Scan 1
Musical Courier 1892-02-10: Vol 24 Iss 625, 1892
59 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 6. See the scan on archive.org.
1BOSTON OFFICE.
2THE attention of professional musicians and musical institutions in Boston and throughout New England is called to the fact that the Boston office of THE MUSICAL COURIER is at No. 157 Tremont street, and that Mr. John E. Pinkham is in charge of the same.
4Mr. Pinkham's functions in Boston will be similar to those discharged during the past six years by Mr. Hall in the Chicago office of THE MUSICAL COURIER.
6Every musician and everyone in any way, shape or manner connected with or interested in musical matters in Boston or New England can secure proper publication of the latest items, news, programs or advertisements by applying at 157 Tremont street, or communicating with Mr. Pinkham, who also carries files and back numbers of THE MUSICAL COURIER.
8All matter for publication should be in Mr. Pinkham's hands before 6 p. m. on Saturdays.
10OPERA.
12THE rumors that have visibly darkened the corridors of the Metropolitan Opera House lately are slowly crystallizing, and last Sunday's "Recorder," which seems to be the official organ of the present operatic management, states that without doubt Messrs. Abbey & Grau will have control of the Opera House and continue to give performances in French and Italian. There seems to be a solid foundation for this statement, unpalatable as it is. The board of directors are opposed to German opera for reasons best known to themselves, and Sir Augustus Harris' proposition for opera six nights in the week in French, Italian and German is not thought feasible. So it all remains in the hands of Abbey & Grau, and their experiences this season have, it is to be hoped, taught them something. That they have lost heavily is a sure thing, but that they will quit giving us bad performances of stale Italian operas is not so sure. We can only watch and hope. At present there is a very dubious outlook for German opera next season.
14MUSIC CRITICISM AND CITY EDITORS.
16THE city editor of the great daily newspaper is as a rule the mortal foe of the music critic, and the explanation is not difficult to discover. The city editor is a newspaper man pure and simple; he has no sympathy, no affinities for matters artistic, and if he is told that the advertising of opera and concert is raison d'être for the existence of a music critic on a newspaper he meets the assertion with the argument that an advertisement suffices of itself; its function is to be read and that the public at large care very little for criticisms of music and opera. Now, that this purblind view of the question contains a certain amount of unpalatable truth there is no gainsaying, but it is only a half truth after all. The city or managing editor argues that the majority of his readers care more for the details of a popular poisoning case ("popular" as Patti and the seats in the court room if they were auctioned out would bring bigger prices) or the thrilling account of a big fire or prize fight than all the fine things Messrs. Krehbiel, Finck or Henderson have to say about a new symphonic poem or a music drama, and the city editor is wholly right. But in art matters the vox populi is not the vox Dei; if it were so then all art would have come to a standstill ages ago, if indeed any such thing existed at all. But the minority, as Matthew Arnold so eloquently asserted in his essay "Numbers," have also their rights, and it is the minority, the artistic 400 (to borrow a colloquialism), whose tastes and desires should get their due consideration at the hands of that omnipotent being, the city editor. Now let us see how much consideration the music lover gets in the columns of the daily newspapers. one of two readings
17THE city editor of the great daily newspaper is as a rule the mortal foe of the music critic, and the explanation is not difficult to discover. The city editor is a newspaper man pure and simple; he has no sympathy, no affinities for matters artistic, and if he is told that the advertising of opera and concert is raison d'etre for the existence of a music critic on a newspaper he meets the assertion with the argument that an advertisement suffices of itself; its function is to be read and that the public at large care very little for criticisms of music and opera. Now, that this purblind view of the question contains a certain amount of unpalatable truth there is no gainsaying, but it is only a half truth after all. The city or managing editor argues that the majority of his readers care more for the details of a popular poisoning case ("popular" as Patti and the seats in the court room if they were auctioned out would bring bigger prices) or the thrilling account of a big fire or prize fight than all the fine things Messrs. Krehbiel, Finck or Henderson have to say about a new symphonic poem or a music drama, and the city editor is wholly right. But in art matters the vox populi is not the vox Dei; if it were so then all art would have come to a standstill ages ago, if indeed any such thing existed at all. But the minority, as Matthew Arnold so eloquently asserted in his essay "Numbers," have also their rights, and it is the minority, the artistic 400 (to borrow a colloquialism), whose tastes and desires should get their due consideration at the hands of that omnipotent being, the city editor. Now let us see how much consideration the music lover gets in the columns of the daily newspapers. one of two readings
19A cynical city editor once told his music critic: "My dear boy, it's all well enough for you to turn in a half column about a Tschaiikowsky symphonic poem, but who cares to read such stuff?" That city editor was unconsciously paraphrasing Mr. Henderson, who recently remarked, anent the destruction of the score of an opera, "Wojowode," by its composer, Tschaiikowsky: "What is a Wojowode, anyhow, and why should one throw it in the fire?" Why should one not throw it in the fire? says Mr. City Editor, and for "fire" read "waste basket," and you have the story in a nutshell.
