Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-11
THE MUSIC WORLD.
Advent of the PhOnograph Into the
Classic Domain of Harmony.
ANEW PENALTY FOR BAD SINGING
Original Titles Invented by the Modern
Music Publisher.
GOSSIP ABOUT OUR LOCAL MUSICIANS

The photograph continues to creep aheaC
in musical fields. The recent American
concert given by Mr.. Frank Van de
Stucken at the Paris Exposition will b
handed down to posterity in the shape o
little wax cylinders.
Now many vocalists are beginning by it
aid to hear themselves as others hear then
and to reslize-as Emma Abbott did In
Pittsburg-how different their voices SOUND
from what they imagined them to be. If il
be true, as claimed, that all manner o.
lapses IN tune, time phrasing or pronuncia
ton are revealed to the singer himself By
having his voice bounce back to him, as il
we're, what a great boon to suffering hu
manIty the Menlo wizards invention will
be.
Instead of the effective, but ungracioui
method of kissing poor singer, what q
poetic penalty it would be to grind out be-
tween acts at the dressing room door faith.
full reproduction of what its inmate had
just inflicted upon the audience. And the
much-abused press critic; just fancy how,
when the big, irate tenor comes around to
argue the point, he can turn his little crank
and annihilate the self-convicted blunderer
with triumphant, There! told you SOP
The day may come when aspirants for
vocal honors-after swallowing an ammonia
phone full of genuine Italian voice, and
gazing into the laryngoscope long enough to
get it properly placed in the region OF the
crico-arytenoideous lateralis muscle, can
complete their artistic education by the pur-
chase of an assorted dozen or SO of cylindri-
cal PATHS, Scalchi's, Tamagno's or Maui
rel's, and then practicing away at the phon-
ograph until the cylinders they turn out
are. line for line, scratch for scratch, micro
scopically exact duplicates of the purchased
models.
In that day dealers in wax music will
have a right TO return to the good old style
of title, thus: 1.-The Swiss Echo Song, er-
actly as performed with marvellous success
by Jennie Lind"
~
Speaking of titles, a glance over the pub
fishers lists of popular pieces of the day is
calculated to excite an amused admiration
at the daring and ingenuity displayed in
the choice of such names.
Here are a few picked out at random on
local counter the other day: 'Yuba Dam
Quickstep," Straight Crook Quickstep,"
for instance. Ncte the exquisite appro-
priateness of the first title to that species of
musical form known as the "quickstep."
Observe the moral delicately inculcated in
the second; how the 'crook," even after
becoming sIraignt, s ever ueeAnB Hom
the sword of Justice. Another naively sug-
gestive designation is, "Clog Dance,
'Grecian Statue probably alluding to
some colored Galatea of the male persuasion.
Then there are the ansgramatic titles got
up mechanically by, reversing the order of
letters, etc. Such as these were noted:
''Overture, 'Enotirab' for baritone. Tuba
obligato, 'Olos-Abut;'" "Alto obligato,
'Otlaolos;'" Trombone solo, 'Enobmort
\ If the originality and fertility of inven-
Dtion shown in some Of these names only ex-
tended beyond the title page how much
more good music the world would possess.
Since the American Musician so hand
lonely comedies the strength of the adverse
Position assumed bv THE DISPATCH in up
hiding the great Importance of the orchestra
IL The NJ. L. n. A. meetings, 1t would be
ungenerous not to admit the too-sweeping
nature OF the term "ultra-Anglican" ap-
piled in this column to the journal in ques-
tion. 1t was not meant to imply that the
esteemed Musician is not American in its
sympathies as in its name; but that, where
no question of our own country is involved,
1t leans strongly to the English schools and
from the German-an antithesis quite
natural in the connection in which the term
was originally employed.
It may be frankly admitted that the
American inside, outside, upside, down
side, frontside and hindside." And it is
just exactly this ubiquitousness of its Ameri-
canism, this practice of scanning all kinds
of questions by the tallowdip of national
exclusiveness; it is, in short, the know
nothingism" of the american Musician that
gives rise to its silly and futile protests
against drawing upon the Old World for our
best orchestral conductors and players.
fo1lo lfuf e
ors is given by thai Journal as being quite
as fit as Mr.. Arthur Nikisch to conduct the
Boston symphony Orchestra: Adolf Neu-
endorf, f. A. Mcdowell, George w. Chad
wick, OF Boston; Theodore Thomas, Frank
Van der Stucken, John c. Reitzel, Victor
Herbert, Edgar S. Kelley, and America
Gori, of New York: Charles NJ. Schmitz, of
Philadelphia; Asger Hamerik and w. Ed
ward Heimendahl, of Baltimore; August
Waldauer, of st. Louis; Han Palatka, of
Chicago, and Gustav Hinrichs, OF San
Francisco.
Upon this list, Mr.. Arthur Weld, the
gifted young composer and conductor, makes
the following pertinent comments in the
Boston Post:
One is instantly struck by the distinctly
American favor of this list of names. With |
the exception of Mr.. Chadwick (Mr. Mcdowell |
makes no pretensions as a conductor) believe |
on the list. Let us look at the matter more |
closely and from purely professional-let us |
say musical-point of view. To be a conductor |
IN the highest sense of the word one must be |
more than an admirable musician. 1t is Pc |
culiar gift and many of the greatest musicians |
have not possessed it in the least degree. 1t |
also requires unceasing training and practice. |
Arthur Nlkisch has ofhciated as conductor of |
the Leipsic Opera House for more than ten |
years. He has conducted numbers of times all |
OF the standard classical operas and has |
brought out under his own supervision many /
new works. One may say without exaggera- |
tlon that for ten years he has conducted either |
Important rehears2ls or actual performances /
every day. He was named by Levy as his pre- |
ferred successor at Bayreuth; and in general /
musical circles he is reckoned as one of 1
the five or six greatest conductors in Eu-
rODe. As competitors with him list of gen.
for some time as conductors of the numerous /
Small orchestras and choral societies in differ
ent American cities, holding probably one or
two rehearaals week, with amateur singers
Just or is it even honorable? All of these
American foreigners" may be excellent
musicians, and doubtless are, but they |
lack the training, the experience,
the daily practice of conducting, and above all
they are not Americans. They came TO this
country because they hoped to make money
here. Mr. Niklsch comes probably IN precisely
the same spirit; but being the better man he
gets a position which very few of the others
would even have applied for. This same SO.
intends TO contest the landing of Nikisch
in tins country is chiefly composed of Ger |
mans. Why did they come here? Evidently
because they expected to make money-more
money than they could make at home WHY
10 they protest against the landing of Mr. |
NJklschT Evidently because there is not a |
nan in the society who feels himself competent |
70 MI the position himself. and Immediately