Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-04-20
o the Editor:

TO the Edltpr:
w yrE HAVE had an unusually
w s s:s ~ ;5's s:. i; music =: i: s'''s
the quantity has been such
as to give rise 10 the belief that We
are at last taking a place on the
musical map, for it has not all been
imported. The memory OF the sing
ing done by the Festival chorus still
fingers. and its work revealed big posi-
slbiities. which, If developed and car
rIed out. would give us not only
small place Oh the musical map, but
one that would surely attract wide at
tcntion-
Now, II we are soon 10 merge into
the "Greater Salt Lake" these various
merItorlous bodies must be recognized
as valuable assets, and must be nur-
tured carefully and cultivated thor
oughly The patronage bestowed on
some of these events has been very
gratifying and at other times disap-
pointing Salt LAkers have often been
called critical and discriminating In re-
gard to their musical attractions, but
seem to be divided into two classes
those who have their own ideas and
some musical education and taste, and
those who accept the ideas of the crit
les OF the various papers, NOW these
critics have a great responsibility on
their hands ii they VIII but realize II,
for they sway big part OF the pub
lie mind and either make an attraction
financial success, or damn 1t 'rrcvoc-
ably,
Now how well are they equipped for
their tasks and how are they dis
charging their responsibilities Let us
see Within the last two weeks we
have had the best kind of am answer 20
these questions. The Festival brought
out some very unique ITO put 1t nildlY)
comments from several OF our Critics
(?l. One OF them aments: II was too
bad that the chorus For unto us a
child is BORN, was omitted from the
Messiah otherwise the oTatorlo was
given in it's entirety" AS matter
of fact the work Is never. on very, very
seldom. produced anywhere in Its en-
tirety, and ON the occasion OK me
present performance much less OF 1t
was given than Is the custom gensr-
ally
Another critic spoke highly of Mr..
Magner's performance OF Victor Her
bert's difficult cello concerto, which
was not played at All THIS ShHIis'
In the program might have trapped u
good many. as 1t was unannouneed, ana
there would be considerable excuse were
II not for the fact that the Boellman
symphonic Variations which were
played instead OF the concerto, We're SO
recentls, rendered here by HekkluB.
Evidently our critic was not very Inn
questionable to HekkIng's performance
or Boellmans music
Another critic speaks glOwlnsly OF
the performance by The Chicago sym
phony orchestra of Mr.. Won FielltzS
"Cangonetta Tdrantclu' as one OF the
gems OF the evening" Now ans chang"
OF program was announced but 10
think that a musical critic should NOT
know the difference between a taTan-
lella "a Wild dance. claimed to be de-
rived from tarantula- the eNplanat ION
being given thlt the bite OF the spider
incltes a mania for dancins( ana Ihe
Last Dream Of the Virgin for stIinEF
alone. by Mpssenet. Shades OF LIST
and stephen Heller
But one Of the stransest- and az Inc
same time most harmful statements
that has recently appeared was the
criticism Of the san Carlo opera com
pnny's rendition Of La Bnhomo' Ia
thn Herald. The article starts ny prals-
ing tho soloisls the orchestra and the
director, but calls the chorus 'plIiTully