The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12
StW,OOO FOR FREE MUSIC
COsT or THE CITY'S CONCERTS on
PIERS AND IN PARKS.

Hear Free Music All winter o
Neon Concerto for Working PeOpie
Vet, such a. They Have I'm London.
In providing free music New York leads
all the cities az Amerioa, II not Of the world.
By some persons London 10 put first. IN
London, they cay. free outdoor concerts are
Riven q. noon In summer In populous parts
o. the city as we'll az in the evening. Many
thousands Of working people often stand
patiently during most Of the lunch hour
listening to the music.
In this respect London Ii ahead. So
far New York has not given outdoor con-
oerts at noon in the neighborhood OF fac
tories and stores. But New York has
Riyen about every other kind Of free con-
oert, and travelled New Workers who know
London pretty we'll say that In the aggre-
gate New York's free concerts. counting
the free winter concerts in with the free
open air summer concerts, far outnumber
London's free concerts, which are given
mainly In the hot season. and not too many
Of them then.
New York's free music is now conspicuous
the year around. Visitors from everywhere
speak Of it-women in particular.
For the last two or three years 1t has
been possible to attend day after day.
week in and week out. any one Of half q
dozen concerts where vocal and instru-
mental music Of a high grade was inter.
preted by musicians OF moro or less note;
and it is not necessary to pay one. cent for
the privilege. For example. there 10 one
department. store which last winter gave
for three months at q stretch two daily
concerts, one In the morning end n In
the afternoon. At these affairs plano,
organ and violin solos and vocal selectons
Of a high order OF merit were included In
the programmes.
Then there are a dozen or more estab-
lishments situated in or near Fifth avenus
which deal in pianos, piano attachments,
organs, Photographs and other muHioal
devices, and which for the last year or
more nave made @ point Of givingperiodical
concerts. 1t has come to pas that persons
in his city with q desire to hear good music
without paying for the privilege need only
scan the to n out where 10
20 to get 1t. The hour at which most OF
these concerts are given cuts them OF from
wage earners.
In computing the other day the size OF
the free winter concert audiences e. manager
said that il a quarter Of a dollar Q head
RAG CnHTKCu IDC ICttlL 10 WYNN uhBt V6et
at least 500, 900 in six months. This estimate
did not include the throngs OF women who
attend the every day and all day piano
concerts now given in nearly every depart
ment store dealing in pianos or in Shest
music. No other city in America, this
man said, and he had visited most OF the
largest, gave or tried TO give free daily
concerts OF any description during the
- 1Nn - 1ka ahAnn ar ans
place else.
New York's free outdoor concerts In
summer represent, Of course, quite another
phase OF the city's generosity. They are
almost as notable az the performances
already cited, even though they do not
advertise anything. unless it lie tie g~enetos-
ity Of taxpayers and the excellence Of some
Of New York's brass bands. Primarily
they we're devised to entertain that part OF
the population which earns Its living and
hasn't time to attend morning concerts,
and has little or nc spare cash to spend for
entertainments musical or otherwise. They
are also attended by thousands Of persons
not In this category.
Most OF them are given in public parks
and on recreation piers situated close to
the most congested quarters Of the city.
Year by year the number Of these concerts
has increased. Half a dozen years ago
instead Of eight recreation piers each the
scene OF seven evening concerts q week
all summer long, there were only two piers
where concerts were given.
Residents not SO very old recall a time
when the managers OF some OF the horse
car lines dubbed together to hire a band
to give q few weekly concerts in Central
Park. That was along in the 'oOs, at which
FarfnI ~ a0NtrRn thara xuaTn M TarTnafinn
piers at all. The poor Of New York had
to get along without free open air concerts
then and shoppers were Obliged to shop
without the aid OF music.
1t was not till early in the 's0s that an
appropriation was made by the Depart
ment OF Public Parks to give a series OF
weekly concerts In Central Park and Il is
not much more than a decade since the
dock department began to provide free
was the beginning. The end is not in sight,
A decade from now it is not unlikely that
the number Of New York'e free summer CON-
oerts will be doubled. There are persons
who foresee the time when there will be a
concert every night In the week in every
Park.
To cay that these ooncerts are enjoyed by
old and young is putting 1t mildly. Already
many. inquiries as to when they will star
nave been made of officials at the various
parks and piers, and the foreign element
seems more eager than the native born 10
have the opening date come soon. IT was
a little German girl just returned from n
two weeks country outing at the expense Of
a fresh air society who last summer in re-
sponse to the remark: Il suppose, Katy,
you wish you could have stayed longer In
the oountryf' shook her head and said:
No, teacher, wanted to get back to
Katy lived near one Of the recreation
piers, and that the band concerts dis
counted country charms in her estimation
she made perfectly clear to her friends.
In answer to an inquiry at the dock de-
partment it was stated chat the first oon-
oerts Of the season win be given on the
piers Saturday evening, May rs, INT will
continue nightly thereafter till the second
week in September, thus giving about II?
concerts at each pier, or nearly 1000 con-
certs in ell. There are now eight recreation
piers, situated at Third street and East
River=this vas the first to be opened-at
Market street, East River; at Twenty
fourth street, East River; at 1l2th street.
Harlem River; at 10th street, Hudson River;
at Fiftieth street, Hudson River; at Barrow
street, North River; at North Second street,
Brooklyn. Noneot the bands hired TO give
these concerts numbers less than fourteen
pieces; some include twenty-five pieces,