New-York tribune., 1907-06-23
MUSIC.
what a pienna Conductor Thinks
of Us
of Us.


zen years has been trying To bripo or5o~ a.
cipline and artistic seriousness int +.o g.
opera OF Vienna was making UP his mind to
abandon the effort and seek a new Gold 90 ,a,o-
'1 ne" YORK. Mr. Richard Heubere7-. his COL
Oh small scale was setting IN paper
MS impressions of musical America for the edi
hcatlon OF the readers of the ..Neues Wiener
1aseDIatt newspaper published In the Ans
flan capital. How precious these imnressioDs
Aie VIII appear presently They were gained
on on ule recent visit to our shores of the Wiener
iiei sesthgVereln, OF which Mr.. Heuberger
40 the conductor. That visit established a new
record even for this society long famous for H..
peflpateties for there We're more concerts re-
0etiohs' panquets, drinking bouts, excursions
anu visits TO other cities than New York than
there We're days devoted to the tour milwaukee,
was visited for stay of three or five hours.
our memory is not clear on this point not being
accustomed to such fugaciousness as character
1zes these volatile Viennese. Scarcely was their
arrival announced than they We're gone; yet in
Nle meanwhile Washington Baltimore Phila-
delphia, Buffalo and Milwaukee had beey, Wis
1ted' sung at, and had showered their hospitaIi-
1les on the strangers. Everywhere the German
singing societies gave the visitors f their best
and sought TO persuade them that Deutscher
Sesahg ana Deutsche Gem0thlichkeit were be-
ing piously preserved by the sons of the Faith
erland. 1t now appears that the Teutonism OF
these societies is a feCoie reed. But that is no
more seriously than the subject really deserves
from a general point of view the comments
made on the state of American culture by a
representative Of Viennese criticism, namely
Mr.. Heuberger; we must leave the Flamanized,
RusSianized, Bohemianized German societies to
settle their own quarrel, should they find that
they have one, with their recent guest.
The first discovery which Mr. Heuberger puts
on record is that the people OF the United States
are at last awakening 10 a sense of the beautiful
hos ,TzoEF ,1s,,,+g
esting fact? Glimpses art museums?
Study OF literature? Introduction to collec-
tions of paintings statuary, books and other
works Of art privately housed? No. It was the
sight OF the slyscraping business buildings The
obvious attempt Of the architects OF these mon
strosities to relieve them of rnonotony gives evil
dence to Mr.. Heuberger that a love for the beau
tifUl has begun TO dawn the American bar
barian. AS yet ii is only "a secret thirst for
beauty. Til now the arts have been kept hid
0en, men keep their mistresses; those who
have associated with them have done Sc
cretly, at night, ashamed ga the daytime TO
fess the association. matter how keen the
pleasure brought Architecture hitherto was
represented by the blood-red, smooth boxes of
bricks whose only ornament was the fire escapes
from floor 20 floor down the fronts of the build
ings': By these. and the houses in the residence
portions of the cities in which hundreds OF
dwellings, are built on the same plan but spread
horizontally. whereas the business buildings ex-
tend perpendicularly, with spaces between for
modest gardens" oe late residences have be-
gun 20 feel the awakening aesthetic sense, but
the greatest gorgeovsness OF decoration IS re-
served for the bank buildings T'those sanctuar-
ies IN which the dollar IS worshipped." But
these are Judged by Americans not BY their
style, their beauty their material, but simply
and solely Sy their costl!ness. Most condascaud-
tngly cur critic hopes that this disposition will
soon change for better. and tia. eventually
hal To
cost. "What, he-etofore. Cid pictures aud stat
ues signify to Americans? Picturas Weae things
20 hang the walls. stat2es things 20 stand IN
the corners. That IS TIA way the Dol'ar-rnan
judged and valued them. But now, sircs The
government g throwing ont large gums to sat
tsfy the aesthetic sense and pfIyete men :auS-
er MAKE p spIurge VITA Gtooks. yeebtz and
horsea hut put p portion of .he=c FeGiin :Lto
paintings. Prints AID sIa!1.sE. aa appreciation nf
these rhsngs is gradually 2eneirarina the 2ec-.
ple.'' AZ 20 music? Wen, hr, z5eu5srger .auIl
be permitted to speak literally for htEas@it; the
reader must net De ro5be5 q: the peas;ys which
rs DroYia6s;
What he-e:nScre rc:Et: ~ the Ame-ican2
This Glo subtle !,csnEerafi -anrt Scl1 inspiring ~
al e1-.s was II afu. = -.a3es which Dleesed biu,
cymbcis. urcieFt=G St;t1s. .ta Indispensable
conclusion effects - Elnsio piece" designed 70
please" G=Hte. Safs. EVseet cacSio rot
stcered music at all. The creation Of largo
o-chestr=s and choiTs. which dates back only
beginning for something better First clasH instru
znartel associsrour. Ike tas Iericke Orchestra IN
Boston, have prepared the ground and accustomed
ths American at least 20 gay for the best. In
tnae haply. they wil also learn TO understand the
best.
One OF tne principal reasons why there IS little
musical understanding 50 America is probably to
be sought IN the preponderance Of the English race
Germans. fer whom the dag brings much labor
that there r. little time and money for Joyful
festivttes-these Germans too small fraction
Moreover, they have talent to exploit their
natfonalisrn, of which everywhere they love to
pirate. seriously TO defend 1t. The children OF
English apd German, a German peppered with
English words 10 the verge OF uninteIigibility;
the grandchildren speak only English.
This feeble GermanisEn has prop in the singers
the German language. There male choruses
and mixed-plenty OF them. Their Significance is
national rather than musical. They are, several
amiable conductors admitted inferior to larger
societies in respect numerical membership,
artIstic skill and the kind Of elements which enter
into their constitution Moreover, in order TO make
honorable showing at singing festivals, many
Of them are compelled 70 admit 10 membership
non-Germans, such as Russians, Elamands, Bo-
heTnians etc, who DO not understand word of
the songs they sing. They learn the words by
rote after they have been taught the sounds, and
then they sing in such harmonious union with
their fellows that the unintiated believe he is
listening to a German choir. THIS is positively
touching. but serves TO show on what weak
footing German song and Gcrmanism stand.
The sc-csled bands" organizations for military
music composed OF gaudily dressed civilians. enjoy
universal popularity in America They give con-
certs in public refreshment places and gardens
they do tn country and sure Of the SYM
pathy OF the majority from the beginning because
Of the noise which they make Some OF these
bands really admirable; but they command
attention unless the conductor is able to create
WIN iy de Of raaf