Music Trade Review

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THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
June 20th, 1882.
Her voice has done duty for many years, b u t But remember how discouraging all this is to-
the time is over when it is an unalloyed pleasure the young student, who is conscious of this condi-
to listen to her.
tion of things, and who sees no remedy except
She has recently started out on her farewells, the most extreme, and that only comes when it is
and it is to be hoped that her farewells will at too late.
least be genuine, and not extended for more than
Yet this cannot be changed unless the publio
five years.
itself becomes educated u p to the question. Then
The late lamented Ole Bull formerly had a our managers will be obliged to abandon their old
series of farewells every decade, and by the time musical friends and engage young people in their
that a certain set of concert-goers had disappeared, places. Then we will also hear modern music
Ole Bull was ready with a new set of farewells.
more frequently, and consequently become better
I think I am expressing the opinion of many acquainted with what is really going on in the world
others, when I say that Clara Louise would disap- of music.
point a large number of musical people if she
We do not know it now, except from hearsay,
^ r T H H I S is the time for disappearing" is an in-
extended her farewells beyond five years.
and had it not been for Theodore Thomas we
I junction which should be heeded by our
There should be some discretion exercised by would not at this day know it, or have the faintest
managers, who, since the close of the season, have
some of our managers in reference to this very idea of what Wagnerian music is.
been lying around the musical headquarters and
matter—I mean the engagement of artists that
Reflect for one moment. We are living iu an
getting up their schemes for next season, in order
should be pensioned. What we want is music, age where a revolution in an art is actively in pro-
to be ready to "bob up serenely" when the time
musical voices—not the remnants of former ones. gress, and yet we do not get more than a glimpse
oomes.
of the movement, and that only through the per-
Some of them will have to be more judicious in
sistency of one man.
their selections and the nature of their enter-
The fossils should be relegated to their proper
prises, otherwise they will not be able to " b o b But the same thing applies to instrumentalists;
places, and a new and vigorous spirit should per-
u p " serenely or otherwise.
and right here I will refer to a peculiar tendency
meate the musical world around us.
You have probably noticed how often managers among a certain class of musicians who will always
Mme. Anna Bishop should give lessons. She is
will complain to you about a lack of appreciation tell you how remarkably great their contempora-
a good teacher, b u t she should cease in her at-
on the part of the public for the "show" which ries were, about thirty or forty years ago.
tempts to sing publicly. Some of the members of
they present; but did you ever hear them com-
Young artists must contend against this insane
our quartette clubs should retire, especially after
plaining of the weakness of their companies?
prejudice, which has no reason in it.
they demonstrate at every performance that they
I only know of one occasion, when Colonel
I have heard old musicians of the monopolist
play out of tune, even if they play suoh composi-
Mapleson met me after an opera, and said to me, class make statements in reference to the perform-
tions as were heard a century or so ago.
"My boy, the opera was bad, very bad to-night; ances of soloists many years ago that bordered
Our old friend Brignoli should retire after next
upon my word it was hawful. Just give Hauk on the impossible.
season, and give young Ravelli his place.
hail; she was blank bad."
I call them the monopolist class because they
The old baritones should make way for young
I am under the impression that the Colonel is consider it essential to the development of music
men like Tagliapietra and Gottschalk and George
better able to tell you when the opera is bad than that it should be monopolized by a set of com-
Sweet.
when it is good, and when he complained of the posers and a set of interpreters who form a kind
The managers should learn that we do not care
performance himself, it must have been wretched. ef musical "ring" that no one else can enter.
about paying money to hear singers brought from
Probably he had a little private grudge against
They will not credit any one except Handel,
Europe after they have been "sung o u t " over
Minnie, and he wanted to get "square" with her, Haydn, and Mozart with genius. Beethoven has
there.
and told his friends and the critics something they been admitted a comparatively short time ago, and
Let them bring Sembrich and artists like Ma-
undoubtebly knew, in order to give it a more ex- only after a struggle, the intensity of which has
terna now or never. I n six or eight years they
tensive circulation.
never had, and I hope will never have, a parallel.
will be of no value any more.
