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Musical Courier 1892-12-21: Vol 25 Iss 668, 1892
86 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. Printed page 7. See the scan on archive.org.
1The Musical Courier.
2PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
3—BY THE—
4MUSICAL COURIER COMPANY,
5(INCORPORATED)
619 Union Square W., New York.
7ESTABLISHED JANUARY, 1880.
8No. 668.
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, 228 Wabash Ave., JOHN E. HALL.
19Manager.
20BOSTON OFFICE: 32 West St.
21BERLIN, GERMANY: PHILIPP ROTH, 84a Lützow St.
22LEIPZIG, GERMANY: GEHRÜDER HUG, Königstrasse 16.
23LONDON AND PARIS: BRENTANO'S.
25Subscription (including postage) invariably in advance.
26Yearly, $4.00; Foreign, $5.00; Single Copies, Ten Cents.
28RATES FOR ADVERTISING.
29PER INCH.
30Three Months………….$20.00 | Nine Months………….$60.00
31Six Months……………..40.00 | Twelve Months…………80.00
32Special rates for preferred positions.
33Advertisements for the current week must be handed in by 5 P. M. on Monday.
34All remittances for subscriptions or advertising must be made by check draft, or money orders, payable to the MUSICAL COURIER COMPANY.
36American News Company, New York, General Distributing Agents.
37Western News Company, Chicago, Western Distributing Agents.
39NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1892.
41100 PAGES.
43THIS issue of THE MUSICAL COURIER contains 100 pages and three inlay Supplements. It is by far the most complete publication of its kind that has ever been rolled off the press since the establishment of journalism. It must be kept in mind that THE MUSICAL COURIER appertains to one topic only, and has no other departments outside the domain of music.
45With this number, which is the December Special, we close our first year of monthly Specials, the success of which has been so pronounced that a series of Specials will be arranged for the year 1893.
47WE notice in the analytical programs of the Berlin Philharmonic concerts, just at hand, covering the season of 1892-3, that Leon Delibes is "living in Paris." Dr. H. Reimann is the editor of these programs, and it is evident that he is not a careful observer of international musical affairs, otherwise he would not have overlooked the death of Delibes, which occurred some time ago.
49THE "Sun" not long since contained quite a lengthy article entitled "To Crown the Chicago Show," which in ironical admiration lauded Steele Mackaye and his musical scheme at the Columbian Exposition. Sneering allusions were made to Seidl and his orchestra and their connection with the affair. As Mr. Seidl's artistic integrity is unquestionable, and as he works heart and soul in any artistic enterprise he is engaged in, it ill behooves the writer in the "Sun" to attempt to belittle the whole matter and all who are actively engaged. Possibly the article in question is from the pen of that gifted Wagner lover, Mr. Nym Crinkle, about whom anything or nothing may be ever safely predicated. If Mr. Crinkle did write the stuff then all is explained, for was not he once a bosom friend of Mr. Steele Mackaye? Oh, sharper than the serpent's tooth, &c., and, likewise, fudge!
51AN OFFICIAL MATTER.
53THE success of music as a reproductive art during its progressive stages at the Chicago Columbian Exposition depends upon a bureau especially established for that purpose, and yet of the three men constituting the official and active elements of that bureau one only will be held responsible for the final outcome, and that one is apparently the least active, although he will, when the real work begins, be the only truly and thoroughly active member of the bureau. We refer, of course, to Theodore Thomas.
55In the final summing up of all that pertains to music at the exposition there will be but one name known, but one personality associated with it, and but one historical character identified with it, and that is again, of course, Theodore Thomas. His guiding hand, his superb routine experience, his artistic conception and his personality will give that universal tone to music at the exposition without which it would be commonplace and out of gear with the time and the occasion.
57And yet, notwithstanding the preponderating and overshadowing individuality of Theodore Thomas, he appears only the background of all the public activity that seems to bring into prominence the other two members of the bureau—Mr. Tomlins, to whom the choral direction appears to be delegated, and Mr. Wilson, the secretary of the bureau. The national reputation of Theodore Thomas is naturally sufficient to warrant his present modest retirement without fear of having his real work obscured by the activity of the other generally unknown individualities. There will be no trouble in the rounding up of events, for then Mr. Thomas will be seen and heard probably as he never has been heard before, but the contrast between his present conduct and that of his two associates is too marked not to call for comment.
59What Mr. Wilson has been doing to exploit his own small affairs at the expense of his official reputation is now well known. Any man who will use his official position to propagate a private scheme demonstrates the extent of his mental scope. All men in public life who have been guilty of such conduct have irrevocably been disposed of in accordance with their own action. There is a well established formula, generally accepted in good society and followed by all men and women of character or of sufficient pride to protect a good name, that forbids the commingling of private and public interests on the part of one who has been chosen as a public servant. The transgressor gets his punishment in due time.