21Yet there is a large, intelligent and constantly growing class of newspaper readers who continually read the criticism of musical performances when they are vouchsafed to appear in print by the city editor. These criticisms are eagerly discussed, the motives of the writer criticised and finally they are digested. Let not the city editor nor, for that matter, the music critic himself suppose that every line he writes is not read and commented upon by someone. Every year the musical season is becoming more and more active, and if city editors were not so hopelessly hidebound by routine and encompassed by a horde of hungry reporters, who fight for every inch of space for the chronicling of nastiness and vulgar commonplace, they would read the handwriting on the wall. That would tell them that the better class of their readers are sick of morbid sensational accounts of bloodshedding and subsequent criminal trials; that the ever increasing number of weekly publications owe their very existence to the desire for clean, wholesome and artistic writing; that the knell of doom has sounded in all the decent newspapers of the nasty details of a nasty divorce case; in a word, the city editor will find himself behind the times if he does not awaken to the true situation.
23Boston is far superior to New York in the matter of clean and art recording newspapers. Every daily journal in the Hub devotes columns to music, painting and book reviewing, not neglecting local or foreign news. But in New York the artistic or literary news of the week is relegated to the inside pages of bulky Sunday editions, where it gasps for breath between an "ad." setting forth the merits of a wonderful vegetable compound and the account of Alderman Mike Finnerty's successful bal soirée in "de Ate Ward." During the week a few "sticks" are daily devoted to the description of important operas, concerts and other musical functions.
25Nor is this the only evil, for far worse is the policy of those city or managing editors who tell the music critic very plainly: "See here, Mr. X., Manager Bumstein advertises with us and I want you to give his concert a good notice—do you understand?"
27Of course the unhappy wretch understands; he is not altogether a fool, even if he is a music critic, and he goes to the concert, listens in despair to bad piano thumping (the piano house advertises in the "Daily Boojum" and the truth must be—suppressed), awful singing, and then, still in despair, writes a miserable, half hearted notice that makes your teeth creak when you read it the next morning. But the advertising column must be kept in view when you write, else that darkling hint from the city desk.
29Are there no music critics, then, on the daily press who tell the truth and nothing but the whole truth? Candor compels me to answer, a very few, and even the policy, political and social, dictates terms to these few glorious exceptions. Allusion is not made here to the personality of the various music critics in our city, though personality also plays a large part in the make-up of criticism. Amiability, fairness, even kindness, rule the actions of most of our metropolitan music critics who do no private axe grinding, and who of course are never venal. That nonsense has now become a huge joke, such a joke that when certain liberal ladies, but bad artists, recently attempted to buy the New York musical press wholesale, the attempt was not received with indignation, but, as it deserved to be, with laughter.
31No, it is not at all a question of music critics themselves, but of the rigors they are subjected to by their chiefs—rigors that seldom are visited on the dramatic critics, who write, as a rule, their free, honest opinion. Only the music critic is muzzled, and should of course raise a row and get discharged, and see his place at once filled by somebody who will write what he is told. The better thing to do, while retaining as much as possible his self respect, is to fight every inch of the contested (and detested) territory, and to remember that if the longest lane has its turning, even so may the brain of a city editor be flooded with sweetness and light at last. Just take the opera this season at the Metropolitan Opera House; how few of our local music critics have dared to tell the truth? You can count them on the fingers of one hand, and still have several fingers to twiddle at the remaining majority. Messrs. Abbey & Grau advertise in all the daily newspapers; ergo their absurd (with a few magnificent exceptions) operatic show gets glowing notices, which the public read, shrug their shoulders and—stay away. Go with your tale of woe to the city editor and he will, as he eagerly reads the vivid account of a delightful sociable given by the members of the Hogwash O. Z. X., of Harlem and Guttenburg, remark as did Dean Swift: "It's all the difference twixt tweedledee and tweedledum. Boy, take this revise upstairs; now, about that abduction case in Hoboken?" Don't you wonder that the average music critic does not take to "drink?"
