Scan 6
Musical Courier 1907-06-12: Vol 54 Iss 24, 1907
11 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1moneys for his remarkable output. Beethoven's table manners were said to have irritated the Austrian aristocracy; Handel was at times a boor. Richard Wagner made himself decidedly ungracious and exhibited many disagreeable traits. His treatment of Tausig, who had made piano arrangements of Wagner operas as a labor of love, was actually infamous. He was rough and uncouth on many occasions, although he demanded consideration for himself at all times. On the other hand, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Weber, Meyerbeer, Halevy, Verdi, Thomas, Thalberg, Moscheles, Chopin, Schumann were not only well bred, but men with whom courtesy and gentility were a natural part of life, not merely their culture. And it is strange that a man of Wagner's character should have attempted to sit in judgment on many of these gentlemen, none of whom ever defaulted on a debt or a promise!
3Richard Strauss, genius also, as is now admitted, has thereby certain privileges, but no one is ever privileged to break with good manners, the very basis of human intercourse. That Strauss is ungrateful is generally known, but, after all, it is his own affair and must be disposed of with his other liabilities. But bad manners, exhibiting petty envy toward a poor dancing woman trying to earn a living in underpaid Europe, at the same time when fortunes are pouring into his own treasury and when he could be generous, at least in spirit, that is a trait the polite world does not overlook, and it is, after all, the polite world that is paying tribute to Mr. Strauss. There is an unkind section of the musical world of Europe that is attributing Strauss' well known stinginess—that is the word—to the influence of his wife, but that is just so much worse for him. I am quite sure that the ungrateful task of introducing his songs is sufficient to show that Mrs. Strauss has some force of mind—character, in other words. That many of these songs proved their worth may be credited to her besides the genius that created them, and for this reason alone nothing can be gained by those who are attempting a detour in Strauss' favor by charging his wife with an unworthy influence over him. After all, if he is lacking in those characteristics which distinguish a gentleman from a boor it is not her fault, as little as it is the fault of the daughter of the Pschorr Braü; that will have to stand against him solo and all alone. This incident with the dancer and the gradual and cumulative testimony of Europe proves that a little culture on Strauss' part would not be apt to affect the quality of his future compositions, just as the "Salome" subject was not exactly necessary as an addition to the modern pervert literature to illustrate the latest phases of his workmanship. It is about as nasty a topic as the diseased mind of man could have fallen upon in search for the monstrous and the hideous.
5No Truth in It.
7L'Echo de Paris published the following, which has been reprinted in English papers:
9"Milan, Monday, May 27.
10"The announcement is made of the forthcoming appointment of Signor Tito Ricordi to the directorship of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York. Signor Ricordi has been in New York for some time, and his nomination was approved by the principal shareholders of the Opera. He will receive a yearly salary of $50,000."
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