Omaha daily bee., 1907-03-03
Music and Musical Notes

IND still the nations rage over
l a "salomer Emil Paur, the leader
OF the Pittsburg orchestra, has
&A been making various violent
csts0 speeches in Boston in defense of
the opera. To him the production was
'transcendentally beautiful" He scores
relentlessly the utter idiooy OF the New
Workers in making such a fuss. On the
other hand. DR.. Muck. the present con-
ductor Of the Boston Symphony orchestra,
has risen in excitement against the opera.
Ernest Newman, the very well known
English scholar and critic. whose words
have usually much weight, has an article
in this weeks Courier, THE Censored
lsalome.'" The following extracts repre-
sent his trend OF thought:
What Is It in "Salome" that shocks these
good people? Principally three things
hrst, the Dance of the Seven Veilsi second
the lonS monologue In which Salome, haY-
ing had John the Baptist (Jokanaan In the
opera brought up from the cistern In which
he has been imprisoned conceives mao
passion for him; and third, the final scene,
In which she kisses his severed head. The
chaste pen OF Mr.. Brisbane refused 70
write down the words Of this last scene IN
srn s by rsDfoSSss thsS 0Ft In cSe eT
man, The whole outcry comes from
number Of too excited people who are NOT
artists ana Wn0 tneTef16e ca ri tnward
works Of this kind. Human nature breaks
out into a variety of forms of energy that
OF view-murder. for example. or forgery,
or the struggle Of the ambitious politician
for power, or the desire TO get rich quickly
these things are Objectionable in them
selves and dangerous to social well being
there is no reason why the artist should
which he describes them. Stevenson's DR..
Jekyl-Mr. Hyde was DANGEROUS person
when In ss bH NE The we Ses souS want the
people who read the story do not hfistle
with indignation at Stevenson for creating
Of Il. The writing OF the story sy' did not
turn Stevenson into monster OF decep-
ton and cruelty. nor does the reading. OF
ent in art from what the same things
would be in real life; and an artistB JOY
in the depletion OF some dreadful phase
of human nature does not necessarily mean
that as a privte Individual he Is depraved.
or that the spectacle Of his art win make
for depravity In the audience.
The man with an artistic soul reads
Wilde's play, and sees nothing in IL but
very poetical representation, In beautiful
ture must feel when II happens to be so
neurotic and 80 perverse as Salpme Was.
In Strauss opera he sees these emotions
raised by a consummate artist to a thou
sand times their original power; there Is no
music since Tristan" 80 gorgeous as that
Jokanaan to kiss her IL is quite possible
that there are people who are not artistic
enough TO see the beauty of It all. and who,
any thought except that Strauss is very
wicked man with whom IL Is not good for
remedy in their own hards-to stay away
from the theater when "Salome" is on.
But they have no right to prevent more
as II may seem, they really can enjoy with
on a career OF crime. New York has merely
when. in in a few Years. ssalome" ' becomes comes
part OF the ordinary operate repertory
Without any ,one's morals being penny
the worse All that Is now said OF Strauss
was said at one time OF Wagner Good
journalists used to shrek themselves hoarse
oyer OYER, the GSTde5d scene ,h In g5 ana
morality OF the plot of The Valkyrie," In
which Siegmund loves his sister Sieglinde
Music q Ss Saf e be CARES :s to e the
whether the lovers were or were not within
the forbidden degree OF eohsanEuinityi
youngest modern girl NAV safely taSs baT
mother. These works live in virtue purely
and simply OF their art; and II the art In
Objections in The world to its suSteet tr one
people who are not artists, will not be
able to kill 1t,
The uninttiated of US have been brought
up TO recognize battle, murder and sudden
death. These things are not pleasant, but
they do not unduly shock or nauseate us.
Thank heaven, familiarity with moral per-
version and sympathy with il have not
yet come TO most OF US. All we can think
is that there Is a strata OF society, bigger
than we ever dreamed could be possible,
that feeds on the symbols Of Oscar Wilde
and will listen to and applaud a mon
strosity of woman like salome.
Personally agree absolutely with
Mr., Krehbiel, who said the morning after
the performance ct the Metropolitan; "a
reviewer ought to be equipped with a dual
nature, both intellectual and moral, In
order to pronounce fully and fairly upon
the qualities OF the drama by oscar Wilde
and Richard Strauss. He should be an
embodied conscience stung into righteous
fury by the moral stencil with which
'salome hlls the nostfils OF humanity,
but though It make him retch he should
be sufficiently judicial In his temperament
calmly to look at the drama IN all its as
poets and determine whether or not, as a
whole, Il Is an instructive note on the life
and culture OF the times and whether or
not the emulation from the diseased and
polluted will and imagination Of the au-
thors marks a real advance in dramatic
expression. irrespective OF its contents or
their fitness for dramatic representation"
In speaking OF the last and browning in
eident Mr.. Krehbiel says: In all the
centuries In which the story OF the dance
before Herod has fascinated scuiptors
painters and poets, IN spite OF the aecFe-
ton Of lustful incident upon the simple
Biblical story. 1t remained for poet OF
our day TO conceive this horror ana a
musician OF our day to put forth his high