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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
AMERICAN IDEAS IN JAPAN.
Iwamoto expresses it, "the Europeanizing of Jap-
anese music." The native music, he says, is too
Interesting Views on Music in the Far East by
much minor, and very poor measure, still, it
Prof. Iwamoto—American Pianos Popular—
appeals to the Japanese ear, and the introduction
Represents Government College of Music.
of pure European music, especially of the classi-
An interesting visitor to our shores is Shoji cal sort, is too radical a change to catch the popu-
Iwamoto, who has just come to New York from lar taste. The gradual taking over, however, of
Tokio for the purpose of studying European mu- the Japanese melody into the major key and the
sic in this country. Mr. Iwamoto is a professor perfect measure will work a revolution in the
in the Government School of Music, Tokio, and is world of popular music in Japan. The Western
the founder and editor of Ongak—The Musician music that the native is most attracted by at
—a musical monthly which devotes its space to present is the church music, as it is introduced
articles on music, musical criticisms, biographies through the foreign missions. Mr. Iwamoto him-
self, being a Christian, was first attracted to the
of musicians, and to musical compositions.
Besides being a performer upon the piano and study of Western composition through the sing-
the Japanese koto, Mr. Iwamoto is a composer, ing of religious hymns. And he expresses him-
self as delighted to find church music so highly
his chief work consisting in the co-ordinating of
Japanese and European music. Or, as Mr. developed in this country.
DITSON EDITION
The DITSON EDITION is a new library of approved works, chiefly technical, for the piano, organ, violin and other
instruments and forthe voice. It addresses itself to music teachers and music students of discrimination—to those
who value quality, who want the best.
IN ITS EDITING AND EDITOR.S
the DITSON E D I T I O N claims superiority over every other edition.
Each volume has been carefully prepared on practical lines by a specialist; in other
words, each number has been truly edited. While the editorial work is modern in spirit
and progressive in character, the aim has been to avoid the pitfall of over-editing. There
are editions so crowded with footnotes, explanations, and markings of various sorts as
to confuse the pupil, fatigue the eye, and hide the music. This is not true of the DITSON
EDITION, the volumes of which contain all practical hints and helps necessary while
avoiding everything needless, burdensome, or extreme. A marked feature is the Editorial
Preface to all or nearly all of the volumes. This introduction tells something of the com-
poser or author, giving in many cases his portrait, followed by practical hints for teacher
and pupil which greatly increase the working value of each book. This is a special feature of
the edition.
The DITSON E D I T I O N claims superiority not only in its matter—the music and its
editing—but in the manner in which it is presented. First,
THE TYPOGRAPHY OF THE MUSIC
The music is engraved with steel dies, "stamped" or struck note by note, character by
character, on a metal p'late. For each music character there is a separate die. The appear-
ance of the music depends upon the shape and size of these dies. After a careful study we
decided upon a form of notehead a trifle larger than that in common use—a notehead that
facilitates reading and gives the eye a minimum of strain. This is an important feature in
these days of nervous tension, and will be appreciated by the thoughtful. At a large ex-
pense we had these music dies made for us by the finest die cutter in Europe. Every music
page of the DITSON E D I T I O N is printed from new platen engraved with these new, spe-
cial dies. Bearing directly upon the eye-pull is the "lay-out" of each music page. Inferior
editions are crowded with music for the sake of reducing the book to a minimum number of
pages, and therefore of cost. The DITSON E D I T I O N does not for commercial reasons sac-
rifice the eyesight of the thousands who use it in their formative period, but carefully avoids
crowding the pages by ample spacing and generous "lay-out."' A second point of super-
iority is in
THE PRINTING
of the DITSON EDITION. While the music is engraved on metal plates, it is not printed
directly from them but indirectly by the "transfer" or lithographic process. To the highly
polished surface of a lithographic stone is transferred an impression taken from the metal
music plates. By the action of acid this transfer is solidified upon the stone. The stone is
then placed on the bed of a printing press designed for the purpose. This press is equip-
ped with two sets of rollers—one for water and one for ink. The water rollers, having no
affinity for the grease contained in the transfer, first cover the stone with a minute film of
water, while the ink rollers, having no affinity for the water, next deposit the necessary quan-
tity of ink on the "transfer." The paper is then fed in and pressure applied. Under this
pressure the paper absorbs the film of water, and takes upon its surface the ink in exact
reproduction of the "transfer." This brief description of the modern method of music print-
ing makes apparent the necessity of using for the best results a paper exactly adapted in
texture and finish. This paper, made by a special process, is known as "Velvet finish,"
and yields a clear and beautiful impression. This best paper costs more than the spongy
paper used in inferior editions, but the DITSON E D I T I O N is not reducing its cost of
manufacture at the expense of your eyesight. It is printed with the greatest care and the
best black ink, on the highest grade, highest priced music paper made in this country. A
third point of superiority is in
THE BINDING
of the DITSON EDITION. The cover paper of dark Cafc-au-lait is soft in texture, yet
tough in fibre, and will wear better, look well longer than the thinner and paler colored
smooth papers used on other editions. The artistic cover design printed, not as commonly
in one color, but in two,—a sympathetic reddish brown and harmonious olive green,—gives
the edition a distinguished appearance.
