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Musical Courier 1892-12-14: Vol 25 Iss 667, 1892
68 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 7. See the scan on archive.org.
1The Musical Courier.
2PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
3BY THE
4MUSICAL COURIER COMPANY,
5(INCORPORATED)
619 Union Square W., New York.
7ESTABLISHED JANUARY, 1880.
8No. 667.
10EDITORS:
11MARC A. BLUMENBERG. OTTO FLOERSHEIM.
12JAMES G. HUNEKER. HARRY O. BROWN.
14BUSINESS DEPARTMENT:
15SPENCER T. DRIGGS. R. S. MAXWELL.
16A. T. KING. FRANK M. STEVENS.
18WESTERN OFFICE: Chicago, 226 Wabash Ave., JOHN E. HALL, Manager.
19BOSTON OFFICE: 32 West St.
20BERLIN, GERMANY: PHILIPP ROTH, 84a Lützow St.
21LEIPSIC, GERMANY: GEHRÜDER HUG, Königstrasse 16.
22LONDON AND PARIS: BRENTANO'S.
24Subscription (including postage) invariably in advance.
25Yearly, $4.00; Foreign, $5.00; Single Copies, Ten Cents.
27RATES FOR ADVERTISING.
28PER INCH.
29Three Months………….$20.00 | Nine Months………….$60.00
30Six Months……………..40.00 | Twelve Months…………80.00
31Special rates for preferred positions.
32Advertisements for the current week must be handed in by 5 P. M. on Monday.
33All remittances for subscriptions or advertising must be made by check or money orders, payable to the MUSICAL COURIER COMPANY.
35American News Company, New York, General Distributing Agents.
36Western News Company, Chicago, Western Distributing Agents.
38NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1892.
40THE following cablegram was received here on December 7 from London:
41Paderevski recital greater success than ever. Fully recovered. Receipts, $5,300. Will sail Teutonic 14th the instant. one of two readings
42Paderewski recital greater success than ever. Fully recovered. Receipts, $5,300. Will sail Teutonic 14th the instant. one of two readings
44MR. E. IRENÆUS STEVENSON, of "The Independent," has a sharp and timely article in the current issue of "The North American Review," in which he criticises criticism. In effect, Mr. Stevenson thinks there is too much namby-pamby essay writing masquerading as good, trenchant criticism in the columns of the daily newspapers nowadays. "Never," says he, "was honest, blunt, sincere, well considered, terse critical writing more needed than now. * * * The office of the journalistic critic is not the circumlocution office." This is well said, but then Mr. Stevenson may have forgotten that the managing editor sometimes forces his glittering optic on the advertising columns, and the dramatic or musical critic must do the same or "off with his head."
46THE unfortunate occurrence on Saturday night at the Russian concert at Music Hall, when Mr. Krehbiel, the music critic of the "Tribune," who delivered explanatory remarks on the folksongs of that country, was hissed from the stage is very much to be regretted. Mr. Krehbiel's lectures are learned and interesting when they can be heard, but his vocal organ is not strong and his remarks are frequently inaudible and misunderstood, and in a large hall an inaudible lecturer soon tires an audience, which, in nine cases out of ten, will refuse to respect the person when it suffers from the effects of monotony.
48A lecturer or reader should have a trained voice like that of a vocalist, and candidly speaking Mr. Krehbiel's voice is not in that genre. That his past lectures have sustained themselves is due to his personality, his position, the character of the particularly selected audiences and the limited sizes of the halls. In a large space like that which fills Music Hall, and with an indiscriminate audience, Mr. Krehbiel runs risks of which the occurrence of Saturday is an example. The audience was not prejudiced against Mr. Krehbiel; it simply could not understand him.
50SLIM CHANCES FOR OPERA.
51JUDGING from a recent interview with Mr. Henry E. Abbey, the chances for opera next season are slim in this city. Mr. Abbey said that he would certainly give operatic performances next season, beginning in October, at the Auditorium in Chicago. The company will be practically the same that would have sung here this winter had not the season been abandoned. The brothers De Reszké, Lasalle, Eames, Melba and Emma Calvé will be among the principals. Mr. Abbey could not say when or where the company would appear in New York, but he does not contemplate a long season here.
