Music Trade Review

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THE: MUSIC TRADE:
W. J. HENDERSON HITS
European Critics Who Have a False Idea of
American
Musical
Conditions—Vincent
D'lndy's Libel on America—Why One City
Was Favored—Some Caustic Comment.
W. J. Henderson, musical critic of The bun, in
one of his recent feulletons devoted some space to
a European "artist" who visited our shores with
batches of eulogistic criticisms, and who failed
to "make good"; in fact, he was wholly incompe-
tent.
"American writers for newspapers meet this
condition continually," says Mr. Henderson. "One
of two things is true, either the Continental crit-
ics do not regard it as worth their while to con-
demn bad solo performance, or many of them are
guilty of what may politely be called insincerity.
One thing both they and foreign artists contem-
plating visits to this country ought to know, and
that is that the "press notices" of French and
German newspapers are deemed in this country
to be not worth the paper on which they are
printed. No American critic pays the slightest
attention to them.
"It is equally true that the European critics
give no heed to what American commentators
say, but the reason is different. The European af-
fectionately hugs the dear delusion that knowl-
edge is centered in him. He shares the general
and fathomless ignorance of things American
which is to be found all over the European conti-
nent. The American critic, on the other hand,
pays no attention to what the European critic
says, because he believes that it is not what that
jritic honestly thinks.
"Furthermore, there are several prominent con-
ductors and virtuosi who freely lend their names
to the 'indorsement' of performers of low grade.
These 'indorsements' are written, of course, for
the American trade. Usually they come from the
pens of men who have never been here.
"It is a great pity that when men like Weingart-
ner and Safonoff and Paderewski and Marteau go
back to Europe after learning something about
America, they do not speak out like men and tell
the Europeans that attempts to bamboozle the mu-
sic lovers and critics of this country are likely
to result in a pretty lively demonstration of the
fact that there is a God in Israel.
"They ought to tell Europe tbat when it has a
cheap tone juggler or a vocal mountebank of
which it wishes to be rid tnat America is the
last lAace in the world to send him. They ought
to tell Europe that the standard of performance
here is as high as it is in Berlin, Vienna or
Munich, and that it is an appreciable distance
higher than it is in either London or Paris.
"But these gentlemen do not venture to tell
the truth about this country. No one over there
i.; willing to believe it, and rather than accept
the testimony of sucn gentlemen Europeans would
thrust their tongues into their cheeks and wink
their eyes. They prefer to swallow the inaccurate
reports of men like Vincent d'Indy, who failed.
When Mr. d'Indy put his foot on European soil
after his visit to America he said at once that
Boston was the only city in the United States
which showed any signs of musical intelligence.
Now, what does that mean? Simply that Philip
Hale, who studied in Paris, who is a pupil of
Guilmant and an ardent devotee of everything
French, had given him 'good notices' in tne Bos-
ton Herald.
"When Mr. d'indy said ihat he saw no evidences
of musical intelligence in the United States out-
side of Boston, he forgot that he had heard Loef-
fler's new rhapsodies for piano, viola and oboe
in Arthur Whiting's studio in conditions that
could not be surpassed .n any city in the world.
He forgot that some very poor matter of his own
had been dignified by presentation by the Kneisel
Quartette before an audience not second to any
other in the world in musical taste, feeling and
information. It was because of its possession of
these qualities that it returned the verdict of
'not proven' on Mr. d'lndy's trial at establishing
his own claim to genius.
"But in France Mr. d'Indy stands high. There-
fore, when he tells Parisians, who know almost
REVIEW
as much about the United States as do the in-
habitants of Samoa, that there is no musical in-
telligence here, they will believe him, and the
next third rate singer that makes a Figaro first
page success at the Opera will regard herself
as ripe for $1,000 a night at the Metropolitan.
"They try to fool us even with our own goods.
We send a singer to Europe. We know the singer
to be fourth class, or thereabouts. Within six
months we begin to receive copies of European
comments declaring that this singer is one of
the finest things on earth.
