Music Trade Review

Issue: 1902 Vol. 34 N. 1

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
7VYUSIC T R S D E
HARRY H. BARNHART.
New York will hear him Jan. i6th with the States." The book is a valuable addition to
Boston Symphony and one month later with a collection of musical works or as statistics. LJARRY H. BARNHART, basso can-
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tante, who is under the direction of
the New York Philharmonic. Then we may
One of the most impressive and enjoyable
Charles
L. Young, has just given a series of
hope for more of those magnificent re- performances of the Messiah ever given by
recitals
in the Sherman Clay Hall in San
citals which won him his way into the admir- the Oratorio Society of New York, occurred
Francisco,
and has had such success that he
ation of us all.
on Saturday night, and strange to say, the
has
been
induced
to appear there again in
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production was not impaired by a most start-
another
series
of
recitals
in January. Mr.
We will also hear Zeldenrust for the first ling incident. At five minutes before the
time with the admirable setting which the first soprano recitative there was no soprano llarnhart is also very successful in his teach-
Kneisel Quartet makes for any artist. Zel- to fill the part. Miss Palliser, the original ing in San Francisco, and is at present con-
denrust has created a very good impression choice of the society, was ill with bronchitis sidering an offer from Mr. Young to return
wherever he has been heard, and he will be and her place was filled by Sara Anderson.
presented in piano recitals later on.
After reaching the hall Miss Anderson was
Mrs. H. H. A. Beach played with the knei- seized with a hoarseness that took away even
:sel Quartet. Dec. 17th in a program given as a her speaking voice. Messengers were sent
Beethoven memorial. Mrs. Beach was ex- out for Jessica De Wolf who is known to
tremely disappointing, her playing lacking be a unique oratorio singer and ready at any
the slightest approach to tenderness, or even moment for emergencies, but she did not
reverence for the work in hand. Mrs. Beach arrive in time and Mrs. Louise Mackay Les-
should rest upon her laurels as composer lie, a young church soloist in the audience
and leave the field of piano-playing decidedly volunteered to assume the responsibility.
alone. She is a society woman, anyhow; Mrs. Leslie acquitted herself most remark-
ably without the slightest break in the
nothing more need be said.
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Among the winter publications issued by smoothness of the performance and with a
clear unfaltering voice. Mrs. Leslie has had
L. C. Tage & Co., of Boston, there is an
her vocal training under Helen Yon Doen-
interesting book called "A Critical History
hoff, whose able work made her pupil suffic-
of Opera,'" by A. Elson. In point of the
iently strong to undertake such a colossal
fact that Elson is one of the names best chance. It was a very wonderful success
known to readers of musical topics, the ques- and both pupil and teacher deserve great
HARRY H. HARNHART,
tion arises, who is Arthur Elson? This is praise. The other soloists were Mrs. Louise
to
New
York
and teach in the Charles L.
answered very satisfactorily by the following Homer, Gregory Hast, and David Bispham.
Young
School
of Music on Fifth avenue.
dedication : "To the one who has been my Mrs. Homer sang with intelligence and feel-
Should
he
accept
Mr. Young's offer, he will
most intimate companion in pleasure, and ing, Gregory Hast who is essentially an
in
all
probability
bring several of his most
my best counsellor in toil,—to my father, oratorio singer was highly interesting and
prominent
pupils
East
with him.
Louis C. Elson, this book is gratefully in- enjoyable, and to Bispham. as always, wher-
BECOMING A FAD WITH ITALIANS.
scribed."
• J W ever he appears, fell the lion's share of ad-
\\J
RITING
with famous musicians or au-
This beautiful inscription seems very fit- miration, and justly so for he is the greatest
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thors
for
their heroes is evidently
ting to those who know Louis Elson, the oratorio singer that we ever hear—he is su-
going
to
become
a
fad in Italy. The other
man. To those, however, who know Louis perb. The chorus and orchestra under the
Elson, the writer, the work of his son will telling baton of Frank Damrosch. were at day an opera founded on Chopin's music and
be doubly interesting, as it is very well writ- their best and the entire performance was a life was sung at Milan, the composer, or
compiler, being M. Orefice. Still more re-
ten and represents a volume which can be memorable one.
cently
Stefano Girardi, a professor of the
perused rapidly to get the points desired.
Lillian Blauvelt arrived in New York on
One also feels that it must have passed the Sunday after a very stormy trip. Blauvelt 'cello at the Naples Conservatoire, invited
crucial test of Louis Elson's judgment and will appear at Carnegie January 19 after some friends to hear the music of a new
criticism. The sub-topics are,—The Origin which she will .fill thirty engagements be- opera, entitled "Byron." The work in ques-
tion aims at illustrating the life, loves and
of Opera, (duck's Reforms, Rise of Light fore returning to Europe.
adventures of the English poet, who is fol-
Opera, Mozart and His Works, Classical
Emilie Frances Bauer.
lowed by the librettist to Missolonghi, where
Opera, Weber and German Romanticism,
EXPRESSING IDEAS IN MUSIC.
he fought for the liberty of the Greeks until
Rossini and Italian Opera, French Grand
T may be said broadly that all modern death overcame him. Maestro Girardi is
Opera, Wagnerian Librettos, Wagner and
music is painting. At almost any con-
His Music, Italian Revival, Modern France, cert one may hear a landscape done into said to be a musician of considerable attain-
Germany and Russia, Appendix, England tone, perhaps a moon view or a river scene, ments, who has already made himself known
and America, in which reference is made says Park Barnitz. The river will bubble as a composer for the concert-room. "Byron,"
to the opera "Azara," of John Knowles in the wood-wind or the moon will rise in however, is his first operatic essay.