53THANKS.
54THAT valuable London monthly, "The Keyboard," devoted to the organ, has this to say in its December issue:
55In a general way our musical journalism is in no way comparable with that of our transatlantic cousins. For instance, we have no musical publication—even among our monthlies—which gets near the weekly THE MUSICAL COURIER, of New York, either in the matter of size, appearance, or interest of contents.
56"The Keyboard" evidently appreciates a good thing. The article in its current issue by E. Silas on "The Edition Epidemic" is a seasonable protest against the almost innumerable and often useless editions of the great masters by people whose time could certainly be more profitably employed. A portrait of Joseph Slivinski, the Polish pianist, also graces "The Keyboard" this month.
58HUMMEL AND BRAHMS.
59OF course it is obviously a thankless—nay, a useless—task to point out the beauties of a musical composition to one whose ears are obstinately plugged up with prejudices. None so deaf as those who will not listen. Therefore to try to convince the music critic of the "Evening Post" that Brahms' music has the slightest claim to his critical consideration would be almost an impertinent and wholly unsatisfactory proceeding. But we do wish to protest (to put it mildly) against the weird coupling of Johann Hummel's name with that of Johannes Brahms. After the performance of Brahms' ever verdant F major symphony by Mr. Nikisch and his men last Thursday night, the critic of the "Evening Post," possibly annoyed that Brahms really could sound so beautiful and should be so much enjoyed and applauded, penned the following as a corrective and doubtless as a protest against the appreciation in this year of grace 1892 of the music of one of the most intellectual composers in song, sonata and symphony alive. Here is what Mr. Finck said:
60The symphony was admirably played, as a matter of course, and it is perfectly proper that the works of Brahms should be heard occasionally. At the same time it is necessary to protest emphatically against the Brahms fad, the tendency in some quarters to regard Brahms as the greatest living composer, which is simply ridiculous when we have among us such men as Dvorák, Rubinstein, Grieg, Tchaikowsky, Saint-Saëns, Gounod and Verdi. Brahms owes his vogue largely to the enthusiastic endorsement given him at the beginning of his career by Schumann, and later on to the frantic efforts to push him into prominence made by that arch enemy of modern music and musical progress, Dr. Hanslick, in Vienna. Now, concerning that Schumann indorsement, Mr. W. F. Apthorp, who writes the historical and descriptive notes for the Boston Symphony concerts, makes the interesting revelation that he has it directly from a personal friend of Schumann's that some time after the appearance of the indorsement of Brahms Schumann expressed himself as "much disappointed in young Brahms, after all," and that there was not a little in his article that he would like to take back. Mr. Apthorp makes another interesting remark, which lets the cat out of the bag: "It may be said that no other composer, at any period in the history of art, ever owed his recognition by the musical world to so strangely few high qualities as Brahms." But Mr. Apthorp forgets Hummel. The parallel between Hummel and Brahms is a striking one, and would make a subject for a suggestive essay. Neither of them is a really spontaneous, creative genius, but both have to a high degree the technic of composition; they are virtuosi of composition, and virtuosity is very apt to be taken for a while for genius, both by professionals, who are interested in technic, and by a certain portion of the public which does not discriminate between musical themes and musical ideas. Hummel, in his day, was frequently exalted even above Beethoven, even by such eminent experts as Cherubini, just as to-day we find musicians and critics who ought to know better exalting Brahms above Rubinstein, who has more creative genius in his little fingers than Brahms in his whole body. Time, however, sets all these things right.
