Scan 23
Musical Courier 1902-08-27: Vol 45 Iss 1170, 1902
86 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026. Printed page 24. See the scan on archive.org.
A town on its own line is one of the directory's headings. That is where the town on a maker's page comes from.
1THE MUSICAL COURIER.
3STRANGE LETTER FROM BOHEMIA.
4(Translated from the Czech by the Musical Courier.)
6PRAGUE, BOHEMIA, AUGUST 11, 1902.
8Editors The Musical Courier:
10FOR the period of twelve months the people of this city, and I might add the people of this country, have been curiously affected in their usual placid views of life and art through the reports and rumors reaching here regarding the Aladdin like fortune suddenly acquired by one of our native sons in your country. While we know that we do not play a leading role now either in the domain of art or the realm of science, being merely a section of an empire, and therefore compelled to be satisfied with whatever goes to the credit of the whole, yet we not immodestly consider ourselves fairly acquainted with the doings of the outer world, and our literature abounds in cosmopolitan references, and illustrates to the casual observer that Bohemia is in the ranks of progress with other central European countries. The thousands of strangers that visit Carlsbad and other attractive resorts bring with them the international elements that disseminate through the cities here, and our singers and artists and writers are just as enthusiastic as they were in the days of Mozart, who was accepted here with his "Don Juan" when Vienna had received him patronizingly only.
12We have always been proud of the moral support gained by our musicians when they appeared abroad, and accepted their success as a matter of course, but no visible excitement resulted from these things, and the people were not upset and disturbed—never yet until here recently when the fabulous fortune which Kubelik had made in the United States was reported here and taken up by our people through the papers, of which they are voracious readers. And ever since then every young musician, especially every young, and even old, violinist, takes for granted that if he could only get an opportunity to play in your country he could also make the million gulden Kubelik made.
14This thing has had a very disturbing effect upon our quiet and conscientious and exceedingly sincere art life here. Our composer, Antonin Dvorák, had lived in America as the head of a vast music school in your country, and after years he returned to us, but he did not seem to have earned any more money than he could have earned and saved in our relatively cheap living land, and how comes it then that a youth, talented and admired here, it is true, but unknown to fame, in a large sense, could leave us a poor boy, play in England without great financial results, and visit America for a short time—much less than one year, and make within that time his million gulden? How fairy-like! How furious, too! How incompatible even for a virtuoso, and how strange in comparison with others!
16Inspired by a suggestion of a number of friends and lovers of art here and in Eger and Pilsen, and even Vienna and two others at Buda, I felt it my duty to cooperate with them to learn the truth as far as we could, for the sake of truth, which we like very much here, for the sake of our music and music in general, which we love ardently, and in order to abate a feeling among violin and music students, which, if generated in the future, must certainly prove disastrous to our sincere musical and art life, for we cannot afford to see our students aim at a career which few, if any, can aspire to imitate, and yet which all are now hoping for because of the report of this huge fortune which Kubelik is reported to have made so suddenly in New York and other cities across the Atlantic.
18We have learned in the first place that articles have appeared in English and United States newspapers about Kubelik and his relatives and friends and managers and agents which we know are not true, for they represent events that never transpired, and events which could not happen at all. All those reports, or nearly all, being false, as we now know, we concluded that this was all done for the purpose of réclame and to create sensational impressions, and that a system must exist to propagate and carry on such degrading exploitation. It would be beneath the taste of any intellectual Bohemian, of which there are innumerable quantities, to discuss the ordinary method of a sensational circus réclame like this appears to be, which evidently has its seat in London, as all these false reports first come from and thus emanate from that city, a city which has never yet sent us a native artist of whom we could approve, for there is none known here; it is the sad effect which these reports exercise upon growing musical culture, and the theories which should underlie the study of music on the part of young people most of whom have become demoralized by the news and reports of Kubelik and his quickly acquired American Monte Christo fortune.
20I must repeat to you that nearly every one of these reports is a fabrication, untrue and garnered from the imagination for commercial reasons only, if I use a very timid expression, for here the whole scheme is looked upon as vicious by everyone from Antonin Dvorák and the conservatory faculty down. I repeat, the stories are untrue and looked upon here as so undignified as to call for contempt only, and I shall, therefore, not repeat them.
22However, this self constituted committee of Bohemian musical patriots, not satisfied with this investigation and the results, which were both satisfactory and unsatisfactory—the former because we discovered the truth, the latter because, unfortunately, a Bohemian artist has become the tool of a London clown—this committee has drifted deeper, and has ascertained from the most reliable sources on both sides of the Atlantic—New York, London, Prague and Buda—and with the assistance of the Austrian Government's own representatives in America and England, that the financial results obtained by Kubelik were actually exceedingly meagre when compared with the published reports of the London liar—beg pardon for using the direct title.
