, 1873-05-25
REVIVAL OF MUSIC IN CHICAGO,

The SUCCEEDS Of the Cincinnati Festival is al
revival in Chicago. The 1othargy which has fol-
lowed the fire 1s at lust broken, and the musical
elements OF tho city are beginning to crystalline
into shape again, and so rapidly, TINT it will not
be long before Chicago will resume her old place
as ono Of the great musical centres Of the coun-
try. The regeneration has commenced in very
| remarkable why. Hitherto the most OF
| our musical. SUCCESSES have grown out
Of an influence e1ortcd by the Ger
| mans upon the Americans. This time it
ia an American influence which has caused the
awakening and which is inspiring the Germans
to stronger effort than ever before, It has, in
fact, become necessity for them to rouse them
solves and do something, il they wish to preserve
their old supremacy. Before the Cincinnati
Festival, the Apollo Club had already caused an
,1ncaainess in the German societies. Although
an American organization, it boldly entered into
| the German field, and it's progress was
SO rapid that it soon p1aeed itself
at the head OF our local soc1eties
and excel1ed tho Germans on their Own ground.
With such competitor, they felt tho necessity
for action, and the succinct account OF the con-
dition and operations Of their societies, which
We publish elsewhere, shows that they have
been at work developing their resources and
strengthening their material. Then came tho
Cincinnati Festival, th1ee-fourths Of its musical
organization being American. Its effect upon
the G erman element is shown BY the
extracts from the Illinois Stadts- Zeltung
and the Testliche Post two Of the
most reliable muaical papers in the country,
which We publish elsewhere. The Germans
know very well that one Of their strongest holds
upon the sympathy and admiration Of the Amer1-
can people has beon that Of music. They have
walked up in time to realize that their hold is
weakening, nnd TINT the sceptre may clip from
their grasp unless they show TINT they are
worthy to WELD it by more decided action
than they have exhibited for few years
past. Especially is this true in Chicago. It
we're useless to deny that, whatoVer has been
accomplished in music hero in the past, was &C
complished by the Germans. The pioneers OF
music in Chicago we're Bergman, Ahncr, Unser,
Lob Balatka, and othors,-au Germans. The
Philharmonic Society owed it's great SUCCESS to
tile Germans. The Germans gave Us our first
orchestras. 4 German opera troupe COM
PEELED the Italian troupes to give US better
performances. The German singing societies
have lived to see scores of American societies SO
out Of sight. Since tho fire, however, tho Ger
mans have done nothing here in music. It Was
reserved for an American societyto give the first
Impulse to music, and at last, as We have said,
the Germans have realized the importance of the
situation. They have recently taken an impor-
tant step, in which not only the musicians but all
tho prominent German citizens have participated.
This step is the reorganization Of the old Chicago
Liederkranz, and the organization OF q first
class orchestra, For the accomplishment Of
these purposes, q large number of the leading
German citizens have met and subscribed
handsome guarantee fund, and rendered the Lead
ership OF the society and orchestra to Hans
Bn1atka, formerly of this city, and now leader OF
the tlouriahing Milwaukee Musical Society. Mr.
Balatka now has the proposition under consid-
Grafton, but We feel authorized in saying
that he will accept it, md come here, and
give his best energies to the work, and that he
will organize his orchestra upon the plan Of tho
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, which TIE
Du1oAao TRIBUNE has 30 often advocated as the
only sound plan that is, to make the musicians
themselves interested in concerts, On the CO.
operative plan. As this ID public natter in ,
which ali are interested, it will guarantee us in
making the following extract from pri-
yate letter we have received. Mr. Bafatka
says: "a musician should be progressive. It
ia true do not think that every simple motion
is progress but my Judgment in this respect is
governed by the same principles which tell me
that not everything written by Beethoven, Mo-
zart. and other masters is sublime and heaven
IL. but that just and sound criticism must reject
many of their works as antiquated or inferior to
their best. My motto is eclect1c: Select the
best from the best. My aim will be to
produce all compositions in an abso-
lutely faultless manner, and secure for
Chicago an orchestra that WOULD % cfeoat 10
any city in the Union" In these few words
Mr. Balatka has sounded the keynote Of success.
Ho will find excellent material here for an Or
chestra. He has the advantage Of knowing tho
people md what they want. He is ono OF the
few musical conductors in this country whose
reputation has exceeded local bounds, and no
ona ran donbt his enthusiastic devotion to music
as an art or his indomitable indus-
Try. Il he will but keep that one
word "progress steadily in view,
ye have no doubt OF his ultimate SUCCEEDS and
rich reward for former impecunious years Of
toll. He will receive hearty welcome from
his German friends, and, We doubt not. Arneri-
cans, remembering his former services, will also
extend cordial and helping hand to him in his
great work. The time WIS never more orpor"
| tune for musical regeneration. and American