The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-04-19

The Italians are not familiar with Ger
man. neither was the chorus. so the
great Schiller lode % JOY" was trans
lated into Italian and sung in that
language, the principal voices being
drawn from the singers of the opera.
NO wonder then that the criticism
passed upon the venture while COM
mending the public spirit and the en-
Jhusiasm which prompted an assiduOus
study of the masterpiece was to the
effect that the very means taken to as
sure an artistic result had just the
contrary outcome. for the chorus was
poorly balanced and quite drowned by
an orchestra of equal numerical
strength with the voices. The sOlOists
also are said TO have had no conception
whatever of what they set out to do.
Sembrich as Marie, the adopted reg
mental daughter IN NapoleOns army
simply swept the board of its laurels,
if that expression be allowed. Seven
times was she recalled. and only when
she had sung Arditis "Parla" waltz
as interpOlated encore would the ap-
plause quiet down.
"PagliacCi" furnished a real sensation
i'm the portrayal of it's leading charac-
ter. Canio. CtenoD. of which one critic
wrote that FOR audacious realism. pas
sioRate exuberance and heartrending
pathos its equal has seldom been seen
In this city"
During the present week the Grau
aggregation Of stars win continue I'm
Chicago; on Monday, April 20, its ap-
pearance is booked in Cincinnati for
two evening presentations and one mat
inee, likewise under management of
Mr. Wilson; then one week from next
Wednesday. or. writing precisely. on
the evening Of April %. the great or
ganization opens a series of five per-
tormances in Pittsburg, and with the
"Meistersinger" performance on Satur-
day as fitting finale goes out of exist
ence for ali time as the Maurice Grau
Grand Opera company.
Apart from the creative musicians.
Finland has contributed a surprisingly
large number of interpretatiye must
clans 90 the world but the most OF
them are OF the younger school, among
the older ones being the singer Emmy
StrOmer Achte, the mother of Nile.
AChte of the Paris grand opera. The
lrtler is at the present the most cele-
bTated of the younger Finnish artists,
FINLAND is really a most musical land.
Musical festivals are frequent in all
parts Of the country, one affair of this
kind which occurred In Hels!ngfOrs IN
1900, having chorus of 1000
voices for the singing of patriotic
hymns and songs. Every church has
at its musical affairs a mixed chorus
and usually a septet Of horns, and the
traditional fOiksOngs are pracuced and
sung everywhere, even amid the frozen
wastes of La9land.
Some of the German papers are
thrrsning out the question why Wag-
uer did not present his Flying Dutch
man" first i'm Berlin, instead of Ores
den Die Musk. among other publlca-
tiOus, presenting documentary evidence
showing that Wagenr tried hard
enough to favor the Prussian city.
even after the slow director of its opera
house hesitated 90 make good his
promises, Notwithstanding the fact
that the opera was being rehearsed in
Dresden Through this controversy lit
tie Wagner bits are floating 20 the
surface, like the one that Is cited in
Die BerlIner Leitung, in which it is
said that. In regard to "Tannhauser'
the composer was pronounced crazy
in Vienna and rOundly Kissed, while in
Berlin they satisfied themselves with
making silly jokes. Meanwhile Wag-
ner was so greatly in need of money
that he sold the rights Of performance
of both "Tannhauser' and 'LOhen-
erin" 10 a Prague director for the pitt
fully smally sum Of 80 gulden.
"a
Miss NeWmarch apparently thinks
there is here an inconsistency or change
of opinion, since TchalkOvsky had, ht-
teen years earlier, written this cold
bIOOded" estimate of Beethoven
genius
II am not disposed toproclaim the in
fallibihty of BeethOven's principles and
without In any way denying his histOrl-
cal Importance. j protest against the ln-
sincerity of an equal and indiscrlmin-
ate laUdauOn of all his works. But
undoubtedly I'm some of his symphonies
Beethoven reached a height 20 which
scarcely any Of his contemporaries
could attain" It is difficult to see how
Miss NeWmarch can see any "ic0uO-
Clasm' ina this expression OF opinion.
TO Is honest. rational criticism, differing
most favorablv from that Of hundreds
of scribes who hold that Beethoven is
intalible and above criticism, although
everybody knows that he was surpassed
in choral music by Bach and aHndel,
in pianof0rte music by Chopin and sew
eral others, and songs by Schubert and
many others and that many of his
writings are obsolete, and many others
unworthy Of his genius. Every word of
IchalkovsiIy's criticism is well chosen.
Since Paderewsh gave his concert in
London with the lights turned down, a
few months ago, there has been
great discussion Of the subject going
on i'm Germany. After concerts in
dim light have been tried On Berlin,
the uupOetical editor of the Augemelne
AIusik-Zeltung observes that the dim
ness gave relief 20 the eyes Of the au-
dience. hut he failed TO note that 10
increased the enjoyment Of the music
or had any good effect upon its in
depreciation. He thinks that complete
invisibility Of the performer might en-
hance the pleasure to be derived from