24We have learned and learned truly that Kubelik, instead of having earned a quarter of million gulden in America—£20,000—$100,000—did not earn in the net clear for himself 20,000 gulden—$8,000 American gold. This is true, and there was an equal division between a number of partners, each of whom, such as Kubelik, Skrivan, an Englishman, and another, received $8,000 American gold, the London clown, the disseminator of all these modern methods of prostitution of art, merely receiving as salary a commission on the total sum. There may be some slight variation of this sum mentioned, but it is materially so near the truth that it may be accepted as the round number decimal truthful amount. May I ask you if it is not deemed an extraordinary success even in your gilded country for a young solo violin virtuoso to take in in one short season such a tremendous sum as to allow expenses and commission, &c., and yet clear for the enterprise 85,000 gulden—$32,000 net profit, and paying your American manager his share, which must be equal to any, for, as we learn, Kubelik's American impresario is a man of means and a successful manager, the owner of many theatres, who needs must be recognized as a managerial power.
26The disclosure proves the great success of Kubelik and the fact that he must have attracted tens of thousands of Americans, which is a source of great pride to us Bohemians. Why, then, does the London clown resort to lies when it is not necessary, thus inflaming the minds of our musical students and misguiding them? I write this with the hope that hereafter—after you have printed it—an end will be put to the undignified gossip and the vicious reports about Kubelik, some of which are about to taint him personally if he is not careful, and some of which have already injured him nearly beyond redemption in his native land. We do not believe here that he participates in these falsehoods and their distribution systematically through the press, but if he does, if he also has become demoralized, if indeed he has degenerated into a speculator and mingled with the low herd of mere money makers, his art must be lost to him, which we all would regret. If this is not true, he must stop the circus and end the operations of the clown, who is now doing his best to use Kubelik's name for these sensational purposes.
28We earnestly hope that you will publish this for the benefit chiefly of our students and their hopes, which should not be crushed, but properly justified. Apologizing for the extensive space this requires in your valuable journal, the only paper we decided to address because of its universal distribution, we close this letter. Both plural and singular have been used in this letter, not because we know no better, but because the story could otherwise not have been clearly told even in this space.
30LADISLAW HUSS.
32BESSIE BENSON'S RECITAL.
34A charming recital was given at the Virgil Piano School, 29 West Fifteenth street, by Miss Bessie Benson, on Tuesday evening, August 19.
36The quality of Miss Benson's playing is delicious, and while the program was really a long one, it seemed short to the interested listeners.
38Light and shade, serious fancies and gay ones chased each other with such illimitable charm and variety, and with so much novelty and satisfaction, that one and all joined in expressing their admiration for both the player and her work. Encores were demanded as a matter of course, and were responded to by the playing of an "Ecossais," by Chopin, and "Forest Elves," by Schytte. Here is the program:
40Papillons ………………………………………….. Schumann
41Meditation ………………………………………….. Tschaikowsky
42Rigioietto ………………………………………….. Verdi-Liszt
43Arabesque ………………………………………….. Leschetizky
44The Lark ………………………………………….. Balakirew
45Marche Militaire …………………………………. Schubert-Tausig
46Etude ………………………………………….. Chopin
47Alceste ………………………………………….. Gluck-Saint-Saëns
48Tarantelle ………………………………………….. Liszt
50Mendelssohn Hall can now be engaged for the Season of 1902-1903.
52FOR DATES, TERMS, ETC., APPLY TO
53FRANK H. PRESBY, Agent, 2381 Broadway; OR.
54GEO. BECKER, care of DITSON'S, 867 Broadway, New York.
56LOUDON G. CHARLTON, Carnegie Hall, New York,
57HAS THE HONOR TO ANNOUNCE
58Mlle.
59ZÉLIE de LUSSAN
60For a Trans-Continental Tour in Recital, beginning November.
61TOUR NOW BOOKING.
62SELECTIONS FROM HER FAMOUS OPERA ROLES A PROMINENT FEATURE.
64GEORGE HAMLIN, Tenor
65KIMBALL HALL, CHICAGO.
67VAN YORX Tenor.
68For Terms and Dates address
69BUREAU OF FINE ARTS,
70Fine Arts Building, Chicago,
71Or PRINCIPAL, EASTERN MANAGERS.
73Under Management of
74ARTHUR F. GOODRICH,
756 East 17th St.,
76NEW YORK.
78ERSKINE PORTER
79NINE YEARS OF AGE,
80SOPRANO.
81CHURCH—CONCERT—MUSICALES.
82Repertoire of 125 Songs, both sacred and secular.
83For Terms, &c., address
84Mrs. DAVID PORTER,
8573d St. and 2d Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y.
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