New-York tribune., 1873-05-12
THE RECENT FESTIVALS.

The extraordinary success of the recent
musical festivals in Cincinnati and New-York
must be deeply gratifying to all true lovers
of art. Neither was a pecuniary speculation.
That in New-York was designed by Mr.
Theodore Thomas to bring to becoming
close series Of concerts in which he had
tried to elevate the popular taste. That in
Cincinnati was gathering of the musical
societies of some of the Western cities and towns
for the purpose of promoting musical culture.
There was no extraneous circumstance in
either case TO give the performances an acci-
dental interest. There was no anniversary to
stir the public with exciting associations. The
festivals appealed merely to the popular love
for music and trusted to the popular appreci-
alton Of good music /; and the people answered
with enthusiasm.
Within the last'three weeks, in fact we have
settled some important musical questions.
It is shown in the first place that the
best music is not above the popular
comprehension, if it is properly performed.
The Ninth Symphony is the crucial test; and
both in New-York and Cincinnati that stu
pendous work was hailed with absolute
delight. Handel is a bugbear to the unedu-
Gated; but here we have miscellaneous
audiences going wild over him. Given good
orchestra and good chorus, and these old
giants rouse the people as no other COM
posers do who ever lived. When they seem
dull or incomprehensible, the fault is in
the performers, not the listeners. Secondly, it
is shown that the great danger in making
programmes for musical festival is not in
aiming too high, but in aiming too low. Mr.
Theodore Thomas selected the grandest and
what some would call the severest works in
tho whole range of music, and what was the
RESULT He lifted his audiences up to his own
high level. he opened to them the wondrous
beauties of that upper world, and he
made upon them an impression incom-
parably deeper than he could have
made by concessions to an untutored
taste. Thirdly, it is shown that any great
center of population can have grand festi-
val If it have competent director. Mr.
Thomas may be said to have created the Gin
cinnati chorus especially for this occasion, and
he had superb success in New-YOrk, where
the conditions for such an enterprise are
always more unfavorabe than in any other
large city. If he should now go from town to
town across the continent, repeating the ex-
pertinent which he has just tried with such
brilliant results, We have no doubt he might
set the whole country in blaze of musical
fervOr.
1t was supposed that Mr.. Thomas had given
the death blow to the Cheap Jack Jubilees
which Boston threatened at one time to make
perpetual; but there is to be Boston Jubilee
at Chicago next month for which Mr. Gilmore
and "a railroad depot, and several hundred
anvils, have been engaged. Mr.. Gilmore's
festivals, however, can never more hold the
high position that was once assigned to them.
Their crudeness, and bombast, and yulgarity
were excused because it was supposed that
these things were necessary to catch
the popular attention. The Anvil Chorus
was toy by which the infant public was to
be rewarded for swallowing a dose of Handel
and Beethoven. But this fallacy is aow ex-