Paine.
soft arpeggi. The survival of the old forms Something Entirely
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Another work issued by L. C. Page & Co. in Brahms and Cesar Franck, whose ideas
is a volume of retrospects by Henry C. were often modern enough, is only an excep-
Chas. F.
Lahee entitled "Grand Opera in America." tion to the general rule. If Wagner and
Albert's
This is also for hasty perusal, as it states Berlioz and Tschaikowsky portrayed emo-
merely facts very tersely and fills a certain tions and landscapes in tone, the living Herr
<3 Artists'
need satisfactorily. There are serious omis- Richard Strauss has boldly attempted to por-
sions, of course, but more serious inclusions tray ideas; music has gone from painting
Rosin
—-that is, certain people have been men- to metaphysic; and we may perhaps expect
Composed of a ncwMix-
tioned that America could not afford to have translations of Kant and Hegel after the
turc specially adapted
go down into serious history, yet it must be manner of "Also sprach Zarathustra." Herr
for Artists" use.
admitted that Lahee has in a way tempered Strauss, as the boldest exponent of expres-
this by publishing the statement of Henry sion against formal beauty in music, is cer-
PRICE 3Oc,
W. Savage concerning the late venture of tainly, from the point of view of the future,
After a trial you will use no other.
Metropolitan English Grand Opera, and quite the most important composer now liv-
cAsk
your Music dealer or send to
Mr. Lahee very aptly says: '"They (the ing. He does not mind filling the earth with
CHAS, F, ALBERT
singers) were of ability sufficient to ensure cacophonies, if he can manage at the same
209.SO. 9ih St,,
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
.success in any country except the United, time to express a few ideas,
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE WVSIC TRMDE
ARTISTS'
TELEPHONE
NUMBER,
DEPARTMENT.
1745.--E1OHTEENTH STREET
The Artists' Department of The Review is
published on the first Saturday of each month.
NEVTYEAR REFLECTIONS.
jVJ O one who has watched closely the prog-
*• ress of artistic matters has failed to be
impressed with the fact that progress has
always been hindered by the jealousies which
artists entertain. These are unfortunately
brought forward to hinder united action
among bodies of men who have joined forces
for the ostensible purpose of mutual advance-
ment, and until they are removed from the
scene all progress is blocked. Such has been
the case wi'h many of the bodies organized
for the purpose of advancing the cause of
music in this city, and in fact in every city
throughout the country.
The opening of the new year is the time
for resolutions and one of the first should
be the burying of the hatchet of personal
animosities and opinions that tend to inter-
fere with the progress of art. Instead of
inflicting wounds and keeping them open,
the aim should be to heal them, to unite all
factions, and place questions of art above
those of personal prejudice.
There are no people so sensitive to gen-
erous influences as musicians, and there are
few who will do as much or who will sacri-
fice more of their own time to extend that
culture which comes from an acquaintance
with, and a thorough knowledge of music in
its various branches.
The Teachers Associations, both State,
National and local, should get closer to-
gether, and the same advice may be applied
to the various other bodies in this city and
elsewhere who labor along different lines for
the holy cause of music. "In union there is
strength," and it behooves all to keep this
motto well in mind.
HAD WAGNER COME TO AMERICA ?
A N interesting fact regarding Wagner re-
' * ccntly brought to light is that he con-
templated making a concert tour in Amer-
ica in 1881. It appears he sustained heavy
financial loses from his first Bayrcuth fes-
tival and in a letter to King Ludwig of Ba-
varia, from whom he was compelled to bor-
row $25,000, he declared his intention of
giving a series of concerts in the United
States in the following year, in order to make
a large sum of money. He was going to
do this, he added, because it pained him to
think that he must yield up his "Parsifal"
after its production in Bayreuth. The King
took the hint. He could not endure the
thought that the aged master, then in his
sixty-seventh year, should be compelled, for
the realization of his ideals, to make such He compared Whitman and the rhymesters as he
would compare the forest primeval and an Italian
an exhausting tour. So he not only gave garden.
"If you will think for one moment without
orders that, beginning 1882, the Royal Or-
prejudice, you will admit that the so-called art-
chestra of Munich was to be placed annu- forms are a rut-mark of traditions only, and that
correspond to nothing whatever in nature.
ally at Wagner's service, but that all the they
When clouds floating in the east are balanced by
former agreements in regard to the perform- clouds floating in the west, and when leaves of
grow in geometrical pattern, then may we
ance of "Parsifal" in Munich should be an- grass
believe that the artifices represented by conven-
nulled. He was a friend worth having! tional poetry, or conventional music, correspond to
in nature.
