Music Trade Review

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TH
MUSIC
TRADE
RE1VIE1W
PLAYING FROM MEMORY.
TIMELY TALKS ON TIMELY TOPICS.
Announcements for the season are out, and much of a gain to this city as her loss to Chi-
there are no end of novelties of all descriptions. cago is great.
The faculty concerts of the Institute of Musi-
Ot all descriptions, did I say? That is not quite
the case, since there is nothing that would lead cal Art will be among the notable musical events
any one to believe that the American people have of the season as may well be understood from
such a thing as a worthy composition fit to put the artists who are identified with this institu-
into the general scheme of things musical. The tion. The first musicale was held in the after-
American composer and artist does not need noon last Tuesday when the hall was filled to
coddling—that has been fatal in too many ways overflowing.
in other directions; but he does need encourage-
ment, and the sooner he gets it the sooner he will
The Brooklyn Institute is out with gigantic
offers for the season into which we have just
be a power in his own country.
Our singers have made themselves felt, our broken. The first concert having been given Oc-
teachers have become a power, but still does the tober 2tJ, with David Bispham and Miss Nichols,
composer have to suffer mortifications at the violinist, it may be said that Brooklyn forestalled
hands of the great organizations which dispense New York by about a week. Mr. Bispham has
had the distinction of opening these concerts for
music to the country.
several years, and always in company with a
There is no way of measuring the grief which violinist. The audience was large and the con-
is felt at the condition of health in which Ed- cert was ideally good, which we may accept as
ward A. MacDowell finds himself. Far and wide a good omen for the entire season of this enter-
the deepest sympathy is felt and expressed for prising organization, whose plan of action has
one whom in a small way the country has been been told many times in The Review.
willing to accord a unique position. But this has
The first of the series of Kneisel Quartette
never satisfied MacDowell, since he has never concerts under these auspices was given on
been willing to accept the position of an "Ameri- Thursday night, with Mrs. Thomas Tapper as
can composer," when, by every right, he should a-sisting pianist. It is only after hearing this
be classed among the composers of the world. wonderful company of artists early in the sea-
Nor do his greatest admirers throughout the son that we are privileged to realize the full
country understand the actual measurement of height of their art, which means that even of the
the man and of his art, because at best they best and the greatest we can, and we do become
know him only as composer of piano sketches or satiated toward the close of the year's musical of-
of songs; but of the great orchestral works and ferings. Mrs. Tapper, who is now a resident of
of the vast numbers of very large works from New York, was in every way an adequate assist-
his pen, from his brain and soul—they know ant, which is saying much.
nothing. MacDowell is a very young man to
have accomplished so much, and he is also too
There is a great overflow of pianists this year,
young that he should be lost to art. It is over
a year since MacDowell was run over by a cab and it is certain that some of them will be dis-
and the nerve centers were badly shaken. Fol- appointed, to say the least. In a season which is
lowing this came the annoyance with Columbia, dominated by such artists as Bauer, Pugno, Jo-
which he took very much to heart, and to quote seffy, Reisenauer, Aus der Ohe and Fannie
his physician, "MacDowell has done in twenty Bloomfield-Zeisler, to say absolutely nothing of
years over forty years' work," and this tells on any one else, there would seem to be an ampli-
him now in his completely broken-down condi- tude of everything that could be desired. These
tion. We should have had some of his composi- artists are booked up almost completely, and
tions this winter, while he is living to know of it. whether with orchestra or in recital interest in
them is at the top notch,
It would seem as though all femininity had
turned to violin playing, to judge from the list of
"fair fiddlers" that the season will offer. Kubelik
to stand off all these! How strenuous a situa-
tion. Most of these young women can stand
comparisons even with the prima donna violinist,
but how they measure against one another will
be the distressing question. A few of the many
to be heard during the season are Maud Powell,
Otie Chew, Marie Nichols, Olive Mead, Glenn
Priest, Anna Often, Geraldine Morgan, Leonora
Jackson, Marie Hall, to say nothing of Elsa Rueg-
ger, 'cello, and Lillian Littlehales. This is not
a beginning, but it is enough to make one realize
that women can draw more than one string to
their bows. Among them all perhaps Miss Mead
has the greatest responsibility upon her, since
she has the string quartet, and with it she has
made a position for herself that is not short of
astonishing in a circle as supercritical as the one
which has been created by Kneisel education.
However, Miss Mead is a pupil of Mr. Kneisel,
not only on the instrument, but also as far as
the quartette work is concerned, and it is safe
to say that few numbers go on the programme
that have not been passed upon by that great
master.
From the West come glowing details of the tre-
mendous success achieved by Bauer, whose art
is pronounced fuller and greater than ever by
those who speak ex cathedra. This is, however,
where Bauer scores—the greater the critic, the
more he is able to admire his wonderful equip-
ment and his tremendous authority.
