Music Trade Review
Issue: 1881 Vol. 4 N. 8 - Page 8
126
20th, 1881.
THE
CRITIC AND TRADE
REVIEW.
Music Trade Review
-- © MUSICAL
mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com
-- digitized
with support from May
namm.org
MUSICAL FESTIVALS.
EW YORK'S first May Musical Festival is a thing of the past, and it is
now interesting to note the effect of the great event. To criticise the
various performances given on certain afternoons and evenings of the week
ending May 7th, at the Seventh Regiment Armory, would be a waste of
time. Perfection of playing or singing on occasions when great masses of
instrumentalists and vocalists are brought together is not to be expected.
To use a homely comparison, these monster musical entertainments are de-
vised for the purpose of showing off some conductor who wishes to attract
attention to himself in what the circus would call, " A five horse act." To
straddle across the backs of five horses is a much more difficult task than
riding a single steed, still it is only the extent of the rider's straddle that
elicits the applause of the multitude.
Besides the pleasure to be derived from seeing a large gathering of
chorus singers and instrumentalists amounting in round numbers to two
thousand or three thousand persons, and noting how well the conductor
holds them in control—all things considered, there is little about a great
musical festival to engage the serious attention of a person of good musical
judgment. Not but that we think the cause of art may be served ; the en-
thusiasm of large numbers of those who sing in the choruses is aroused,
and many people are drawn to the concerts by the magnitude and blare of
the thing, who could hardly be induced to attend a" musical entertainment
in any other way.
It is a mistake to suppose that an immense number of musicians can be
properly controlled by any man ; it is a mistake to suppose that solo singers
or players can be heard to any advantage in a building four or five times too
large for them ; it is a mistake to suppose that an immense body of musicians
in an immense hall can produce a proportionately greater effect, in the
matter of volume of sound, than a much smaller body of musicians in a much
smaller hall.
The next musical festival will be held in this city in May, 1882, under
the direction of Mr. Theodore Thomas, and we trust that Mr. Thomas will
have sufficient good sense to keep the number of his musicians down to a
reasonable point.
Dr.Damrosch is to be congratulated upon having aroused a musical enthu-
siasm, which, we trust, will bear good fruit, though we greatly fear a
fashionable musical "boom" before the next two years are past. From six
to ten years ago the dramatic stage was the rage, and amateur actors mur-
dered everything in the entire range of the legitimate drama. Within the
past few years painting and household decoration has been the popular
craze, and young men and maidens have daubed and decorated to an extent
that has made even our humblest articles of household furniture a delusion
and a snare to the person who is not " artistically gifted," as it is termed by
the art maniacs. What will come to us if we should be afflicted by a musi-
cal craze, we have not the heart to say. " Sufficient unto the day ia the evil
thereof."
N
TESTIMONIAL CONCERT TO PROFESSOR EEERHARD.
NEW YORK, May
Prof. Ernst Eberhard, Director Grand Conservatory of Music:
9th,
1881.
DEAK SIR :—The undersigned, your friends and pupils, who have long ap-
preciated and admired your zeal and devotion in behalf of the furtherance of
music, have ascertained that you contemplate a trip to Europe during the
coming summer for the benefit of your health ; and hereby would respect-
fully request you to appoint a date on which a Testimonial and Benefit Con-
cert may be tendered you. Hoping that you will accept this offering merely
as a just appreciation by us of the services you have rendered in the past.
We remain respectfully,
Chas. Fradel,
P. La Villa,
M. L. Ewen,
T. Leeds Waters,
O. Harkh,
Eugene B. Strong,
H. Schreyer,
H. Lowell,
Geo. Steck & Go.,
M. Bailey,
A. Weber,
J. Alexander,
S. Hazelton,
T. Carri,
E. FrankeLM. D.,
J. H. Shroeder,
Billings & Co.,
J. W. Hoffman.
Frank Mantel,
E. Robinson,
Edward Valois, Sr.,
George Baron de Mayer,
A. J. Neale,
Chas. Avery Welles.
