Books › Musical Courier 1927-11-10: Vol 95 Iss 19, 1927 › scan 28
Scan 28
Musical Courier 1927-11-10: Vol 95 Iss 19, 1927
101 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 29. See the scan on archive.org.
1November 10, 1927
3VARIATIONS
4By the Editor-in-Chief
6The New York Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert here at Steinway Hall, New York, on November 9, 1878, Dr. Leopold Damrosch conducting, and with August Wilhelmj as the soloist. The program embraced Beethoven's fifth symphony, Carl Goldmark's "Sakuntala" Overture, Raff's violin concerto, and Wagner's "Meistersinger" Prelude. The only survivors of that occasion are Beethoven and Wagner.
8Dawes plan or no Dawes plan, and Versailles or no Versailles, Germany has not deprived itself musically, and still retains its standing battalion of the world's greatest symphonists and composers of grand opera.
10After listening to the recent orchestral performance of Debussy's amorous Afternoon of a Faun, Albert Jonas, the piano professor, remarked to his madam: "I often have wondered what Monsieur Faun's evenings must have been like."
12One of the topics discussed at the meeting of the American Newspaper Publishers' Association, at Norfolk, Va., was: "What Methods May Be Used to Curtail the Amount of Free Publicity Furnished by Press Agents?" It suggests itself to the interested bystander (in this case a musical editor whose desk is drowned at the present moment with a carbon copy deluge of such matter) that no method devisable by human ingenuity or inhuman cruelty would be even remotely efficacious.
14Several weeks ago we published the annotated program of a symphony concert given in the Asylum for the Insane, at Napa, California. It appears that a number of our readers have credited us with being the author of the clever and highly amusing skit, but we regret to say that we did not write it. The printed program, which we quoted in its entirety, and with no changes, was actually distributed at the concert in question, and a copy was forwarded to Grena Bennett, the music critic, who presented it to us for reprint in Variations.
16Florence Hinkle, the soprano and vocal pedagogue of the Chicago Musical College, is an ardent lover of horse racing, and rarely misses a day of that sport when her time permits. Usually her companion on those excursions is Mrs. Rene Devries, and the two ladies are diligent readers of racing charts, and believing subscribers to the advice of various tipping bureaus. Recently the two friends attended an afternoon of racing at Washington Park, near Chicago. They wagered on an equine which, once he had begun to move, seemed in no hurry to reach the goal. He finally finished last. "What do you think of that?" exclaimed Mrs. Devries in disgust. "Wrong tempo," was the sententious answer of Miss Hinkle.
18From Perth (Scotland) where Ignaz Friedman has been appearing recently, comes this newspaper clipping:
20After the second Ignaz Friedman piano recital:
21Mrs. Sooby: "Me dorter can play twice as loud as 'im! An' she's only been learnin' a year!"
23It is almost impossible for us peaceable and peace-loving Americans to understand the sort of bitterness that leads to the conflict between the German people and the Czech people in Prague. As a result of this, some of the planned Beethoven performances in Prague had to be abandoned. One would think that Beethoven could claim immunity anywhere, any place and at any time.
25A former member of the Kneisel Quartet was noted for his lack of diplomacy, and his general air of Bolshevism as regards drawing-room behavior. Under the Roosevelt regime, the Kneisel organization gave a concert at the White House, followed by a reception. When a waiter approached the unruly musician with the query, "Tea, or coffee, sir?" the tonal one answered: "I'll take chocolate." Kneisel, ever alert for a faux pas from his collaborator, edged over to him, and whispered, "I beg of you, behave yourself." Nothing daunted, however, the offender raised his voice, and said loudly: "I guess there are enough cooks in the White House, to make some chocolate, yes? Anyway, if I like it, why shouldn't I have a cup of chocolate, no?" It is related that President Roosevelt overheard the essential part of the dialogue, roared his hearty laugh, and gave orders to serve chocolate to the musician. The latter thereupon smiled saucily at Kneisel, and commented, "Do you see? One has to ask for what one desires in this world."
27The New York Herald remarked that a vocalist—who collects, arranges, plays and sings Italian folk songs—"has the remnant of what must once have been a fine and flexible voice, but she has something even more valuable, the imagination of the true artist and the power to project her own vision." There are many singers who fail to realize the importance of either of those things. They may have innate imagination and power of projection, but they fail to develop those qualities simply because they have no idea that they are of any importance. It is a pity that so many singers think that the voice is the thing—the voice is the thing, but it is not the only thing.
29The Human voice belongs to Alfred Human, editor of Singing.
31Every once in a while inquiry comes to this paper, as to whether Le Courrier Musical, of Paris, is owned by the MUSICAL COURIER of New York, or in any way connected with it. The two publications have no relationship whatever, except those of friendliness. We esteem our French contemporary, as a bright, newsy, and progressive publication.
33That brazen musical implement, the cornet, gets a fine polishing off in an English music paper, which wrote recently: "We trust the day may come when the trumpet will be adopted in place of the cornet in all orchestras where there is any claim to artistic sensibility, and that the cornet may be relegated to the place it deserves—the variety stage and the street corner."
