The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-05-12

Our progress in musioal taste N.fthin tue
last quarter Of n century has. been great
and most encouraging. L., no one Of the
beautiful and oivilzng, arts have we ad-
vanced SO far. Plating seems yet an
exotic here. Sculpture. with its cold
forms, an extr emely limited art, is an
American Speciality, and with STORY,
WARD, Thompson, Brown, and their
brothers. of the chisel. is sustained at "a
high, n not the most imaginative, stand
ard But the popular taste does not run
10 pictorial and plastic art as it does to the
musical. Too much of our picture buy
ing, rs the author of the Strangers Note
Book truly said, Is governed rather by the
names than just conception OF the merits
of the painters. Knowing that MEIsso-
N1ER, CoRoT, or a BoUGEREAu has, like
gold, an intrinsic mercantile value, rich
picture buyers here are free to invest their
money in these works, they are to lay
by their spare cash in Government skies or
New York Central bonds. Meanwhile our
artists, chagrned ut the mania for French
art, paint pictures which for the most part
present n feeble body of color compared
with those of their more successful Gallo
competitors. Our landscape painting Is
the most advanced; but after all, the great
est heights of art are those attained by the
figure painter. Still we must not forget
to honor that American landscape school
which includes among its members GiF-
FORD, McENTEE, MARTIS COLEMAN, Mil
LER. and lately was adorned by the gentle
KENsErr. Nor shall we refuse "A high place
among figure painters to JOHNSON, HUNT,
la FORGE, MAY, HOMER, GRAY, and their
fellows.
But the critical taste of the public lie best
cultivated in music. Since the days when
Mr.. RICHARD GRANT WHITE laid the foun-
dations of his literary reputation by his
scholarly criticisms of music in the old by
gone Courier aud Enquirer, and the late
Mr.. WILLIAM IL. Fry put the fire of his
genius in the Tribune analyses OF musical
compositions and performances, the adj
vance toward a refined taste and nice ear
for the appreciation of music has been
steady and great The Germans brought
to us, along with their innoxious lager
beer, strong incentive to musical improve
ment, and have largely contributed to
form our present aud growing love of the
harmonic art. To Mr.. THEODORE THOMAS,
whose admirably trained and well-bal-
anced orchestra did so much to make salts
factory the Interpretation of the Centen-
NAL music, a large need of praise is due.
He may, perhaps, be justly assailed for
selhshness, but Mr.. THoMAs's great merits
and great services in cultivating the popu-
lar taste up TO the enjoyment Of the best
class of music cannot be gainsaid.
The ambition of young women especially
to attain to proficiency as players on the
piano, and their much more than merely
conventional delight in the employment
and appreciation OF expert skill at IL, are
quite universal among the maidens OF cul-
tivated families. The sight of pretty dam
sells hurrying to their music teacher with
the roll Of music in their hands is n frequent
one. Performers like RUDINsrEIN, VoS
BLOW, ana ARABELLA GODDARD have a
gentle following of enthusiastic girls, who
expend on them the ardor of their unoc-
cupied hearts. Not even Won BuLows
ungracious manner and unaccom modating
spirit can chill the enthusiasm of the fair
devotees who hang breathlessly on the
keys of his well-used piano. No Roman
conqueror ever dragged ut the wheels OF
his chariot more completely subdued cap
tives than RUBINsrEIN led to the march OF
his glorious music. MONTAGUE may be
handsome, RrGNoLD may be virile, but
neither Of them has any show with bud
ding womanhood when VoN BELOW OF
RUBINsTEIN is around.
OFFENBACu will undoubtedly have q
great popular success but his music,
though IL may tickle the senses, or as
that great musical authority, Mr.. CHAUN-
CEY NJ. DEPEw, remarked at the astound-
ing Lotos Club reception, it may please
people who know nothing about the con-
cord of sweet sounds and whose ears are
SO thick that they can't tell the difference
between Yankee Doodle and the Hallelu-
jah chorus, will not command the respect
which is uniformly accorded to BEErHo-
VEINS or WAGNEg's compositions by taste
ful audiences. But OFFESDAcH does know
how to arrange his notes SO rs to captivate
the ear and not tire the thought. or give
TOO great elevation to the feelings.
We return our thanks TO Mr.. j. X.
PAINE, Mr.. DUDLEY BUCK and Mr.. THEo-
DoRE THOMAS for the handsome represen-
tation they gave our foreign visitors of
the progress of the art of music in this
new country, and TO Mr.. RICHARD WAC
NEn We express renewed obligations for
the delight he has afforded us.