"Time passes. Our singer is promoted from
Madrid to Milan, from Milan to Naples, from
Naples to Paris, and from Paris to Vienna. The
types continue to celebrate her greatness. Finally
she crosses the western ocean and'descends upon
us with her cohorts of purple and gold, and we
learn that she has actually passed from fourth
rate to second.
Second rate is not good enough for this country
except when it is advertised as second rate, and
then it can command praise in its class. But
when Class B artists go up into Class A, they
have to accept the handicaps of that class. That
is a serious undertaking.
"Let us, then, hear a little less prattle about
Yankee humbug. For out and out humbug in
matters musical Europe is the place. Most of the
humbug is devised to fool the Americans. Well,
there be fools and fools, but the wisdom of Prov-
idence has fixed a great salt gulf between them."
"THE ONE MAN_ORCHESTRA."
Why
Is It Ignored by the Critics?—A Strong
Letter from Mr. Goldthwait.
H. M. Goldthwait, of Brooklyn, wrote to the
Sun of Sunday last a letter complaining of the
failure of music critics to publish reports of
organ recitals, and in this connection he said:
"Does the 'one-man orchestra' offer too few
opportunities for head hitting? It wouldn't seem
nearly so satisfactory to say that the diapasons
were lamentably deficient in steadiness as to
know that Charlie Baumgarten, Herman Weis-
kopf and Ed. Bergholz will rage with impotent
wrath when they read that the wood winds
were chronically untimely in their entrances, or
that they lacked steadiness in the legato passages.
This may be unjust, but I often get the impres-
sion that the critic's dinner has been served by
a poor waiter.
"When the masterly Guilmant played his re-
cent recitals in lower Fifth avenue it would
have been informing to know what was done,
and why, enjoyable as was the mere listening.
A few evenings since I heard in this same local-
ity an organ recital as delightful, as brilliantly
performed and structurally as artistic as any
of the concerts in the larger orchestral forms;
but I could not find a notice, even, of its having
taken place, although the annonucement was
printed.
"It would seem these masters of the manuals
cannot be of the least importance in the musical
history of the city; many of them are not only
serious students, but artists of exalted ideals,
who are doing music a real service. Their con-
stantly recurring appearances may make them
seem commonplace, but careful thought will
make apparent not only how important a part
they play in forming musical taste, but how
considerable and varied their attainments must
be, both technically and artistically."
HERE'S A GENUINE MUSICAL GENIUS.
In these days of remarkable musical "finds"—
veritable young Mozarts—it is refreshing to find
that there still are some ordinary commonplace
mortals left at least in England. Ergo, the curi-
ous tale of musical talent told by an English
teacher: "A young lady, who had a passing fancy
for 'taking up the piano again,' managed, after
a great deal of wrestling and practice, to perform
tolerably a hymn tune, which she did to a musi-
cal friend. A week later she was found to be
getting on famously, having learned another tune,
which she proceeded to play. The tune was the
same one, as it appeared in another part of the
book, in a different key. She did not know it!"
Wouldn't it be
nice if
your " leader " in the piano
line made styles that sold
at $100, $200, $300, $400
and up to $1,000—to suit
your purse—all of one and
the best quality, and prices
were absolutely fixed by
the maker all over the
United States!
You'd only need to carry
one make and the millen-
nium would have arrived
in the piano trade.
We have done and are
doing these very things in
the talking-machine trade:
1. A comprehensive line
of styles.
2. One quality through-
out—"Victor quality."
3. Prices fixed—profits
guaranteed.
4. Percentage of profits
more liberally arranged for
dealers than those of any
other line.
Is it any wonder that so
many piano houses have
awakened to this unique
situation, thrust upon them
by what some of them con-
sider an "alien line," and
are now most enthusiastic
exploiters of the " Victor ?"
Victor Talking Machine
Company
Camden
N. J.