Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-20


And the passionate strain that, deeply going,
Refines the bosom 1t trembles through,
AS the musk-wind. over the water blowing,
Ruffies the wave, but sweetens it tool
The recent crusade in New York City in
favor of better orchestral music in the
theaters has resulted in considerable benefit
to the musical interests involved. Several
of the managers have increased their regu-
lar orchestras to the respectable number of
20 players, and a marked Improvement in
the entr'dcte programme is reported all
along the line.
Of course, all the better class of musicians
heartily approved the movement for better
things. Among them was Mr.. Frank Van
der Stucken, the well-known conductor, who
expressed himself in an interview thus forcibly:
almost every theater orchestra in New York
is inadequate. I will except that OF the Casino.
and, of course. that at the Metropolitan Opera
House. The best can say of any of the others
is that it is little less bad than the worst
"Either let us have good music. as in London,
or none at all, and short entr' dctes, as in Ber-
lin. The badness of the bands Is a trihe to the
miserable character of the programmes.
MANY people make the mistake of supposing
that good band necessarily means band
with lot of brass In it. AS matter of fact,
there is far too much noise in the New York
theater orchestras and the strings are neg
lected.
Here is my idea of what band in comedy
theater should be: One flute, ! oboe, clari-
nets, bassoon, French horns, timbales, first
violins 4 second Violins. 8 violas, 'celli and
contrabasses. This should be the minimum.
For a theater devoted to drama this scheme
might be modified SO as to include two flutes,
haSSOOu horns
two trumpets. timbales and the same proper
tion of strings as before.
"For tragic Shakespearean music should
suggest two flutes. two oboes. two clarinets,
two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, one
drum and the strings as before.
II lay STRESS you see on the elimination Of
needless brass and heavy drums, except in
tragedy theaters.
Heretofore. in this city. the theater orches-
tras have labored under peculiar difficulties.
Upon them with especial stress has fallen the
baneful influence Of the Musicians Mutual
Protective Union, and its shortsighted policies.
The rest of the good players have been able to
withdraw themselves from that oppressively
protective" union; the orchestra men had to
stay in, else tue stage hands would be called
out by the Trades Assembly.
Under these circumstances the task of keep
ing up good theater orchestra here has
the union officials, who could not furnish
satisfactory players from their own men,
bership and threw all possible obstacles
in the way of engaging outsiders. This
became unendurable when the big 'sBrigands'
Company came to the Grand Opera House, abb
solutely requiring an orchestra of 20 good play
ers at the very least Manager Wilt got them.
but he had to 60 outside the M. M. P. U. for
them.
This is the beginning of the end. 1t is safe to
assume that within very short time-a few
days probably.the players at the Grand, the
from the moribund NJ. NJ. P. o., and be ad-
mitted into the liberal and artistic fellowship
either of the A. G. M. u, or Of the new Musi-
cal Assembly. K, of L.
There could not be more appropriate time,
therefore, for urging upon the local managers
general reform of the orchestral department
The usual number OF players in our best
theaters is somewhere from to IL distributed
about in this fashion: Two first violins two
second violins Tor one second and one viola),
one contrabass. one flute, one clarinet, one cor
net, one trombone, one drum and cymbals.
Compare that with MIR. Van der Stucken's
minimum, given above-or even with the bands
of Is or 70 men in the theaters of New York
and other cities,
In the matter of programmes, too, much is to
be desired. There are reams of alleged pot
po3s7is villainously cObbled together, stacks of
pieces with tricky specialties, xylophone solos
of them find their way upon our theater pro-
grammes Then-almost If not quite, as bad
the programmes often include emasculated
arrangements from some of the modern operas
and orchestral works in their essence incapable
of being played by any 10 or IL men. It takes
time and pains to strike the golden mean, no
doubt; but there is q rich treasure house of
music admirably adapted for such Instruments
tion and calculated to please the large major
ity of the audience as we'll.
Hasty and infrequent rehearsals and care
lessness in public execution add their quota to
the unsatisfactory character of the playing.
Your theater instrumentalist generally ranks
himself some steps above the dance player. He
certainly ought to rank higher. And If he
were to know his music better and play with
greater vim and care, he certainly would rank
higher.
Music has been lately gaining more and more
upon the dramatic stage all over the world.
Opera companies are more numerous, and all
kinds OF stage shows are being filed up with
musical features, incidental and essential
Elsewhere managers are recognizing the needs
orchestras. Pittsburg's recent accession of
liberality and culture is too great to let her
managers drop behind the age, even if they
better for them and for us all. The man who
anticipates public demand, and promptly pre-
Pares to meet it, is the one who rides on the
full tide Of patronage far ahead of him who
waits TO be goaded on by the public complaint
Who wrote "Offenbach's Brigands7p
The programmes at the Grand last week said
broadly music by Jacques Offenbach,"
that six numbers of the opera were composed
expressly by Mr.. Gustave Kerker. the able
and musicianly conductor of the troupe.
1t would have been more nearly correct had
the programmes said Music by Gustave
Kerker." and then credited a few quotations to
Mr.. ]. OHenbach. The insatiate advertising
instinct upset the authorship in order to get the
name of the genial jacques on top in big cans
1t Is pity that the announcement OF a new
operatic work by an American composer should
be regarded as less attractive and imposing
than to bill the revival from its 20 years. sleep
of a big mans little opera, which, after ali. Is
not to be given. For Otfenbach would as
suredly not father THE Brigands" as given
here last week. He would hardly recognize
this alleged child of his inspiration as chance
acquaintance.
Still more certainly would Gilbert DENY his
responsibility for the book imprinted with his
name. Indeed, he, having the good fortune to
be alive when it was produced in London, pro-
tested in the vigorous form of a lawsuit
against the manager who gave under his name
a garbled version OF what, at its best, he had
never intended for the public eye.
Nor yet could Mr.. Kerker, even If he wanted
to, claim the paternity OF the "Brigands''
score. 1t is ILLUS 1uLLius, nobody's baby It
cannot be seriously criticised, any more than
yeloping strange manias as it grows up. The
"Brigands" is nofan art work any more than
those glaring canvasses they turn out by whole
sale, one man daubing the trees, another the
water, third the figures and so on.
There were occasional good points in the
score, to be sure. The pretty song for FYoreHG
in Act j, and the graceful. sklllful canon with
Its drone bass, in which the pseudo beggars
coronet. In the well-worked opening scene
the swinging finale Of Act and, to less ex-
tent in the second finale-as well as in the
general reconstruction OF the score through