attraction
is "good enough" for the Y. M. C. A.
entertainments, even though it would not
be elsewhere, is highly pernicious. If mu-
sic is not good enough for a musician to
enjoy, it is not good enough tor anyone.