But he is about the only one who ever admitted
A Haydn quartette or trio represents the highest
An elderly gent like Nicolini was foisted upon
to me that he was dissatisfied with his own per- form of chamber-music composition with them,
us recently, while dozens of young tenors were in
tonnel, ox at least a part of it.
and if you ask one of this "inner brotherhood"
Europe that would have been acceptable.
Managers should be more careful in selecting what they think of a Saint-Saens, Brahms, or
And it is said that Aim6e will be here next
artists for their operas or concerts, and then they Eubinstein quartette or trio, he will tell you that
season. What the old lady wants, I do not know.
•would be justified in complaining about the pub- is not music; only the old music oan be tol-
The last time she was here she had left her voice
lic; and they could also lose their money with erated; only the good, olden days represent the
in France for "repairs," and I understand the
more complacency, derived from the conscious- truths of the art.
material was worn to such an extent that "repairs"
ness that their mission was at least a noble one.
They will not tolerate young musiciaas who were out of the question.
When they put incompetent singers or players practice the modern works.
Still, she will, come again. I prophesy here
on their pay roll they cannot expect a hearty re-
With one sweeping remark they inform you that
that individually she will not succeed, unless
sponse from the public.
the "old school" does not even recognize their
her attractions are chiefly those that are not mu-
laborB, while at the same time the "old school"
* *
sical.
NlOHTSNTJTZ
I t has often ocourred to me that many of the knows nothing at all about modern music, con-
old artists should also be dispensed with, in order demning it generally before hearing it, and gener-
SAN FRANCISCO " DRAMATIC BREVITIES."
to infuse a young and vigorous element into the ally never hearing or playing it.
I remember distinctly an episode where a young / C O N S I D E R A B L E musical news is found once
business. Our old friend Castle should make
in a while in the San Francisco Dramatio
room for younger men. His voice was excellent, violinist, who was practicing a Rubinstein sonata, \J
but is so no mor«. There is no musical tone sent it for a few days to an elderly violinist. The Brevities. The paper has an attractive typo-
graphical appearance, b u t would be more in-
left; it has done its duty, and it is not expected to latter returned it on the afternoon of the day on teresting if it had more timely articles and less
which
it
was
sent,
with
the
message
that
he
did
do more.
alleged criticism and scissors work. To head an
Still Castle is put forward, and is made to sing not «are about keeping such music under his editorial on the entertainments of San Francisco
"iEsthetic Aspects," would lead the unwary reader
in roles he once upon a time filled to the pleasure roof over night.
to anticipate a screed on a Pacific slope sunset,
Probably
he
had
a
number
of
shelves
full
ef
of the auditors, while young men with fresh voices
or something of that ilk.
old violin sonatas that no one ever cares to hear,
and talent are excluded and discouraged.
By the way, the reckless extravagance of this
The mistake that managers make in this instance and that are not worth listening to, and their editorial in the matter of adjectives and French
is the estimate they place upon his name as an at- musty appearance was as gratifying to the anti- and Latin phrases, when a simple-minded publio
would have been content with less, betokens a
traction. That may do for one or two nights (al- quarian as Rubinstein's name was distasteful to generous
disposition on the part of the writer that
him.
though I do not believe that such is sure to be the
is very admirable. The editor evidently thought
There is now in the city of New York a certain that his verbal curiosity shop "would at least be
ease), b u t after a certain number of people have
heard Castle, and have left the opera disappointed, quantity of old and useless musical timber that Early English," but it is not even that. It's rot.
the damage that has been done to the venture is monopolizes engagements, while the younger ele-
ment gets no opportunity to exercise its talent.
much greater than the gain that was expected.
There are very few better violinists anywhere
I only mention Castle as an instance, because he
The Lord Mayor of London, who had charge of
represents that particular class of artists, or, rather, to be found than Carri, the Franko brothers, and the grand banquet which was to have taken place
Carlos Hasselbrink, yet certain violinists, who have in the Mansion House on June 17, in aid of the
ex-artists, that I refer to.
College of Music, and at which the Prince
neither the technical ability nor the musical edu- Royal
*
of Wales was to have presided, placed the mu-
Clara Louise Kellogg is another of the same cation that these young men have, occupy import- sical arrangements in the hands of Henry Maple-
ant positions, to the detriment of the art.
son. Marie Roze and Mr. Santley were to sing.
olass.