The Washington critic., 1888-03-13
WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY.
The Great Pianist, Josshy, and His
Washington Audience.

Washington Audience.
EDIroR Critic: The New York Tribune
of Sunday contains the following Wash
ington item;
~ have seen IL stated somewhere that
Theodore Thomas dislikes coming to
Washington because he thinks audiences
here are not appreciative enough. |
shouldn't wonder If that were true ! at
tended the two concerts he gave here, and
j never saw the number of late-comers or
early-risers, who insisted on disturbing the
audience just at the most critical moment
exceeded anywhere. Among them / dis
tinguished the families of Cabinet Min
lister, of two Senators, and the representa-
tive of q foreign government"
Criticism, like charity should begin at
home. 1t is, indeed, a deplorable fact
that Washington concert audiences are
greatly disturbed by the irrepressible late
comers and "early risers," but that the
number of offenders in this respect is ex-
ceptionally large is decidedly fabrica-
ton. Ihave experienced more annoyance
Of this kind and have suffered more from
the close proximity of the conversation
fiend during concerts given at the Acad-
emy Of Music in New York, than ever
have here in Washington. If the rapt
attention of those who attended the recent
Thomas concerts was not mark of their
keen appreciation, we can only attribute
it to lively dread on the part of each in
dividual that the slightest move or
whisper might induce the distinguished
leader TO stop the music while he leveled
few personal remarks at the offenders
devoted head. The writer then goes on
TO say:
~ thought, too, that IL was a rather
severe reflection upon the musical taste
ofa Washington audience for Herr Joseffy
TO play, IN response to an encore call
some ,evidently improvised reflections
upon the tune How can leave thee )
But admit it was all deserved"
There are few non-muscal people in
the world who will candidly admit that
they "dont know one tune from an
other;' such instances are rare, however,
as they are refreshing The great ma
jority of those who are tune blind" if 1
may coin such, an expression, would die
rather than make so humiliating a con-
fession, and to this latter class we are in
clined to believe, belong many of our
would-be musical critics.
The Iribune's correspondent, upon his
own showing, either does not know one
thhp mum hlOlutIJ VI IllliStil III btlt
predicament of the man who knew but
two tunes: One was "God Save the
Queen" and the other wasn't. The
writer of the paragraph in question is fa-
miliar, perhaps, with two musical compo-
sitions, and when he found that Herr
Joseffy was not playing one of them he
naturally concluded IL must be the other.
In justice to the eminent pianist, but with
due respect for the time-worn little
melody, would like to state that the
evidently improvised reflections con-
tanned not the slightest suggestion OF
How Can Leave Thee" and were GER
tainly not intended as reflection" on
the musical taste of q Washington audi
ence.
The persistent aud hearty applause
which followed his rendering of the
Chopin concerto was scarcely indicative
of q lack of appreciation on the part OF
the audience, and it, in response to such
applause, he good naturedly gave us O
dainty bit of improvisation (Which no
one mistook for a masterpiece and only
one man was able to identify as "How
Can | Leave Thee') does it prove that he
considered his audience as lacking in
taste2 |, for one, do not think so.
e. L. s.