33What is the remedy? Time alone will tell. At present it is a case of the devil or the deep sea, and as long as music critics have to eat, drink, be housed and clothed and city editors remain obtuse there will be no solution of the problem.
35WAS IST LOS MIT WILLY?
37FOR pure, unadulterated rot the following, published in last Sunday's "Times," is certainly the sublimest example:
39The fourth concert of the Symphony Society was given at Music Hall last night. It is customary at concerts of this kind to have a soloist. Last evening, however, the audience was treated to two solo performers, one of whom had not been heard here before, except at the public rehearsal on Friday afternoon. This solo player was a violinist, Miss Geraldine Morgan. She is a California lady. When she was yet a child she was sent abroad by her father, a San Francisco organist, to study the violin. She had the good fortune to secure as her teacher no less distinguished a player than Dr. Joachim. She remained under his instruction during the whole of her stay abroad, which lasted twelve years, and had the honor of playing a Bach concerto with him. She was called out four times last night and undoubtedly pleased the audience very much.
41The composition which the young lady selected for her American début was a violin concerto by Max Bruch. This composer was in America several years ago and conducted performances of several of his choral works. He is highly esteemed as a composer on both sides of the Atlantic. The concerto played last evening is the third which he has written for the violin and had never been heard here until Friday afternoon. The other two have been played here often.
43The other soloist was Miss Clementine de Vere, a soprano who is heard very often on the local concert stage. Her solo last night was the aria called "Sweet Bird," from the oratorio "L'Allegro ed Il Penseroso," by George Frederic Händel, born 1685, died 1759. In this aria, which is of considerable length, a flute is used to imitate the voice of the bird. Miss de Vere was much applauded.
45The orchestra of the Symphony Society, conducted by Mr. Walter Damrosch, played Beethoven's Eighth Symphony, which is in the key of F major; the overture to Richard Wagner's opera "The Flying Dutchman," and a symphonic poem by Liszt entitled "Die Hunnenschlacht." The audience applauded the performance of each of these compositions.
47What is the matter with Mr. Henderson? Has he, too, been forced to join the ball and chain gang (a veritable press gang), which is composed of the music critics of New York city, with a few exceptions? Has the rambunctious city editor issued another ukase against honest, outspoken criticism, that the above disgraces the columns of such a powerful and representative journal as the "Times." Was ist los mit Willy?
49Does the Wagner Cult Ruin Voices?
50BY ANNA LANKOW.
52HOW often do you read "The Wagner cult has ruined in a short time many beautiful and well trained voices and has called into existence a species of naturalists in singing who, outside of a powerful volume of voice and frequently grotesque declamation, have nothing to show in the way of true education in art?"
54In expressions of this kind it should be stated more concisely what sort of voices and in what kind of art productions they have been ruined, even if they have before enjoyed an artistic education. Wagner has written his heroic dramatic parts for heroic dramatic voices, and no true service is rendered him if an individual endowed with a genuine lyric voice or with one that the Italians call mezzo carattere attempts to sing his "Isolde," "Brünnhilde" or "Elizabeth." A person who disregards the sphere which nature ascribed to his voice, a sphere which can indeed be cultivated but not enlarged by artistic training, such a person can ruin his voice in singing Bach just as well as Wagner or Verdi, and a powerful vocal organ runs even still greater danger without artistic training. Both categories of singers do just what a true and finished art education would prevent them from doing, viz., they abuse their vocal organ.
56As a vocalist and a voice builder I have indeed been enabled to find out in how much the singers and in how much the compositions can be blamed for this. Dramatic conception does not enable a lyric vocal organ to render heroic situations and it is just in this direction that many lady singers err. It is artistically and vocally just as little justifiable as if a contralto would want to sing "Lucia" or "Lakmé." And it is just for such impermissibilities that those who do not understand the matter hold the greatest of dramatic composers responsible. The good old proverb, "The shoemaker should stick to his last," is nowhere more appropriate than in the art of singing.
58I also venture to doubt that the Wagner cult can be blamed for having produced a species of vocal naturalists. I am sure that before and after Wagner, with or without
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.