Books › Musical Courier 1928-09-06: Vol 97 Iss 10, 1928 › scan 26
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Musical Courier 1928-09-06: Vol 97 Iss 10, 1928
94 lines. Read by computer on 29 September 2026. Printed page 27. 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.
1Musical Courier Forum
3Pianists Wanted
4St. Louis, Mo.
5August 17, 1928.
7To the Musical Courier:
8I am writing to solicit your assistance or co-operation—unofficially—to induce more pianists to come to St. Louis this coming season, and also in the future, than the usual small number that comes here—usually one or two, never more.
10There are two pianists I personally should very much like to hear: DePachmann and Rosenthal, whom I have not heard as yet. These men have been here in recital a number of times but I have not had the opportunity of hearing them. I do not know whether they are either of them in this country at present, or are likely to be here next season or in the near future; but at any rate, I certainly hope I shall have the opportunity of hearing both of them before they leave the concert stage, as, from what I have heard and read about them, they are two of the greatest living pianists.
12It seems that St. Louis has the very bad reputation of not being much of a music center, and for this reason it has been assumed by musicians generally that St. Louis is a place to pass up. A year or two ago Rosenthal went clear out to some little Kansas town to give a recital and passed St. Louis up entirely that season; this is inconceivable to me. There are plenty of people in St. Louis who are great music lovers who would attend every piano and violin recital by any musician worthy of the name, who could give a good concert; and I have heard many persons here lament the fact that so many musicians of note pass St. Louis up on their tours throughout the country.
14Could you not use your influence to induce more musicians—pianists and violinists—to come to St. Louis? Some of us are sick and tired of the infernal jazz,—we hear it at the picture theaters incessantly, and we never hear any music worthy of the name "music" except when we attend symphony concerts, or the recital of some professional musician at rare intervals.
16The undersigned is a profound lover of good music and has never tired of the old classics, and is especially fond of good piano and violin music, performed by a master of those instruments.
18You people in New York probably hear more piano, violin, orchestra and other music in one month than we do here in the west in several years. In perusing the columns of your publication last year I counted at least twelve piano recitals in New York in the month of February,—and I don't believe we have had that many piano recitals here in the last twelve years. At best it hasn't been more than three over that number in ten years. So you can see that we here in the "far west" have not as yet had time to tire of good music played by professionals.
20Anything you people can do toward using your influence with the musicians or the musical bureaus to get pianists and violinists to stop off at the "insignificant, unimportant cow-path" of St. Louis, would certainly be appreciated by an "old fashioned lover of the immortal classics," which to me contain more and greater beauties with each hearing of them.
22Hoping I have not trespassed too much upon your time in writing you in this strain, and that you will appreciate what good music means to those who like it and seldom have an opportunity of hearing it,—and that you will use your influence in the musical field to foster the cause of good music in this country, and send us some "music masters" equipped with the powers of interpretation of the old masters,—I remain,
24Yours for the cause of good music,
25(Signed) F. E. WRIGHT.
27The Vocatone for School of Voice Hygiene
28Dr. John J. Levbarg, laryngologist and voice expert, expects much from the use of the Vocatone in his School of voice hygiene. The new apparatus has been constructed for him by Dr. S. Baruch, former chief of Federal engineers, and a leading expert on talking and moving picture photography and voice recording.
30The Vocatone permits singers and speakers to hear their utterances as they are being recorded, thus showing any vocal defects, as well as slurring of consonants, fogging and veiling of vowels, lisping, nasalities and stuttering. The instrument should prove of great value in the radio and talking-movie field as a preliminary tester and a means of eliminating unqualified candidates.
32Dr. Levbarg specializes in the training of singers and speakers who desire to devote themselves to radio and talking-movie work. He has had great success in treating cases of defective voices and speech. The school is now organizing classes for the fall and winter.
34Incoming Musical Lights
35Passenger lists of the incoming transatlantic liners indicate that the fall stir in the musical world is about to begin.
37Max Bloch, Metropolitan Opera tenor, returned to New York on the S. S. Karlsruhe, which also brought back to town the Mozart Society of New York and the Liederkranz Society of Elizabeth, N. J., which attended the tenth German Saengerbundfest in Vienna. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Gaul were also on the Karlsruhe.
39The Majestic brought Alfred Hertz, director of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and Giulio Setti, of the Metropolitan, came home on the Conte Grande.
41All this was within the space of a few days.
43Munich Festival
44(Continued from page 7)
45odds, fair play in the true sense is out of the question; the outcome of the battle is predestined and could, at least, to Lohengrin, not for a moment appear doubtful. I repeat: Telramund acts in good faith, and even after his defeat he is still convinced of the righteousness of his purpose. He is defeated by one, who according to his supernatural origin and the powers of foresight with which he is invested, must have known not only the outcome of the battle, but who also must have been aware of Telramund's apparently just grievance. Yet Telramund, after his defeat, is outlawed and thus driven to desperation, which finally ends in destruction.
47There is a piece of cruel injustice in this, a damning blow to all dramaturgical logic, laws and reasoning. Lohengrin should never have gone into combat with a simple mortal. I cannot admire him; somehow my sense of justice feels itself insulted.
49Nevertheless, I will not gainsay the effectiveness of plot, action and music for minds not tortured by dramaturgical scruples.
