Scan 4
Musical Courier 1907-10-02: Vol 55 Iss 14, 1907
22 lines. Read by computer on 24 September 2026. Printed page 5. See the scan on archive.org.
1REFLECTIONS
3BOSTON SYMPHONY. THE INSTITUTE OF ART.
5CONSIDERABLE changes have been made in the personnel of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, no less than nine new men coming from Europe to replace the Adamowskis, Hess and other former members of this formidable orchestral body. A few resident American musicians are also among the new nominees, but the bulk of the replenishers are Germans, and the questions again arises, How is it that we must constantly go to Europe for orchestral material? Boston, other New England cities, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington have been attentive listeners to the delightful concerts of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a score of years, hundreds of musical colleges and schools and private musical studios and teachers have turned out pupils who have studied to play on all kinds of orchestral instruments, besides studying music, many of the teachers have been and are from Europe, and yet, despite this general education derived from the Boston Symphony concerts and the studies pursued, we are unable to supply the wants of a symphony orchestra, which seems to be forced to go to Europe whenever it requires new or additional material.
7We pay more to listen to music than Europe does; we pay more for musical instruction than Europe does per capita; we import teachers from Europe—renowned ones; we study modern European works with avidity, studiously avoiding American works except on the basis of commercial reciprocity, and yet we are always finally unfit to supply the active or professional musician when there is an opportunity to fill a place in a quartet or orchestra.
9All the classical orchestras of the United States are rehearsed with the use of the German language only. The conductors all are either Germans or use the German tongue in commanding, and there is no use for any one not familiar with the German to join one of our orchestras unless he is a foreigner, and such a foreigner, if not a German, usually has sufficient smattering of that language to understand the conductor.
11What and where is the trouble after all these years of orchestral and other musical education? Was it not possible for the Boston Symphony Orchestra management to find competent players in America? Very naturally, the duty of selection devolved upon Dr. Muck, the conductor, and he does not know any American orchestral players or students, while, or the other hand, he knows the German orchestral player or they know him in Germany; hence he was obliged to seek the new players on the other side.
13Judging from present appearances the American musical student will not get any opportunity to enjoy the artistic satisfaction of playing in a classical orchestra as one of its members; he is actually ostracized, just as he has been since the days of Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan, of Carl Bergman, Anschütz, Vianesi or Theodore Thomas, and no one bearing an American name seems able to find a chance to demonstrate his capacity as conductor of one of our classical orchestras.
15What is the underlying cause of this?
17If we are sufficiently intelligent to appreciate the performances of our classical orchestras, a fact illustrated in their existence and maintenance, and if we acquire such a musical taste that our communities insist upon organizing them and also engaging their services outside of the zone of organization; if we engage as lecturers the wise men of journalism to tell us all about these orchestras, and even encourage them to write great bound books in which we are instructed how to listen to music, and if we have colleges and schools of music galore and endowed institutes and thousands of teachers, many from abroad, how is it that after scores of years of such operations, manipulations and conscientious application we cannot, from out of such a seething mass of appreciators and students, find a few professional American musicians who can fill in a few not overpretentious places in an orchestra which is known to be under continual rehearsal, during which discrepancies, if any, should exist, could be gradually eliminated anyway?
19Wherein lies the difficulty this situation presents?
21Are we defective in the sense of assimilation? Are we indifferent to the true and sincere in art? Are we incapable of acquiring executive control or are we too hurried, too anxious, too impatient? Are we stupid and merely listen and study automatically? All these things, if answered affirmatively, would yet not
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