G. W. Herbert,
Clara Brandt,
Charlotte Napier,
E. Adelaide Brigham,
Fannie L. Sumner,
Emil Steiger,
Wm. M. Thorns,
H. Goeltz,
Richard F. Dehnhoff,
C. M. Southgate.
Julius Schenck,
Theo. Hamel,
Willis Woodward,
Geo. W. Colby,
B. G. Fontana,
T. G. Barclay,
Gentlemen:—Your kind note has been duly received offering me a
complimentary concert. I feel highly flattered at your kindness and accept
the same. June 9th will be agreeable to me.
Very respectfully,
ERNST EBEKHABD, President.
NOTES FROM NASHVILLE.
NASHVILLE, 12th May,
1881.
ME. Marie De Roode Carrick. assisted by her pupils, gave a delightful
concert at the New Masonic Theatre, Wednesday evening. The man-
ner in which each pupil acquitted herself, showed fine vocal training.
Prof. Eichorn's Band, from Louisville, Ky., is contributing some
splendid music at our Exposition.
Our noted song bird, Mrs. Iglehart, of Vicksburg, Miss., formerly
of Nashville, is here on a visit.
LEX.
M
Mdlle. Marianne Viardot, the younger daughter of Madame Pauline
Viardot-Garcia, the famous singer who created the Fides of Meyerbeer's
" Prophete," and revived the popularity of Gliick's "Orphee," was married
April 5th, to M. Alphonse Duvernoy, a young composer whose setting of
Shakespeare's "Tempest " recently won the much-coveted prize of the City
of Paris.
M. Camille Saint-Saens is, it is reported, engaged upon the composition
of a new opera entitled "Ines de Castro," for which MM. Silvestre and
Detroyat are supplying the libretto. The work is to be first performed at
the Paris Grand Opera.
The prospectus of Her Majesty's Opera, London, for the present season,
promises but one noveltf, and that an opera by an amateur, the Hungarian
composer, Baron Bodog Orczy. In the Italian version, by Signor Marchesi,
it is entitled " II Rinnegato," and the principal character will be sustained
by Madame Etelka Gerster, The season was announced to commence on the
7th inst.
Anton Dvorak is engaged in writing an opera entitled "Demetrius."
A violin concerto by the same composer, dedicated to Herr Joachim, has
just been completed.
It is reported, says a London paper, although the news can hardly be
true, that the British Ambassador at Washington had addressed a note to
Mr. Mapleson, informing him that he will not be allowed to suggest that her
Majesty the Queen is his partner in the opera tour. The statement was made,
not by Mr. Mapleson, but in a spirit of fun by an American paper, and the
joke is so transparent that no one of course credits it. It can scarcely be
believed that Sir Edward Thornton could have fallen into so ridiculous an
error.
It is stated by a London paper, that the onlj- difference which her
admirers can perceive in Mrs. Mary Louise Swift since her name has been
changed to Mdlle. Dotti, is that, whereas Mrs. Swift had dark hair, the
luxuriant tresses of Mdlle. Dotti are of the color of gold.
Dr. Edward Hanslick's new book, "The Modern Opera," has just been
published by Hofmann of Berlin. The feelings of Wagner, it is said, are not
spared.
Madame Patti will probably undertake a short concert tour in England
before she leaves for America.
Ricordi's Milan firm carried off the first prize in the musical section at
the International Exhibition, Melbourne.
Franz Ulm, musical critic of the Bohemia, died in Prague a short time
since. Born in 1811, he studied law, but subsequently abandoned it for art.
Ulm, after a lengthened tour, as pianist with Ole Bull, through Russia,
became highly popular in his native town as a professor of the piano.
A comic opera, entitled " Les Poupees de l'lnfante," the libretto by
MM. Bocage and Liorat, and music by M. Charles Grisart, has recently
been produced at the Folies Dramatiques, Paris.
The first concert of the Euterpe Club, of this city, was given at the
Union League Theatre, Wednesday evening, May 11th. The society will
give concerts next December, January, February, March, and April.
A correspondent in Findlay, Ohio, whose communication was mislaid,
wrote us recently to know if Remenyi, the violinist, gave concerts in Ohio in
April. We can answer that, to the best of our knowledge and belief, he did.
