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Musical Courier 1893-07-01: Vol 27 Iss 695, 1893
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1original meeting to have been one of the most influential moves in our art history, and it will surely be followed by others of immense proportions. When the amateurs of this vast country once put their hearts and voices, fingers and pens to work with a will we shall witness an art revival of a magnitude simply incalculable. Mrs. Thomas' address of welcome put before the large body of members (at least 500 are present in the city) all the issues at stake and urged upon the women the duty of evangelizing the fathers, husbands and brothers, and enlisting their sympathies and active co-operation. She emphasized the fact that at present the musical culturing of the nation is mainly in the hands of the women, a hard fact that is to a certain degree to be regretted. Mrs. Potter Palmer was present and complimented the musical women upon the magnificent success of their efforts. At different times the members of the jury occupied seats on the platform, and the leading professionals of this and other cities were interested listeners.
3The Brooklyn "Amateur Musical Club" is but four months old and has already a membership roll of 150 ladies, and a glee club of fifty voices, under Shelley's direction. The Lafayette "Matinée Musicale Club" was organized in 1890, and has an active membership of twenty-eight. The "Treble Clef Club," of Missoula, Mon., is the first organized association of women in the State. It began a year or two back with twelve members; it now has thirty-four. The "Ladies' Choral Club," of Newark, N. J., was first thought of by two women in 1890; it now has a select forty-two on its roll call. The "Cecilian Society," of Duluth, Minn., has a very large membership, well on to a hundred, and their program was a most excellent one, as they had three voices of rare quality in Mrs. Craig, Wardwell and Kirkland. Their president had part of an original opera of her composition ("Ganymede") sung by eight members, and an ode to St. Cecilia was a very good effort indeed. The Lafayette Club also presented an excellent vocal ensemble, and the jury were partial to these clubs for the place of honor in the first session.
5In the first afternoon session the "Treble Clef" Club, of Philadelphia, had a highly witty report read by its president. In 1886 it was started with three members as the "Locust" Club. It now has a very carefully selected roll call of forty-two ladies. They have given seventeen cantatas, and in six concerts given for charity they netted $1,675. The "Amateur Musical Club," of Joliet, Ill., was started on August 15, 1889, and it has given ten matinees during every season of three months. Miss Harwood played the "Impromptu," opus 66, of Schubert, most intelligently, and Mrs. L. A. Cancanon sang two songs very sweetly, viz.: "Memoria," Lynes, a charming rhapsody by Katheline Rogers, and with good judgment omitted the "He loves me," by Chadwick, on account of the lateness of the hour.
7The "Music Students Club" of Davenport, Ia., was begun with three ladies in 1884. Receiving in a short time an addition of one member they conceived the happy idea of celebrating that event by christening the club with the four lettered name "Bach." In one year they grew to twenty-five members, and their report proved that they have used intelligence and thoroughness in the planning of their lines of work. The "Rossini" Club, of Portland, Me., is the oldest musical amateur club for women in America. The first meeting for the purpose of organization was held on December 14, 1869. It had thirty-five charter members, was incorporated on February 7, 1870, and gave its first concert on May 23, 1870. It netted $200. On their records can be found the interesting entry: "Voted to loan our Chickering piano for the 'People's Concert' on October 16, 1871, in aid of the Chicago sufferers." The club is now very large and influential, and celebrates on every February 29 the natal day of the "Swan of Pesaro." The "Treble Clef Club" of Los Angeles, Cal., started in 1888 as a mixed chorus, but the gentlemen taking a lively interest in the male singing society, the "Ellis" Club, it soon became a ladies' club. It now has sixty voices.
9Three years ago three ladies met in Fort Wayne, Ind., at the house of an interested party to form a club for musical culture. It now has a membership of ninety-nine music loving ladies. All the clubs have had a hard struggle to eliminate mediocrity from their membership, but be it said to their infinite credit, all seem to have honest work in view, and they have, as a rule, aimed in a short time after the first beginnings have been accomplished to raise the standard and to crowd out useless or inactive members. Nearly all of the clubs have a sound, commonplace platform and an honest, artistic raison d'être. A majority of them seem to be self supporting, and many of them assist young and deserving talent in obtaining an education. At the afternoon session of the second day Mrs. Clark, the chairman of the Women's Board of Music, was present, and gave a bright and encouraging address. At that same session the "Liebling Amateurs," distinguished themselves very highly by the truly excellent playing of the "triple" concerto in D minor of Bach, by Misses Starr, Pick and Minzesheimer, and the most remarkable performance (for one of her age—16) of the scherzo from the Litolff, concerto, op. 104, by Miss Myrtle Fisher. It was the most promising performance of the entire convention. The "Bendix" quartet assisted with a string accompaniment.
11I wish especially to commend the very interesting and musicianly work of Miss Schioler, of the Fort Wayne Morning Musical Club, in the Chromatic Fantasie of Bach, and also the remarkably fine rhapsody in B minor by Miss Siboni, of the same club. The "Schubert" Ladies' Amateur Club, of St. Paul, Minn., was organized in 1884, but steps were taken to put the club on a higher artistic plane by reorganizing in 1888. They have 100 active members, and a fund in the bank, saved from their concerts, for the assisting of young and deserving girl students in music. Mrs. A. E. Bingham, of the "Chicago Amateur Club," sang "The Willow" of A. Goring Thomas, with violin and 'cello obbligato played by Messrs. Bendix and Unger, in the afternoon of the second day with a fine true voice and excellent taste and method. To tell the honest truth, so good and so surprisingly above what I had dared to hope for have been the generality of the numbers played and sung that it is only on account of lack of space that I do not mention every individual performance.
