New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-09-12

-When conservative music lovers wish to see
absolute music protected against the INVASION
of dramatic methods that does not prove them
insensible to dramatic music. 1t only means
thev feel very deeply that the one is distinct
from the other and could not be dominated by
It without injury to both; without irreparaDie
injury TO the art whole. II lovers OF aDso-
lutte music would rather not see, for example
the slow movement in Schumann s Second sym
phony with it's syncopated rhythms, It's ciino.
ing progrcssions and its descending chains OF
trills; with that undervoice OF the norm us IL
not?) which follows the strings and reeds with
its ineXpressible poetry and undennaOle TO
nance hanging in dramatic tatters from
Wagnerian baton, that does not mean they can
not follow q Wagner music-drama from begin
ming to end under the same conducting. with
profound enthusiasm. They can and while they
perfectly realize that no intellectual grasp Is
too strong and no knowledge too wide for full
comprehension of a Wagner music-drama they
also know that very modest amount OF ca
pacity suffices for following one lntelligenuy
when II has the help OF such eloquent interpreta-
ton as Mr. Seidls. When they express dislike
and distrust Of utra-modern Magnetism, when.
even they decline to give assent to everything
Wagner ever did or uttered that does not mean
they are willing to be content behind any other
class OF art lovers in homage 10 Wagners
genius 1t means, first OF all, that Wagner's art
creations and Wagner's polemics do not seem 10
them equally great. and 1t also means that they
do not think the extreme Wagnerlsm OF the
present day is an exponent exclusively OF Wag-
ner. 1t seems to them a mixture OF Wagner
and List
Tt is hard to understand how any one who
has perceived the scope of Wagner can occupy
himself afterward with List. But have been
"A iong enthusiasts who seemed unable to tell
which OF the two they thought the greater. To
the sort of minds this letter Is trying to repre-
sent, List a musical influence seems neither
strong wholesome To them he is poseur;
the more they hear his music the more artificial
and material II seems to them. without other
wise asserting to the brilliant dictum Of NJ
Anatole France, they think, when they hear
what List has to say in the orchestra about
memes chaque fois que nous naVons pas la
force de nous taire.' 1t is this kind Of influence
intruding upon individuaties far nobler. far
higher which we would like to resisted.
We are not opposing the new principles Of which
The Tribune speaks in Its comment; we do not
think they would lie involved in the question we
raise If had the skill to state il clearly. We
cannot SEE how any So OF art principles could
be formulated TO justify incongruty. And that
Is what We fnd-incOngruity To grOteSqueneSS
In the forced imposition of ultra-modern Wag-
nerism upon the great Independent personalities
OF the composers Of absolute music
IF this is generalizng too vaguely. 1t is easy
TO convey my meaning definitely and with au- |
thority in The Tribune's words. In the
musical comment Of January g. 1896 speaking OF
performance by the symphony Society Of Ing ,
welde by Max Schilling. the critic Of The Trib- /
une says: This is one Of the young Teutonic |
heroes who are pulling vainly al the bow which 1
Wagner wont to bend with such ease "as a
harper in tuning OF his harp draws out a string"
great effort Is making IN Germany just now [
to conjuIa with the names Of Humperdinck I
Richard Strauss and Max Schilling Very re- |
markabc indeed is the technical skill Of these
Wagrerian epigones, and almost admirable their
cleyerness in imitation. But fear the houses /
they are building are but sandheaps, destined .
10 disappear with the next turn Of the tide.