20th, 1881.
THE
CRITIC AND TRADE
REVIEW.
Music Trade Review
-- © MUSICAL
mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com
-- digitized
with support from May
namm.org
MUSICAL FESTIVALS.
EW YORK'S first May Musical Festival is a thing of the past, and it is
now interesting to note the effect of the great event. To criticise the
various performances given on certain afternoons and evenings of the week
ending May 7th, at the Seventh Regiment Armory, would be a waste of
time. Perfection of playing or singing on occasions when great masses of
instrumentalists and vocalists are brought together is not to be expected.
To use a homely comparison, these monster musical entertainments are de-
vised for the purpose of showing off some conductor who wishes to attract
attention to himself in what the circus would call, " A five horse act." To
straddle across the backs of five horses is a much more difficult task than
riding a single steed, still it is only the extent of the rider's straddle that
elicits the applause of the multitude.
Besides the pleasure to be derived from seeing a large gathering of
chorus singers and instrumentalists amounting in round numbers to two
thousand or three thousand persons, and noting how well the conductor
holds them in control—all things considered, there is little about a great
musical festival to engage the serious attention of a person of good musical
judgment. Not but that we think the cause of art may be served ; the en-
thusiasm of large numbers of those who sing in the choruses is aroused,
and many people are drawn to the concerts by the magnitude and blare of
the thing, who could hardly be induced to attend a" musical entertainment
in any other way.
It is a mistake to suppose that an immense number of musicians can be
properly controlled by any man ; it is a mistake to suppose that solo singers
or players can be heard to any advantage in a building four or five times too
large for them ; it is a mistake to suppose that an immense body of musicians
in an immense hall can produce a proportionately greater effect, in the
matter of volume of sound, than a much smaller body of musicians in a much
smaller hall.
The next musical festival will be held in this city in May, 1882, under
the direction of Mr. Theodore Thomas, and we trust that Mr. Thomas will
have sufficient good sense to keep the number of his musicians down to a
reasonable point.
Dr.Damrosch is to be congratulated upon having aroused a musical enthu-
siasm, which, we trust, will bear good fruit, though we greatly fear a
fashionable musical "boom" before the next two years are past. From six
to ten years ago the dramatic stage was the rage, and amateur actors mur-
dered everything in the entire range of the legitimate drama. Within the
past few years painting and household decoration has been the popular
craze, and young men and maidens have daubed and decorated to an extent
that has made even our humblest articles of household furniture a delusion
and a snare to the person who is not " artistically gifted," as it is termed by
the art maniacs. What will come to us if we should be afflicted by a musi-
cal craze, we have not the heart to say. " Sufficient unto the day ia the evil
thereof."
N
TESTIMONIAL CONCERT TO PROFESSOR EEERHARD.
NEW YORK, May
Prof. Ernst Eberhard, Director Grand Conservatory of Music:
9th,
1881.
DEAK SIR :—The undersigned, your friends and pupils, who have long ap-
preciated and admired your zeal and devotion in behalf of the furtherance of
music, have ascertained that you contemplate a trip to Europe during the
coming summer for the benefit of your health ; and hereby would respect-
fully request you to appoint a date on which a Testimonial and Benefit Con-
cert may be tendered you. Hoping that you will accept this offering merely
as a just appreciation by us of the services you have rendered in the past.
We remain respectfully,
Chas. Fradel,
P. La Villa,
M. L. Ewen,
T. Leeds Waters,
O. Harkh,
Eugene B. Strong,
H. Schreyer,
H. Lowell,
Geo. Steck & Go.,
M. Bailey,
A. Weber,
J. Alexander,
S. Hazelton,
T. Carri,
E. FrankeLM. D.,
J. H. Shroeder,
Billings & Co.,
J. W. Hoffman.
Frank Mantel,
E. Robinson,
Edward Valois, Sr.,
George Baron de Mayer,
A. J. Neale,
Chas. Avery Welles.
