Scan 6
Musical Courier 1908-08-05: Vol 57 Iss 6, 1908
40 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1demoralized concert system is embodied in a proposition; in fact, in a principle into which it has gradually grown.
3This whole universal evil, this singing and playing without remuneration in Paris, London, Berlin, Vienna, Milan, Munich, Brussels, Dresden, Leipzig and St. Petersburg and Stockholm and Amsterdam and other dams, must be abolished before the musical profession (sic) can rise into its dominion. In no other field but music—in none—do the members of the fold compete against each other and against all, to work for no pay. In all professions the competition is based upon payment, and if the offer is too low it is, in each case, rejected. In music there is an hysterical rush, free for all, to sing and to play for as little as possible or for no money at all until it has reached such an exaggeration of paradox that, as stated in the article above, the artist had to enclose cab fare in sending out his tickets, which represented a begging request to attend the concert. People who go to the concerts here—they are invitation affairs, no tickets being sold, no box office receipts, in fact no box offices—consider it a favor when they attend, and when you see them you can tell from their patronizing attitude that they desire to impress the artists with this fact.
5The article above says that the recital is dead. I said it here ten years ago. See this paper for years on that subject. It also calls attention to the familiar London and Paris and Berlin phenomena of the same faces in each city at these deadhead concerts and recitals. I stated, in a recent letter to this paper, that among the audiences many persons of ignorant and servile types were to be seen constantly. Certainly, because the recipients of these beggarly appeals, consisting of invitation tickets, hand them over to their servants, cooks and janitors, and thus the recitals and concerts are packed with butlers, chauffeurs, cooks, maids, scullery hands, coachmen's and footmen's families and their social allies, all of whom are receiving a liberal musical education—which is at least something. You would be amazed to see this interspersing at the recitals in the large cities here. At the end of a row, in an aisle seat and next to it, you see two heavy jawed Irish servant girls with No. 9 gloved hands, and next to these two daintily dressed dowagers, who, evidently being used to it, accept the situation. In front of these a gentleman and lady, evidently musical people, and behind them a coachman with an infant boy, it being the man's day off. This heterogeneous melange is constantly met with in these deadhead affairs—and they are all deadhead.
7The Telegraph with the "Musicus" article gives us no remedy; it tells, however, that something must be done. Indeed it must in England, where professional singers get two guineas ($10) for an appearance at the Birmingham Symphony concerts, and out of this $10 they must pay fare from London to Birmingham and return and also the night's lodging in Birmingham and the food—for that is all it is, food; it is not dinner, for there is not sufficient in it to purchase what is called, even in England, a dinner. Yes, the Telegraph is right; something must be done.
9Remedy.
11As all these musicians are looking to America for their artistic success, this being the basis of their financial salvation, they sing and play for nothing in Europe in order, through a printed criticism, to affect us and draw them to us. Many of these criticisms are paid for; most of them, in fact, if we include certain favors as equivalent to pay. Here in Paris the criticisms are written by the artist or his or her manager and published in the papers at so much per line. All this kind of stuff is sent to us as criticism, legitimate criticism, and the manager then engages—and loses his American money—usually.
13The first, radical step, therefore, to put an end to all this nonsense, this degradation of a profession, is to cut off the one and only supply. That will remedy the case here and the musical profession can actually rise to some kind of dignity.
15How can this be done?
17American managers must not engage any European artists for money. The artists must join the American manager in the risk. As there is every probability that the artist will make money in America—if he or she has the merit there is hardly a doubt—the risk is nothing as compared to the European system, which compels the artist to spend all his or her money in giving concerts and recitals in London, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, etc., with no possibility of ever receiving any returns. Here in Europe it is a total loss. In America there are many chances and the loss, if there is one, is seldom a total loss. Hence, the one and only salvation for the singer or player is to join hands with the American manager, and if the singer or player has any confidence in his or her ability there is no reason to hesitate.
19It costs these artists from $1,000 to $5,000 to put their European concert scheme through during the season. All this money is lost. Most of it is borrowed, and repayment is expected.
21By investing the same money with American managers, the risk is vastly reduced and the opportunities for success are so great that there is no comparison between the status of the two plans.
23What is lacking in Europe is the initiative. If a few—say six—artists in various divisions, one each, had the good sense and the moral fiber represented by confidence in their ability, to do this, all such veritable nonsense as singing and playing, year after year, before invited friends (creditors from whom the money has been borrowed in order to be able to give the invitation concert or recital, and familiar professional concert touts and deadheads) would cease, and the people of Europe who profess to be so enamored of the musical art could prove their professions by paying to hear artists.
25Moreover, the musical artists of Europe—with their American longings—will never prosper unless they abandon this foolish, this absurd plan, of giving, free of charge, to any or all comers, their accomplishments. It is because musicians do this that no professional status obtains.
27Now, then, if this cannot be accomplished; if this present system is to continue, there is one plan, another American plan, that might gradually put an end to it; and that is this: The American managers must agree not to engage any European artist who has given a free or invitation concert or recital; only such artists to be engaged by American managers as have given performances here, charging admission and rigidly abandoning the invitation. The American managers can obtain all the necessary information on any such matters by addressing the various correspondents of offices of this paper in Europe. All European artists spending money to give free or invitation concerts in Europe are to be refused an American engagement unless they agree to do the same thing in America.
29This seems to me eminently fair. Music and art are not geographical institutions; they belong to the universe. If people will pay in order to be heard in Europe, they must pay in order to be heard in Siam or Singapore or Santiago or Saratoga. If they can travel from the interior of Russia to London to yell Slavic songs, and pay to do it, they can pay from London to Kalamazoo and do the same thing, particularly when, after the Kalamazoo concert, there is a chance to get a money making engagement, whereas there is no such chance in London except one in ten thousand.
31Financially and commercially considered (let us be honest; the artist is always a martist; if he is not after the money he is no artist, and no one will care to hear him or her. Any other claim is rank hypocrisy) the musicians, the European and the American managers would all be gainers by following this proposed plan. Why? Because it would tend to put the artist problem on a business basis, and that it what it needs right now. Musicians must be lifted out of the degradation of begging (for that is what most of them are politely doing in Europe) and only then can they become valuable to the art and to themselves.
33The co-operation between the managers can be readily adjusted as soon as the principle has been adopted. I would, in the meantime, suggest to every American musical manager not to engage any European or other musical artists who give concerts or recitals on invitation or by paying for them—unless also they pay the American manager to do the same thing in America. Let us have a little fair play. If you musical artists pay to be heard in Europe, then also you should pay to be heard in America. If not, you can have the supreme happiness of remaining in Europe. That will finally give America its opportunity to develop its native talent.
35Sheet Music Profits.
37The thirty years' monopoly that Germany grants to owners of musical copyright has made many German publishers wealthy and has given the great impetus to the music publishing business in that country. And it is good music, too; not music carrying no message—such, for instance, as "Killarney," a copyright owned by the late Eugene Ascherberg, who died recently in London and who stated that he could attribute his financial salvation to that song, popular years ago, and still selling in quantities.
39The recent death of the enterprising Berlin publisher, Adolf Fürstner, whose business passes into the hands of a young son, calls attention to certain features of the German sheet music publishing trade, which is endeavoring, through the aid of Richard Strauss and other commercially interested German musicians, to extend the right of copyright from thirty years after the composer's death to fifty years, including in it the retroactive clause embracing within the fifty years all current copyrights running now on a thirty years' grant. As the Wagner compositions ending with December 31, 1913—the full year being included—would then be extended to December 31, 1933, in their protection, "Parsifal" would
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