The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-10-02
A PERMANENT ORCHESTRA.

With the opening of the musical season
this fall the question whether or not In
dianapolis will accept and support per-
manent symphony orchestra should COM
mand the earnest interest of every music
lover in and out of the profession. The I'M
portance Of the question in its wider reia-
tions. the public in general is not prepared
to appreciate. The practical and CONNER
cial value OF the success Of the symphony
society is no less to the fair fame Of the
city than is the artistic and aesthetic cui-
ture implied by its existence.
To be able to refer to the symphony or
chestra side by side with the May festival,
as a living proof and expression Of the city
high interest in matters musical, would re-
fleet infinite credit upon the community as
whole, and would argue an all-round high
moral and artistic standard. 1t cannot be
denied that an orchestra here as perma-
nent organization would exert a wide range
of influence, educational as well as aes-
thetic; its refining. cultivating power would
reach further with each succeeding year,
and would broaden the general musical APP
probation and artistic perception immeas-
urably.
Here, again, is one of the strong practical
points in the scheme to be emphasized and
~~~O~~~-~~~-
feature. The concerts which the Symphony
Orchestra have given and propose giving in
the future should not be regarded in the
light of amusements merely; they stand on
a higher plane, and their function is to-
tally different one. For though they may
be enjoyed beyond measure and give pleas
ure unalloyed. yet, after all, it is the edu-
cational benefit derived from them that is of
greatest and most lasting value.
To regard concert-golng as purely
epEemeral enjoyment is certainly a serious
mistake, and Ii is as common an error TO
hold that music as an art is vague and In
tangible. BY the nature of the art its tonal
effect is momentary and fieeting, but where
the listener enters sympathetically and In
diligently into the spirit of noble work,
nobly performed, the memory OF such an
experience often becomes the Well-sprlnS or
high achievement in years after. Consid-
cred m this light, the symphony orchestra
would undoubtedly prove an lnvaiuaole
talent, both in and out of the profession.
With a series of symphony concerts as
high and true standard of music would be
set, once and for all. To the cultured and
art-loving people of Indianapolis, and to the
musical profession in particular, this would
add prestige and consideration far and wide.
1t will be found, also, that as its public
grows larger and more appreciative the or
portion to the encouragement and support
it receives. Where the standard is high
and the aim still higher, as is the case with
these concerts, there is of necessity and In
the nature of things a strong winged spirit
of progress and improvement, reaching
out after greater perfection and unity, the
ennobling Influence of which cannot be es-
capped. Thus it will be found by the I'M
initiated that, though it may prove in
measure a task at the beginning of the sea-
son to sit through a symphony concert pro-
graInme, yet If they will but persist and
return yet again, listening with heart and
mind, not merely with the ears, and with
the sincere desire for a just appreciation
of what they hear, the educational element
will assert itself The ear will >become more
sensitive by reason of this training, and will
more readily recognize beauty in melody
and harmony, and the mind will awaken
more and more to a perception of the intel
lectual content of composition. In this
way the horizon of musical enjoyment will
widen perceptibly, and to the appreciation
of the purely sensual beauty of tonal effect
and harmonic coloring will be added the
deeper and ever-growing perception of the
spiritual and intellectual idea inherent in
every noble work of art.
The relation of the symphony orchestra
to the May festival should be a close and
mutually beneficial one. At the close of a
certs extending through the winter it
would be inevitable that the patronage of
the May festival would not only increase,
but the concerts would be attended by
more enthusiastic and discriminating must
cal public. Such results, however must not
be looked for after the efforts of a single
season, but they certainly lie in the direct
course of development. The symphony So
ciety idea offers precisely the right kind
of musical education needed to attain this
end.
That Indianapolis is unsteady ripe for
such an enterprise there should be no doubt
and there will be no question as to success
if the matter is grasped in its full Signifi-
canoe, not only by the unsteady disposed,
to the already honored name of Indianapo-
lis. EDWIN FARMER.