35Here is a "musical" quotation in the London Daily Telegraph from a recent "best seller," the name of which is unfortunately withheld:
37"Lady Diana burst out laughing—a harmonious laugh in an unaffected minor, consisting of a descending sharp and a rising flat."
39This quite upholds the tradition of novelists, whose musical wisecracks were ever a sort of comic relief to musical readers. One golden exception, by the way, was Samuel Butler, the author of The Way of All Flesh, who seems to have loved music enough to find out what it was all about.
41Mussolini, with his desire to recreate the glories of Italy, might take it into his head to command a national revival of coloratura opera. What could the populace do?
43Carneval, Carnaval, Carnival, are the various spellings of Schumann's famous piano piece, but nevertheless its greatness remains unchanged.
45A well known New York Methodist minister, not long ago delivered a sermon on, "Is it ever right to lie?" He supplemented his discourse with replies from many persons to whom he previously had sent the query. We hope he did not overlook:
47The pupil who says to the teacher: "I did this perfectly at home."
49The teacher who says to the pupil: "Excuse my closing my eyes. It is not sleepiness. I can concentrate better."
51The parent who writes: "Lizzie will have to discontinue her lessons; she is working so hard for her examinations at school."
53The impresario who says: "We don't need you, but if you will leave your address, I will bear you in mind."
55The prima donna's husband who says: "You were better than ever, my love; no one noticed your cold."
57The pianist who says: "I never am envious of my colleagues."
59The conductor who exclaims: "I did not know that another orchestra was to play our program here yesterday."
61The manager who wires to a musical club: "Price you offer for X. is far below his usual fee. He is surprised and offended. However, he will make an exception for you, in strictest confidence. Am mailing you contract for signing."
63The violinist who declares: "I was offered $8,000 for this fiddle, but I wouldn't sell it for $22,000."
65The composer who says: "I could write popular music if I cared to, and make barrels of money, but it is beneath my dignity."
67We do not choose to believe, that because of the modernistic works, the tonal classics sound any the less vital.
69"More personal liberty is torn from us," writes "Music Hater," on a baseball score-card; "because now that Aeolian Hall has been closed permanently there will be fewer concerts to stay away from."
71When Walt Whitman wrote his famous line, I Hear America Singing, he did not exactly have in mind Hosses, and The Black Bottom.
73The only time one doubts that the voice of the people is the voice of God, is when an average gathering of patriotic Americans attempts the singing of The Star Spangled Banner.
75An emergency meeting of musical artists is imminent, to discuss measures for the recapture of newspaper space from the transoceanic aviators.
77A musical ghost popped out of its grave momentarily not long ago, when Puccini's defunct Girl of the Golden West was exhumed by the Vienna Opera. The title role was sung by Mme. Jeritza. Now, requiescat in pace.
79After looking over the much advertised new Ford car, F. S. Converse says that he sees no necessity for making any changes in his Flivver 10,000,000.
81LEONARD LIEBLING.
83TUNING IN WITH EUROPE
85Harold Bauer is going to be one of the first to give a recital in the new Pleyel Hall in Paris. This hall, about to be opened, promises to be an acoustic wonder. Its originator, M. Robert Lyon, of the Pleyel house, has spent twenty years in the study of his problem, which was, briefly, to eliminate all distantly reflected sound waves, which reach the hearer too late to be in perfect consonance with the nearer waves. He has done this by the construction of a super-posed series of three semicircular open domes rising from the back of the platform something like this:
87 one of two readings
88 one of two readings
90These are mathematically calculated to catch the sound waves at their natural extremity—about eleven meters from their origin. The reflections from the ceiling are screened off by two large balconies, exactly calculated to catch the sound reflections from the two upper vaults. These balconies can be elongated by soft material, so as to screen off either one or both of the upper floors and make the hall correspondingly smaller or more intimate. The soft screens are made of material which allow the sound to filter through and so do not act as reflectors. The ideal hall, according to M. Lyon, would be one without a roof.
92* * *
94Speaking of Paris, our valued friend and colleague, Clarence Lucas, responds to our request for an article with a ready promise, and goes on to say:
96"The only thing that troubles me is this particular week, which has been broken up into a dozen unexpected fragments by visiting Americans. I meant to get the manuscript off on Friday night, but at the last minute came a request from H. . . . to hear his recital, after which I went over to hear the niggers from Utica bawl through a few of their plantation songs, with their wonderfully modern ideas about Moses, the Jordan, and Jerusalem.
98"The whole of Saturday till three o'clock was given to answering letters, explaining why I could not go to tea, or have dinner, or send the address of a boarding house, or give the prices of various teachers, or go to meet a friend of a friend who had read my articles since time immemorial, when the morning stars sang together,—and so on; the usual affairs of no importance which make life so tiresome.
100"Saturday night a detective came to get me to subscribe to his agency, and my boy Milton's teacher came in, because it was the boy's birthday. Sunday I went out to call on some musicians from America who had letters of introduction. Sunday night I was notified that Mme. —— wished
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.