61The astonishing aspect of Wilson's case is the petty scheme itself for which he was willing to become a sacrifice. In all its possibilities there never was any future of eminence or influence connected with a little monthly music paper filled with essays from writers whose fecundity made it impossible to restrict them to its columns only. If all their work had been concentrated in Wilson's paper, and it had the tone and character of a magazine such as, for instance, Mr. Matthew's "Music," some prospects of success would have been in store for Wilson's speculation—provided he had the journalistic experience, judgment and ability of W. S. B. Matthews. But with a little lifeless sheet that had just transmigrated because of the fact that it could not be sustained in the place of its birth, where it was dying from want of support, to appeal successfully to the musical elements of this nation on the strength of the fact that its editor was a secretary of a bureau of music in a transitory scheme like an exposition was a hopeless task.
63It appears that the paper only became Wilson's property after he had secured his place as secretary—if it is his property without incumbrance to-day. If this be true then the indictment against him becomes complete, for that would prove conclusively that only by means of his official capacity did Wilson dare to hope for the success of his private venture. It would be interesting to get Mr. Thomas' opinion of the secretary's speculative tendencies. Mr. Thomas has some rather severe ideas of ethics, and in all the years of his public activity no one has ever suggested that he ever had in view any private pecuniary gains, except such as came to him legitimately, and he frequently paid from his private purse the losses sustained through musical enterprises with which his name was connected.
65Mr. Tomlins has not taken any active steps, as far as is known, to repudiate his connection as it appeared with the Wilson schemes. Mr. Tomlins is essentially a business man and that is no discredit. We believe he started out in life as a sewing machine agent, and began to train children's voices first in a Sunday school and subsequently in public schools. He made a specialty of this pursuit and gradually acquired sufficient routine to direct such clubs as the Chicago Apollo, where at a recent performance he conducted an orchestra and chorus in a composition of Händel's from the piano score.
67Any man who can reach such a state of perfection that enables him to read and interpret a partitur through the illusory lines of a piano score is a worthy associate in a musical bureau of an editor of a monthly whose chief work as an official in so important a matter as world's fair music is relegated to the pushing of a private speculation. Mr. Tomlins' musical lore most probably is on a level with that of Wilson's. Both of them are satisfied to do the best they know how, but how is that to be viewed by the authorities at the exposition?
69Mr. Wilson's work in the Boston custom house and Mr. Tomlins' studies in the operations of the shuttle in Baker & Grove's and Wheeler & Wilson's sewing machines gave them vast opportunities to study the great problems of music at a world's fair. If it were not for Theodore Thomas there would be sufficient justification for expecting a great American Humbug racket at Chicago next summer, so far as music goes. He is the only bulwark against such a danger.
71THE ARTISTIC GOLDEN WEDDING OF ALBONI.
73AN artistic reunion, altogether enjoyable in its way and of particular interest, occurred a week ago at the charming residence (Cours la Reine) of Alboni at Paris. The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary of the first success of the famous contralto, and the invitations bore the legend "For the celebration of the artistic golden wedding of Marietta Alboni, 1842-92," in French.
75As a matter of fact it is just fifty years since Alboni appeared at the little theatre in Bologna, in the part of "Clymène" in Pacini's "Sappho." Rossini, who always took much interest in her, had a hand in her first engagement. She was only fifteen years old at that time.
77From her earliest years she had delighted and astonished all by the purity and power of her voice. At the age of thirteen she had pursued at the Bologna Lyceum the musical course, directed in this instance by Rossini, who was so delighted with her extraordinary gifts, mentally and vocally, that he wrote some singing exercises for her benefit. At the finish of her studies she went on a tournée with much success, and six years after, in 1848, she was engaged at Covent Garden, the honorarium for the season being 100,000 frs.
79Rossini, who besides his estimation of her talent, had a quasi paternal affection for her, recommended her, when through the lyceum, to the then well-known impresario Merelli, who engaged her for Milan, where she made a hit at the Scala, and for Vienna and St. Petersburg, where she sang with Rubini and Mrs. Viardot. In 1847, after a brilliant tour, she was engaged, as mentioned above, for Covent Garden, and in doing so had to contend with the excitement caused by the singing of Jenny Lind at Her Majesty's Theatre, to which the crowd went, street fashion. Alboni, confident in her powers and in her ability to succeed, was by no means intimidated. She appeared, sang and conquered, and thenceforward Jenny Lind had to reckon upon her as a rival. The Covent Garden director raised Alboni's salary from 20,000 to 25,000 frs.; the following year he had to pay 100,000 frs., an enormous sum for that day.
81When she appeared in Paris she had, in the words of the wily advance agent, an enormous success, and at the second concert at the Opera the ticket office in the Rue la Peletier was taken by assault, windows being broken and blows exchanged freely, inviting the interference of the police.
83Her success was the same in France, Spain and Portugal and America, where she was one of the first to receive a fabulous sum for her services, a thing now only too common, as the various impresarii sorrowfully admit.
85Alboni had the courage, unlike a few of the wrecks of the present day, who are under the impression that they still have voices, to quit the scenes of her triumphs in the height of her renown, at the age of thirty-six, and has only appeared on the theatrical stage twice since, once in 1869, to sing Rossini's posthumous mass, and the second time in 1872, when she reappeared in "The Secret Marriage" on the
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