13One thing I must, however, still mention, and that is the charming memory of the romance for two violins, piano, organ and two harps, by Saint-Saens, as rendered by six ladies of the "St. Cecilia Club," of Grand Rapids, Mich., and also the polonaise by the same composer for two pianos, played most satisfactorily by Mrs. Steketee and Miss Walker, of that same club. I can assure my readers that I am only too glad that I am not a judge, for there are already about four clubs deserving the prize, and the number is evidently bound to increase to-morrow and Saturday. (I write this part of my letter on Thursday night.)
15A Columbian anecdote told by one of the ladies is too good to keep to myself, so I will insert it in this juncture: In the convent of "La Rabida" is a mosaic from St. Peter's at Rome. A lady asked one of the guides: "Is that a mosaic?" "Oh, no!" said he, "That is Isaiah!" (It represents that subject.)
17A Very Beautiful and Rare Old Harpsichord in the Women's Building.
19In the room next to the Cal. room in the gallery of the Women's Building can be seen a very beautiful harpsichord in the true old upright form, with ideal harp top, manufactured by Kuhn & Ridgeway, of Baltimore. It is over 100 years old, and is loaned by Mrs. Basil Duke, of Louisville, Ky. It will well repay a visit. In the large room relating to the educational work accomplished by women is a fine frame full of photographs of Mrs. Mathilde Marchesi and some of her pupils who have gained fame for themselves and for their teacher. I will enumerate a few of them: Helene Teriane, Anna D'Angeri, Mary Howe, Antoinette Sterling, Clementine Proksa, Mary Decca, Francis Seville, Rosa Papier, Louise Heymann, Regina Pagini, Julie Wyman, Ilma di Murska, Gisella Staudigl, Etelka Gerster, Emma Eames, Sibyl Sanderson, Kate Rolla, Jane Horwitz, Emma Nevada, Amalie Stahl, Emma Calvé, Blanche Barton-Stone, Antoinette Fricci. I also found offices of some of the progressive ladies' colleges, and a very neat series of pictures from Hellmuth College, of London, Canada. There is an exquisite woman's form playing on a citharone and a divine angel figure playing on an old violin in the Cal. room. Near by is a fine picture of de Chamnade and an interesting list of her principal works.
21A Marvelously Complete Collection of Antique Musical Instruments in the Southeast Lobby Room of the Government Building.
23Let every musical student pay a long visit to this beautiful and highly instructive exhibit, as it is very large and very complete. As soon as I can possibly find the time I shall give a complete and classified description of this museum of musical curios; in the meantime I at least mention the location of the same, in order that visitors interested in music may not miss finding it.
25Fine and Celebrated Portrait Painting of Franz Liszt in the French Section of the Art Gallery.
27This is the famous portrait by Layraud, and should be seen by all music students. It is No. 547.
29Third Day.—Amateur Musical Clubs, Friday 23d.
31The first club on the order of the day was the "Mozart" Club, of Dayton, Ohio. It is five years old next October, for thirteen women met at the home of Mrs. E. M. Wood, on October 15, 1888, and the club, soon after organizing on that occasion, numbered thirty-five active, thirty-five associate and fifteen honorary members, and at the present time shows a strong power, with 125 honorary, forty active and thirty associate members. Their program included the sonata, opus 29 of Beethoven, and a "Hamlet" scene of A. Thomas, by Mrs. Kneisley and Mrs. Herriman. Dayton is such a thriving city in music that the future activity of this body is assured.
33The "Rubinstein Club," of Memphis, Tenn., represented another city now awakening to active musical life, and it bids fair soon to equal its older rivals. The Detroit "Tuesday Musicale Club" can look back over eight years of stimulative activity, as it was founded in 1885 by twelve ladies under the name of the "Piano Club." It was originally a quartet club, until renamed the "Tuesday Musicale." They brought Paderewski to their city, and they also give artists' and American composers' recitals several times annually. Their program was very diversified, and the "Dumka" finale from Dvorák's quintet, op. 81, was excel- lently played by Miss C. B. Dow, assisted by the Bendix Quartet. The Schumann concerto (second and third movements) was then beautifully rendered by Mrs. Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, of the Chicago "Amateur Club." The "Ladies Musical Club," of Seattle, Wash., is but two years old, but has the encouraging number of 100 names on its books, and is ever growing. Their directress is Mrs. Martha Blanche Churchill, formerly of Chicago, and the program offered by them was a delightful and unexpected surprise.
35If in the far North such culture is even now to be found, there are indeed hopes for the artistic future of America. Among many good numbers, the most naively sung songs, "Two Lovers," of De Koven, and "Noël," of Adam, by Miss Marguerite McKinney, are especially to be commended, as was the Liszt "Hungarian Fantasie," by Miss Potwin. The "Beethoven Club," of Moline, Ill., was ably represented by Miss Nellie M. Stephens, in Beethoven's "Sonata Appassionata." This young lady has good judgment and considerable talent. The Moline club is strong, full of life and ambition, and will assuredly do much good.
37Mrs. Corinne Moore-Lawson followed with a very interesting paper anent the "Ladies' Musical Club," of Cincinnati, Ohio. A half dozen met only two years ago to discuss the idea of the banding together of the women, both amateur and professional, in that place; the result is a present membership of 200 associate and fifty active members. Miss Helen Sparman is their very popular president, and they have already given sixteen concerts, the last being with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. As there are professionals on their roll call they did not give a program in competition. The "Ladies' Matinée Musicale Club," of Indianapolis, Ind., is a truly brilliant aggregation, to judge by the program offered by them, which would have been a credit to any professional company. They organized in 1877, with but nine members, for the study of the literary side of the musical art; they now have a permanent home in the "Women's Club House" of their city, and they point with pride to no less than sixteen foster children in various parts of the land who owe their being to their direct influence. A really noble record. Their work was exception-
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