Pugno, on his coming visit, will be accom-
panied by his wife and daughter, as he will be
in the country a long time, and he is to play
from coast to coast. His triumphs in Oie past
are not yet forgotten, as has been proven by the
great demand there has been for his appearances.
Rachmaninoff will be among the visitors, and
whether he will come as pianist, conductor, com-
poser or Russian refugee, makes little differ-
ence, since he is a figure of the greatest impor-
tance, and he will not come as a stranger, nor
will he be received as one. The presence of sev-
eral well-known Russians in this country makes
us remember that Russia is not an overwhelm-
ingly happy place to be in at the present time,
for art and artists, and America is always glad
to give a helping hand to foreigners.
The opera singers are beginning to arrive,
and before we are aware of it the great doors of
It is not generally known that Mme. Johanna the Metropolitan will be open. Mr. Conried has
Hess-Burr, who has come to New York in con- brought an interesting galaxy of people, to say*
nection with the Institute of Musical Art, is a the least, and that crowded houses will be the
sister of Willy Hess, who jumped intq fame in order is beyond doubt, since the advance sale has
this country as concert master of the Boston been remarkable. And he stands by his threat
Symphony orchestra. Mme. Hess-Burr is recog- of no opera for Boston! What will Boston do
nized as one of the greatest coaches of this coun- then, poor thing? Come over to New York—
try and under her care most of the operatic stars why not? People have gone greater distances
have studied. Many of the best professionals for other entertainments, which some of the
now before the public are studying with this gentlemen tell us cost $7.50 a ticket.
noted woman, whose arrival in New York is as
EMILIE FRANCES BAUER,
Some Very Pertinent Remarks on the Stereo-
typed Character of Piano Recitals and Rea-
sons Therefor.
A suggestion of the utmost importance to con-
cert-givers is made in the London Referee by
a writer who thinks he has discovered the sec-
ret of the stereotyped character of piano re-
citals which largely accounts for the small au-
diences at such recitals.
"Because the giant pianists play from mem-
ory," he says, "therefore the lesser lights must
do likewise, though often with disastrous re-
sults alike to the composer and to the executant.
Nor do the giants themselves escape the evils
attendant on this custom. The strain on the
memory is so great that slips are by no means
uncommon," and "to the sensitive musician such
moments are most disturbing. . . . If pian-
ists had the courage to play with music in
front of them we should hear far more novelties,
and young composers would receive much more
encouragement."
There is a good deal of truth in these re-
marks. The writer might have strengthened his
case by referring to the fact that while Liszt,
the originator of the habit of playing a whole
program from memory, found it an advantage
because his memory was well-nigh infallible, the
greatest of his successors, Rubenstein, suffered
tortures, by his own confession, in the later
years of his life from the constant fear of being
left in the lurch by his memory; and that this
was one of the main reasons why he refused to
make a second tour in America. Nor can it be
doubted that Paderewski would come out of his
long American tours in better health than he
usually does if he did not have to rely so heav-
ily on his memory. To be sure, there is a
tremendous advantage in playing from memory
—an advantage similar to that which an orator
has over a reader. But, as the writer in the
Referee remarks: "Probably few gifted pianists
would glance at the music page, . . . but the
knowledge that the music was before them
would give confidence not only to the player,
but to the listener." Opera singers have a
prompter and a conductor to aid them in a mo-
ment of uncertainty, why should pianists be
left helpless very properly asks a writer in the
Evening Post. It is their own fault if they per-
sist in this foolish custom.
TWO NEW MUSICAL PLAYS.
Two new musical plays were heard for the first
time in this city on Monday night—"Veronique"
at the Broadway and "Moonshine" at the Lyric.
"Veronique" was the most important, as it came
here after a London run of more than 500 perfor-
mances, only closing to fulfil its American en-
gagement. The production is by George Ed-
wardes, and the entire company which has been
playing at the Apollo Theatre has come across
the ocean. A decided success was scored at the
New York premiere, the book, by MM. Vanloo
and Duval, being eclipsed by the music of M.
Andre Messager, who Is the director of the
opera at Covent Garden, and who came to this
country to conduct the opening performance. The
critics have been generous in their praise of
Messager's work.
Marie Cahill also scored in "Moonshine"—a
delightful vehicle for entertaining and amusing.
Crowds will be certain to be attracted by this
clever musical work of Silvio Hein and Messrs.
Royle and Hobart. It is one of the "hits" of
the season.
THE NEXT BAYREUTH FESTIVAL.
The dates are out for next summer's Bayreuth
festival. It will begin on July 22 and end on
August 20. "Parsifal" will be heard seven
times (July 23, August 1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 20),
"Tristan" five times (July 22, 31, August 5, 12,
19) ; the "Ring" twice (July 25-28, August 14-17).