51THE NIBELUNGEN RING
52The big event of the festival was, of course, the production of the Ring. Here, too, many scenic improvements have been made and gradually something like perfection in the matter of modern technical appliances is being reached. In fact the Munich Opera has, without curtailing Wagner in his scenic demands, developed its own style of production, based on its own ideas in regard to a highly original and impressive mise-en-scene, which is one of the great attractions of the festival. Of course, there is some grumbling among some of the older generation of Wagnerites, perhaps because that pitiful mechanical bird in Siegfried, the grotesque ram in Walküre and the two poor old ravens in Götterdämmerung have ceased to put in their embarrassing appearance; but there are still enough precious zoological specimens left in the Ring. And why, when everything moves according to the laws and standards of evolution and development should the most modern technical inventions, which almost invariably are identical with improvements, not be applied to the most complicated of operatic productions? Many hitches formerly almost unavoidable have thus disappeared, and the scenic pictures as a whole have decidedly gained in impressive grandeur. Wagner, as a romantic naturalist, would surely have congratulated the inventors of the plastic stage settings, or the marvellously perfected swimming and diving apparatus in the first scene of Rhinegold, had he lived to see them.
54A GREAT WAGNER CONDUCTOR
55Hans Knappertsbusch, the conductor, has developed into one of the great interpreters of the Ring. Sometimes his youthful enthusiasm may still lead him to explosive dynamics, to overstrained orchestral ecstasies at the expense of the singers; but still more often his interpretation reaches sublime heights, as for instance in the second and third act of Walküre or, in the entire Götterdämmerung. In the matter of detailed orchestral expressiveness he is an absolute master. Local cliques still use him now and then as a bone of contention, but Knappertsbusch serenely goes his own way, a way which is leading him to the front ranks of modern conductors.
57A SPLENDID CAST
58Among the truly great features of the Ring presentation were Wilhelm Rode's great and well-nigh incomparable Wotan, Gertrud Kapel's Brünnhilde and Curt Taucher's Siegfried. Of these three artists Gertrud Kapel commands my particular admiration. I remember her when her voice was still of very problematic nature, inflexible and not particularly pleasing in quality, her acting not above a fair average. Today her voice is an instrument of glorious sound, full of warmth and ecstasy, her acting, especially in Walküre, of superb superiority.
60Not less great in regard to beauty of voice, vocal style and histrionic display are Luise Willer's Fricka and Waltraute. Willer has risen from the ranks of a chorus-singer to one of the great contraltos of the German opera stage. Heinrich Knot's vocally splendid Siegmund is known of old, as are Paul Bender's grim and impressive Hunding, Karl Seydel's inimitable Mime and Hermann Wiedemann's truly demoniac Alberich. They all are among the chief supporters of our Ring ensemble. Hermann List was a bit disappointing as Hagen, not vocally but in regard to acting. Maria Nezadal, a new acquisition among our lyric sopranos, although gifted with an unusually fine voice, has not yet the artistic stature for a Sieghilde in a festival performance.
62MUNICH FINDS HERSELF AGAIN
63On the whole, this year's festival gave ample proof that the Munich Opera is again nearing those sublime heights, especially in regard to the presentation of Wagnerian opera, which it occupied before the great war, and which has made the Bavarian capital the Mecca of serious Wagnerites and music lovers in general. Again crowds from all corners of the globe were gathered in this beautiful city, foreign languages, principally English, were largely predominant among the festival audience.
65THE MOZART PERFORMANCES
66Of the splendid success of the Mozart performances I have already spoken in a recent letter; I have only to add a flattering report about one of the most perfect presentations of Cosi Fan Tutte that could be imagined. This work, too, has been equipped with a new and most charming set of scenery by Leo Pasetti; Joseph Geis, otherwise known as one of the greatest impersonators of Beckmesser, acted as stage manager with decidedly original and highly humorous ideas. Knappertsbusch conducted with great care and delicacy, being supported on the stage by a perfectly matched cast, comprising Fritz Krauss, Heinrich Rehkemper, Felicie Mihacek, Luise Willer, Elisabeth Schumann and Berthold Sternbeck. Nothing more charming and amusing than the artistic display of this exquisite ensemble can be imagined, and the imbecility of the plot was completely forgotten in the pleasure afforded by an immaculate performance.
68ARTISTIC AND FINANCIAL SUCCESS
69The audience appeared on all occasions sincerely enthusiastic, and as almost all the performances were completely sold out—the Mozart cycle long in advance—it may be taken for granted that the financial success equalled the standard of all around excellency reached in this 1928 festival.
71ALBERT NOELTE.
73Pictures of the Munich Mozart-Wagner Festival, designed by Leo Pasetti
75The first act of Lohengrin.
77First scene of Act III of Götterdämmerung.
79Last Scene of Act III of Siegfried.
81News Flash
83Warren Gives Final Summer Concert at Madison
84(By special telegram to the Musical Courier)
85Madison, N. H., Sept. 3.—Theatre of the Majors' last concert took place September 2 with Olga Warren and Stuart Ross in joint recital. In fine program, well rendered, pleased large audience.
86Warren.
88Obituary
90HENRY BENTEN
91Henry Benten, well known violin maker and artist, died in New Orleans, August 25, after a brief illness. He was seventy-two years old and had been a resident of that city for thirty-five years, originally coming from Nakel, Posen, Germany, where he was born. In 1921, Jan Kubelik became interested in Mr. Benten's reproduction of famous old violins. Other artists who visited his shop and admired his handiwork were Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz, Paul Kochanski, Adrian Freiche, Hubermann, Henri Guérineau, Albert Spalding, Carlos Sedano, Felix Salmon and Carl Christensen.
93Henri Guérineau played on practically all Benten's instruments and was permitted, at will, to use his most famous violin for weeks at a time, although it was not for sale and regarded as priceless.
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