61In regard to the symphony played last evening it should be added that there is a charming passage in the first movement, but as it is stolen from the chorus of sirens in "Tannhäuser" it does not add much to the glory of Brahms. The "Lohengrin" swan harmonies are also heard, and the opening of the second movement is a ludicrous plagiarism of a very un-symphonic tune from "Zampa," an opera of the level of "Martha." The last two movements are, however, all Brahms—that is, dry, monotonous, uninspired. The finale is supposed to be Hungarian, but no one would suspect it if he were not told so. The orchestral coloring has all the sensuous beauty of a painted board fence.
62We might as well let the comparisons of Mr. Finck go begging. The resemblance to the "Zampa" theme is slight and is in point of strict fact confined to three notes. Even Wagner at times suggested other composers (you remember the well-known passage in the "Oberon" aria, "Ocean, thou mighty monster"). The exploitation of these resemblances is bootless. It is the comparison 'twixt the fat, respectable, square toed phrases of J. N. Hummel and the superb intellectual mastery of his themes by Brahms that is amusing. Why not compare Czerny to Mascagni? It would be just as apposite. J. N. Hummel, whose piano music was small, even insignificant in its themes, with a superfluity of ornamentation smacking of the virtuoso, has nothing in common with Brahms. Why can't we be catholic? There is a sober beauty in Brahms' music, an intensity of feeling, a variety of mood coloring that is all his own. Without him the world of music would be ever so much poorer, and he has done much to stem the tragic current that threatens to bury under its turbid waves the cause of absolute music. Brahms without creative genius? Go to!
64WILL MR. HALE EXPLAIN?
65A PECULIAR contretemps appears in the way of an article by Mr. Philip Hale, of Boston, lately printed in the "Musical Herald." The matter is small, but it is one not quite explicable on its face. In THE MUSICAL COURIER of October 8 Mr. Hale wrote an article as to the music festival in Worcester, Mass. Just what are the unlucky shortcomings and mistaken ideas of the managers of that annual festival and the way in which they persevere in illustrating them year by year is an old story. The mistakes and wrongheadedness have been shown in the "Tribune," the "Times," the "Recorder," the "Independent," in this paper, in Boston papers and even in Worcester sheets, until there is no new thing to say. Many papers here do not send special reporters up to the Worcester Festival any longer. Mr. Hale's article aforesaid in this paper was emphatically in the spirit of reproof. In it could be noted good advice (if pretty stale as to text) given the festival managers to make their festival not the provincial matter that it is by so much. Mr. Hale said that this year's festival was better than that of 1891—for whatever that commendation stands. He also sharply criticised some of the works given; he criticised the soloists and chorus, and he said that "it would be difficult to say how much real value these festivals are to music as it exists in Worcester." The general tone of that article by him in our pages was condemnatory, and justly so.
66But now in the "Musical Herald" Mr. Hale's key and mode are significantly changed. On the whole he likes this Worcester Festival of 1892. He seems to approve of the directors' tastes as illustrated in it. He speaks of the soloists in a way implying that they were satisfactory from his critical standpoint. Equally adroitly—as it would seem—does Mr. Hale express his conviction that the Worcester Festival ought to be kept quite one for Worcester, and that Worcester ideas and musical level should be its scope. "It is the chief duty," he writes in this complaisant mood, "to please and instruct the people of Worcester" with the festival. Quite true. But not if by so doing Worcester is not enlarged in its taste, and at the same time the festival is made worthy of educated tastes outside of Worcester. Mr. Hale might as well urge the missionaries that an Indian snake dance should be kept always a snake dance just because there might be pleasure and instruction in it to the Indians.
67And now, last and equally odd, Mr. Hale seems to have a special antipathy to those who take the ground that the Worcester Festival ought to be bred and representative of music in this eastern part of the world generally, with repertory, novelties in music, soloists. It is as if Mr. Hale were now in the very humor of the festival's directors themselves. He seems to make his "Musical Herald" article a masked and badly masked, assault on Mr. E. Irenæus Stevenson of the "Independent," who long ago incurred the special wrath of the Worcester Festival's managers merely because of the unsparing way in which Mr. Stevenson has tried yearly to convince them of their poor policy. Mr. Hale takes Mr. Stevenson's article
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