The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-06-21
GREAT EAR.SPLITTING FESTIVAL.
A Perfect Sham-It Expires of Emactation and
General Debility-A Pecuniary and Musical

The musical festival dwindled away steadily
after the Elijah night, and on Saturday evening
expired of emaciation and general debility. Its
last hours were disturbed by the clamors of
unpaid artists and impatient auditors, and
hardly a friend remained to close its eyes.
Without Parepa the festival would have tumbled
to pieces long ago.
In pecuniary sense the festival must have
been disastrous. In an artistic sense, despite
some excellent performances to which we have
done full justice from time to time, it has also
been bad failure. A Beethoven festival it has
not been in any sense of the word. During the
whole eleven concerts only two compositions bv
Beethoven have been played, and both were
played badly. The eXaggerations, not to say
false pretenses, of the advertisements were too
fragrant to be excused. The blunders and con-
fusion in the management were too obvious to
escape notice, and too annoying to be borne
with patience.
We are far from saying that the performances
as rule were poor. 1t they had been an
nounced as series OF great popular concerts,
at reasonable prices, no one would have COM
planned; but purporting to be jubilee celebra-
tion of the centenary of the greatest of COM
posers, with tickets "a apiece for each perform
ance, they invite the severest criticism. The
first and most obvious fault was the want of
recognized musical head. Programmes got
themselves made somehow or other in town
meeting, and these were followed or not as
operate artists were present. but nobody knew
how to turn them to account. With the reper-
tory at their command we might have had an
unequalled variety of selections; but parts had
not been furnished for the orchestra, and the
list of possible pieces was consequently reduced
to few, of which the music could be bought or
borrowed at a moments notice, and these were
repeated over and over again. Several eminent
conductors were engaged, but the orchestra
was of a second-rate quality and had no rehear-
sails Better music is given by Theodore Thomas
every night at the Central Park Garden than
was given any time last week by the orchestra
at the Rink.
The effect of the Festival upon art we believe
will prove unfortunate. The Boston Jubilee,
with all its little absurdties and shortcomings,
and the inevitable imperfection of performances
in which ten thousand voices and five hundred
instruments took part together, gave an ex-
traordinary impulse to musical enterprise all
over the country, infused vitality into scores of
choral societies, developed latent popular taste
| for the works of the best masters, and set for
ward the average musical culture of New Eng
land good half generation. The Jubilee in
| New York, on the contrary, has discouraged
musicians, disheartened musical societies. and
| strengthened the vulgar prejudice which calls
| Handel stupid and Mendelssohn bore. Even
the least cultivated ear listens with delight to a
| grand chorus sung with spirit by mighty
| choir; but such Indifferent performances of
oratorio music as we generally have ia New
York cannot possibly interest any except those
| who know enough of art to go behind the i'm
| perfections of the interpreters and catch the
| spirit of the composer. The Festival of last
| week has developed nothing but the popular
| taste for gunpowder, and that was strong
! enough already. One of these days we shall
| ever undertakes the herculean task of getting it
| up will find the recollection of this sham one a
formidable obstacle to be oyercome.-N. Y.
| Tribune.