Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-02-01
MUSIC IN AMERICA,
A Talk With Mrs. Thurber ON Her
Favorite Theme.
SHE SAYS MUCH MONEY Is LAvIsHEp HERE ON
MUSIC, But LITTLE Is DONE FOR IT'S DEVELOP
MENT-THE AIMS, HOPES AND PLANS OF THE
NATIONAL CONSERVATORY

| to discuss the subject of music and musical in
terests than Mrs. Jeanette NJ Thurber Her
! name 10 known all over the country from hei
connection with music for more than fifteer
years. She has probably done more than any
one else to popularize higher class of music
and she deserves vast deal of credit for hel
energy and perseverance. Her time and hei
purse have always been at the disposal of al
schemes for the cultivation Of musical tastes
and musical interests. She was at the same
time the manager and the treasurer Of the
American opera company, which achieved such
marked musical success a few years since and
which would surely have earned an enviablt
name for itself had it not become involved in
some legal troubles that put a stop to its exist
ence after short but memorable career.
MRS Ihurber was practically the originator
OF the National Conservatory of Music. She
| mas been Its president ever since it was founded
ana 1t Is largely to her energy and ability that
| the credit Is due for the good work the con.
| serVatory has already done. She has given il
| her unstinted financial aid as well, and she
| certainly has good cause to feel proud of the
| success that has crowned her efforts. Although
OF late years Mrs. Thurber has called Paris
her home, yet she has been in this country SO
| much of the time and makes so many trips
back and forth that she has never lost her in.
| terest for moment in music on this side OF
| the water. Music with her is far moro than a
mere hobby. 1t is her vocation in life. She is
4 remarkable manager. There are few bust
ness men who would care to do as much hard
| work as she accomplishes She has interests to
attend to all over the country and her secre-
| tary and clerks have anything but sinecures.
One moment she is debating letter, the
next she Is discussing plans with some mana
| ger, and before one realizes it she has dropped
! all that for the time and is arranging a pro-
| gram for some concert to be given III New York
| or chicago or else attending to the manifold
| interests of the conservatory. She has been
| spending large part of the time this winter
III TINS city. She has very pleasant apartments
| at the Shoreham, and there she received THE
| STAR reporter when he called upon her a few
| evenings ago. knowing how much Mrs. Thur
Der could say on her favorite subject that
would interest the general public the reporter
asked her ii she would not kindly tell what she
thought OF music IN this country as compared
with Europe.
A MUSICAL PARADOX.
| mo people in the world" said Mrs Thurber
ARE more self reliant than Americans, and it is
this very self reliance that has made our
country what it is No people, again. have a
| better system of education or q keener appre-
| citation OF its advantages than Americans. and
the result Is that the intelligence of the country
Is even more widely acknowledged than its en-
terprise. In the face of these facts does it not
| seem almost incredible that we should have
done 80 little in this country for the public en-
| enlargement and development of music?
| That there Is no land i'll which music is more
| appreciated than our own is evidenced bv the
| fact that nearly three times as much is spent
per annum by our own people upon music as
| Is spent by any other country, and that in one
| OF our principal cities alone more money is
| spent yearly In the purchase of music, musical
| instruments. musical instruction and musical
entertainment than is dsbursed in any other
city IN the world for the same purpose Besides
"A anH ntot,n IS,
evident that there is musical talent among us
OF no ordinary Character, and this is shown in
the European recognition Of the ability of those
Few OF our singers who have been able to OBJ
| tain proper instruction abroad. How, in the
face of all this, it comes to be indisputable that
no nation i'll the world has done SO little to de-
velop the musical talent of its people, is one of
| those mysteries which it appears impossible to
solve. And no nation seemingly should have
done more"
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE.
''Yet, we surely have done a good deal in
this line Mrs. Thurber," said The STAR re-
porter.
81 am the first, or would wish to be
counted among the first" said she. "to recog-
hize what has been accomplished in this direc-
tion. In Boston, Cincinnati and elsewhere
something has been DONE but in most instances
art has been subordinate to financial considera-
| lions, and, owing to it being impossible to COM
indnd the services OF masters of worldwide
reputation the highest ambition of those who
are the most gifted among our people has been
to obtain a musical education in Europe OF
course but few have the requisite means or op-
portunlty to do this and, as a consequences
the greatest of the arts languishes in the great
est OF the countries of the world
Every metropolis of Europe has its national
| conservatory OF music as well as its academy
of painting and the other arts. chiefly supported
| Dy the various governments, and a national
PRIDE IS taken in the fostering aud DEVELOPMENT
OF all talented students of the fine arts. Is it
not possible IN the United States, where mil
| lions are voted by the people every year for
other branches of education, to do something
Tor muslcI Congress annually makes appro-
priations for agriculture and the encourage
ment OF the arts; why should it not do a little
for music? am sure this will come ere long
but until it does there certainly should be found
| enough philosophical persons who will con-
tribute to the permanent support of a con-
! servatory of music in this country worthy of
the name national"
THE NATIONAL CONSERVATORY
"Of course know" said the reporter, "as
almost every one does, more or less of the
National conservatory. III which you have taken
so much interest. Will you not tell me more
of what il mas accomplished aud how it is now
equippedY'
This need of a national institution in which
Americans with exceptional endowments might
lind Gree of cost if necessary the training re-
CURED to render their gifts fortune to them
selves and an honor to their native land had
been long and increasingly felt, when, in 1885
a few ladies and gentlemen united to incor-
porate The National Conservatory of Music of
America, at present situated at l26 and 1928
East Nth street, New York. the benefits of
which have been appreciated throughout
the United States. ThIrty-one states are
now actually represented in the in
stltutlon and applications have been re-
celved from every part of the country
With faculty of twenty-nine professors it has
classes OF solfegSio, singing. opera, accompani-
ments, Italian. eiocution, stage department and
OF arms; of piano, violin, cello, contrabasso.
harp, flute, oboe. clarinet, bassoon and of his
tory OF music, chorus and orchestra; of har-
mony, counterpart and composition. All these
are In full working order from 8 to IL and from
! to o'clock daily. In addition, and for the
benefit OF those who are unable to attend dur
| ing the day, there are evening classes from to
III O'Clock. Where students of exceptional
talent are unable to pay the moderate fees of
the institution they are taught gratis on the
condition that they will help others as the in
| stitution has helped them. This may be done
by payment in the future of a percentage of
their earnings"
THE CoNsERvAToRY's FUTURE.
"What do you think are the prospects for the
| conservatory's future?' asked the reporter.
''What is to be done has been clearly marked
out for US in the great national Conservatives
OF Vienna, Berlin. Leipsic Brussels, Paris &c
There is no reason why our own should be in
| ferior to any OF these. The question of the
future is simply one of funds and how they
| may be best secured i'll order to obtain that
permanent income without which the most
worthy institution can have no stability