While the DITSON EDITION is in every detail superior to all others, it costs no more
than other editions.
Finally, the DITSON EDITION, notwithstanding the keenest commercial rivalry
and competition, has not sacrificed quality—intrinsic worth—to cheapness at any point. It
is built and will continue to be built on the principle of "Not—how cheap; but—how good."
BOSTON
OLIVER DITSON COMPANY
C. H. DITSON & CO., New York
J. £ . DITSON
"1 believe in the practical side of music," Mr.
Iwamoto said. "I believe in its refining and en-
nobling influence, and for this reason I want the
masses of my countrymen to take it into their
daily lives. 1 regret that our Government has
sent its musicians to Germany in the past, in-
stead of to America. For while the Germans
make good music they do not teach the popular-
izing of it as do the Americans. And since we
cannot make music as yet, it is wisest for us to
follow your method in adopting and popularizing
it. Among our students, of course, the German
influence is great, and the works of such com-
posers as Wagner, Schumann, Schubert and
Beethoven are the most popular.
"We have no pipe organ in Japan, but our
Government College is soon to put in one, and a
student is now in Germany preparing himself to
teach it. The introduction of the piano has only
been gradual, and two theaters in Tokio have but
lately brought them into use. They have found
them to be profitable from a financial standpoint,
and it will not be long before the piano is found
in all prominent theaters. We consider the
American-made piano to be much better than
those made in Europe; but they are much more
expensive, too. So we buy most of our instru-
ments from the European market. Of all West-
ern instruments the violin is the one best suited
to the Japanese temperament, and we have stu-
dents in Germany studying violin music now."
Mr. Takaori, a prominent violinist of Tokio, is
with Mr. Iwamoto in New York for the purpose of
studying our methods. Later the two will go to
Europe for further study and investigation.
The Government College of Music, of which
Mr. Iwamoto is a representative, was established
in 1892, and an American teacher, Professor T.
F. Mason, of Boston, was placed at its head. To
this American more than to any other one man
do the Japanese feel that they owe what they now
have of Western music. Professor Mason was a
vigorous worker and encouraged the popularizing
of Western methods through the public schools.
To-day the college has a faculty consisting of six
German and forty Japanese instructors. There is
a chorus of 200 voices, an orchestra of 200 pieces,
and a total of 500 students. Two-thirds of the
graduates of the, college become teachers, the re-
mainder are usually performers.
Besides studying Western methods, Mr. Iwam-
oto hopes to raise a fund for the purpose of send-
ing Japanese musicians to this country to study.
He will start this fund by giving recitals under
the auspices of various societies, and by the sale
ot his own compositions.
OPERAS IN AMERICA AND GERMANY.
Fifteen new operas were produced last season
in Germany, but none of them, apparently, has
survived. Curious differences of taste between
America and Germany are to be noticed. Here
(as in London) Puccini is much more popular
than any other modern Italian, but in Germany
he had only 53 performances, as against Leonca-
vallo's 238 and Mascagni's 217. Lortzing is en-
tirely ignored here, whereas in Germany he came
next to Wagner in the number of performances.
Wagner had 1,642 (a gain of 138 over the preced-
ing operatic year), and Lortzing had 643. Next
on the list came Verdi (533), Mozart (444),
Weber, neglected In New York (338), Bizot (332),
Meyerbeer (212), Beethoven (182).
THAT TOUR OF LEONCAVALLO.
If English journals may be believed, Leonca-
vallo has arranged an American season for a
twelvemonth hence with the impresario Rudolf
Aronson. He is to conduct a series of "opera con-
certs," at which "Pagliacci" will be given in full
and excerpts will be performed from "Roland von
Berlin," composed for the German Emperor, and
from "La Boheme," "Zaza" and "Chatterton." The
composer will himself take over the leading ar-
tists from Italy, while the orchestra and chorus
will be American.
Edwin Grasse, the blind violinist, has been
chosen to be the soloist at the concert of the
Orpheus Chorus Society of Buffalo on Feb. 12.