G. W. Herbert,
Clara Brandt,
Charlotte Napier,
E. Adelaide Brigham,
Fannie L. Sumner,
Emil Steiger,
Wm. M. Thorns,
H. Goeltz,
Richard F. Dehnhoff,
C. M. Southgate.
Julius Schenck,
Theo. Hamel,
Willis Woodward,
Geo. W. Colby,
B. G. Fontana,
T. G. Barclay,
Gentlemen:—Your kind note has been duly received offering me a
complimentary concert. I feel highly flattered at your kindness and accept
the same. June 9th will be agreeable to me.
Very respectfully,
ERNST EBEKHABD, President.
NOTES FROM NASHVILLE.
NASHVILLE, 12th May,
1881.
ME. Marie De Roode Carrick. assisted by her pupils, gave a delightful
concert at the New Masonic Theatre, Wednesday evening. The man-
ner in which each pupil acquitted herself, showed fine vocal training.
Prof. Eichorn's Band, from Louisville, Ky., is contributing some
splendid music at our Exposition.
Our noted song bird, Mrs. Iglehart, of Vicksburg, Miss., formerly
of Nashville, is here on a visit.
LEX.
M
Mdlle. Marianne Viardot, the younger daughter of Madame Pauline
Viardot-Garcia, the famous singer who created the Fides of Meyerbeer's
" Prophete," and revived the popularity of Gliick's "Orphee," was married
April 5th, to M. Alphonse Duvernoy, a young composer whose setting of
Shakespeare's "Tempest " recently won the much-coveted prize of the City
of Paris.
M. Camille Saint-Saens is, it is reported, engaged upon the composition
of a new opera entitled "Ines de Castro," for which MM. Silvestre and
Detroyat are supplying the libretto. The work is to be first performed at
the Paris Grand Opera.
The prospectus of Her Majesty's Opera, London, for the present season,
promises but one noveltf, and that an opera by an amateur, the Hungarian
composer, Baron Bodog Orczy. In the Italian version, by Signor Marchesi,
it is entitled " II Rinnegato," and the principal character will be sustained
by Madame Etelka Gerster, The season was announced to commence on the
7th inst.
Anton Dvorak is engaged in writing an opera entitled "Demetrius."
A violin concerto by the same composer, dedicated to Herr Joachim, has
just been completed.
It is reported, says a London paper, although the news can hardly be
true, that the British Ambassador at Washington had addressed a note to
Mr. Mapleson, informing him that he will not be allowed to suggest that her
Majesty the Queen is his partner in the opera tour. The statement was made,
not by Mr. Mapleson, but in a spirit of fun by an American paper, and the
joke is so transparent that no one of course credits it. It can scarcely be
believed that Sir Edward Thornton could have fallen into so ridiculous an
error.
It is stated by a London paper, that the onlj- difference which her
admirers can perceive in Mrs. Mary Louise Swift since her name has been
changed to Mdlle. Dotti, is that, whereas Mrs. Swift had dark hair, the
luxuriant tresses of Mdlle. Dotti are of the color of gold.
Dr. Edward Hanslick's new book, "The Modern Opera," has just been
published by Hofmann of Berlin. The feelings of Wagner, it is said, are not
spared.
Madame Patti will probably undertake a short concert tour in England
before she leaves for America.
Ricordi's Milan firm carried off the first prize in the musical section at
the International Exhibition, Melbourne.
Franz Ulm, musical critic of the Bohemia, died in Prague a short time
since. Born in 1811, he studied law, but subsequently abandoned it for art.
Ulm, after a lengthened tour, as pianist with Ole Bull, through Russia,
became highly popular in his native town as a professor of the piano.
A comic opera, entitled " Les Poupees de l'lnfante," the libretto by
MM. Bocage and Liorat, and music by M. Charles Grisart, has recently
been produced at the Folies Dramatiques, Paris.
The first concert of the Euterpe Club, of this city, was given at the
Union League Theatre, Wednesday evening, May 11th. The society will
give concerts next December, January, February, March, and April.
A correspondent in Findlay, Ohio, whose communication was mislaid,
wrote us recently to know if Remenyi, the violinist, gave concerts in Ohio in
April. We can answer that, to the best of our knowledge and belief, he did.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).