And, again, the question arises, what would anything
"It was no task for me to set Whitman: he sang
Wagner have done without King Ludwig— for me. 1 did away with our partitions of keys,
and allowed myself freedom in the universal key,
and Liszt, who was Wagner's Ludwig be- including
all. After the work was nearly com-
fore he met the King ? To those two gener- pleted, I discovered that it was based on a scale of
whole steps, which must have grown out of Whit-
ous souls all music-lovers owe an incalcula- man's
gospel of equality. Though my scheme
ble debt of gratitude. A more important may be interesting, and my point of view stimu-
your curiosity, unless my music shall appeal
question still: What influence would Wag- late
to you as something beautiful, 1 shall have
ner have exerted on this country had he faikd."
lived up to his intention of paying us a visit ?
Homer A. Norris was born in Wayne,
The question is worth thinking over.
Me., and was at an early age an organist.
He studied with G. W. Marston, F. W. Hale,
"THE FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE."
"THE first production of Homer A. Norris' Stephen Emery, and G. W. Chadwick. In
setting of Walt Whitman's poem to deciding upon foreign study, he chose Paris
music occurred in Waltham, Mass., De- and had the advantage of training under Du-
cember 11. Those who gave the work its bois, Godard, and Guilmant. He is one of
premiere were Miss Laura Van Kuran, so- the leading song-writers of Boston, where
prano, Robert Hall, tenor, and Archibald he teaches and composes in the Pierce Build-
Willis, baritone, representing Walt Whit- ing in Copley Square. His first song, "Rock-
man. The very important part of the piano a-bye, Baby," is said to have had a larger
was assumed by Miss Edith Currie. The sale than any other cradle-song published in
presentation was admirable and well in keep- America. In addition to his talent Mr. Nor-
ris is a man of very charming personality
ing with the composition.
and fine mental attainments. He is highly
The poem which deals with America and regarded by hosts of friends.
the democracy of the country is deeply phil-
STRAUSS HAS^THE PLATFORM.
osophical and essentially natural in the sense
A
MERICA
is destined to lead within a
of beingi devoid of anything to produce effect.
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very
few
years in a broad knowledge
Mr. Norris has been permeated with this and
and
appreciation
of Richard Strauss. In
has made a truly masterful adaptation of
Xew
York
during
the past month he has
one of the greatest literary gems. His col-
been played, sung, discussed and studied.
oring has been rich and his harmonies bold
In spite of the ignorance which exists abroad
and daring as the eagle and as Walt Whit-
on the subject—as illustrated by the things
man. Whereas the treatment is very free which wandering lecturers consider necessary
there is unity and it is thoroughly logical. to say when they get here—this country, and
Some of the themes are very beautiful, and particularly this city, knows Wagner better
the motives are calculated, and well calcu- than does the Old World. The critical com-
lated, to fit the words, the spirit, and the psy- ments of journalism, the extensive book lit-
chic depth. The work is dedicated to Mr. erature, the constant association with the
Arthur Andersen, an admirer of Whitman great music dramas in the opera house and
and a pupil of the composer. Mr. Norris concert hall and their performance by the
gave a short address before the performance foremost interpreters have educated the pub-
and perhaps nothing could enlighten one lic. No other people have had the same ad-
more clearly upon the matter and his sen- vantages. As with Wagner, so it is and will
timents than to reproduce a few of his re- be with Strauss. The bold conceptions of
marks.
the latter may lead his critics and admirers
He said in part: "It has been said by a wise to differ as to the means employed to attain
and clever man that if you change your thoughts
you change your friends. I was attracted by John an end. But differences are educating.
Burroughs's statement that to him Whitman
represented the highest peak in the American
literary horizon. Emerson, in passing Whitman's
poems to John Addington Symonds, said: 'Tell
Americans abroad they may come home, for unto
us a man has been born.' Symonds said that
when he read Keats, Shelley, Tennyson, or
Swinburne, he wished to become a great artist, but
that when he read Whitman he wished to become
a man.
"I must say a few words about Whitman's form.
He is no rhymester: he does n:>t prance and tinkle
in meter. In the majority of cases, the line ends
with the thought. The lines are of irregular
length, shorter or longer, as is the thought. Dr.
Edward Everett Hale said to me, only last Sun-
day, that it seems necessary for one great, original
thinker to appear about once in each century, to
prove that conformity to convention is deadening.
OT content with re-editing the "Marsel-
laise," Gen. Andre has undertaken the
N
thorough reorganization of military music in
France. Bandmasters are to take grade on
equal footing with commissioned officers.
There is also to be created at the Conserva-
toire a special class for military musicians.
The class will be composed of students aspir-
ing to the position of bandmaster or assist-
ant bandmaster. The course will last for
about a year. At the end of that time, says
the Pall Mall Gazette, the candidates will
pass a diploma examination entitling them
to employment in the army.
HANNAH L KEENE
SOPRANO
Exclusive Management of
CHARLES L YOUNG
1123 BROADWAY,
NEW YORK

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