The morning journal-courier., 1908-10-19
STEINERH ELECTED
Continued From First Page0

years of our existence covers the pre- sentat0n and performances of the most important works of the compos- CTS between the eighteenth and twen- teth centuries, Your rendering of these great works Is worthy of the patronage which you have received from the numerous audiences during these many years l am happy to say that the interest shown by these ever increasing audiences is certain ly of a cheering nature and We look hopefully to the coming concert sea- son ] now must say pleasant word In reference to the love of our Amer lean people for the opera and the symphony when l quote an article from the sunday Sun of September 20, 1908, under the heading of Lack of Trained Musicians" Skilled Men for Orchestras in Great Demand" It says in part: The word famine hardly seems appropriate in connection with the well-nurtured appearance of the average player in an orchestra, but 1t is true that there Is an impending
 
 York, Capable men are as scarce as hens teeth. The number of orches- tral players in the Metropolitan Is now 130 This number was increased by the addition of 55 men this season The Peoples symphony, the Russian symphony, the Colpe, the Herbert, and the occasional orchestras organ ized for single concerts need players The symphony orchestra, under Wal ter Damrosch, a new organization founded by Mrs. Sheldon, who will give four concerts under the direction of Gustav Mahler, in addition to the large number of musicians used for the New York Philharmonic society requires hundreds of musicians" And the Sun further says: Rivalry to these symphony and opera orchestras Is to be found in the bands organized for the principal restaurants and ho- tels. Nahan Franco, for instance. has 2S men who have played under him all summer at the Plaza, and there are very few musicians who have had such continuous occupation and at union rates. When they play for dances as they did last week when MT. Vanderbilt took the band to New port, single nights work means S25 and expenses All the restaurants and hotels have during the last year improved the quality of their music until the same kind of players requir- ed in opera and concert orchestras are needed at the hotels Men who are not new in the business are very willing to take these long engage ments whether they are artistic or not So this new demand for new players has come in during the last year Then the orchestras outside New York take away a number of the players from this city.
 The kind of men who are wanted so much this season get very good pay. The minimum compensation for a player at the Metropolitan and Man. haitian is seven dollars a performance. Tho concert masters get, of course, more than that and their compensa- ton Is usually the result of private arrangement The union has a long and complicated list of rates of which the highest is of course assured to the players in the opera and concert orchestras Oscar Hammerstein oi the Manhattan opera house says the publlcs interest in music is due to the publics interest in music all over the country He says, Where will the | y,la far l,a chcstras in every large city? Where will the supplies for the permanent orchestras that are springing up every where be recruited 2" There are no' enough American musicians to mee this demand and players will have tc be imported from abroad
 "0ne result of this demand for goot musicians, said a music agent tt the Sun reporter, will be that vir tuosi will begin to take their places 1T the orchestras instead of attempting to continue their careers as stars.
 could tell you half dozen men whc would make more money by accepting good engagements in orchestras thar by travelling around trying to be stars The foreign players who come owe, here and realize what good salaries | Is possible for the members of thu orchestras to earn are very willing t take places in them rather than con tinue travelling about in the forlorl hope of making the public come t hear them. I know of two wei known cello players who earn les whenever they come 10 this count as concert stars than the men wh play cello in the orchestras wit which they appear The same is tru of some violinists. Good men in tn wood wind instruments are also yer difficult to get, but they are rarel virtuosi After q while the American who study to be great virtuosi an
 dc not succeed in holding a place O , those remote subjects which hay room for only a few such as Ysayt Kreisler and Casals, will be perfectl willing to take the well-paid posts high class concert orchestras and the
 something will have been done to in crease the supply of musicians an incidentally to benefit the state of ou own musicians who now allow a
 these profitable posts to go to tn foreigners.
 To judge from the foregoing
 would appear that the conditions ( the orchestra musician in this countr
 is beginning to be recognized an
 properly appreciated I must cor | r...- 1
 improve yourselves in your noble al
 so that you are to-day in a positio
 to cope with the good musicians (
 New York and other large cities an
 furthermore that you can provid
 music acceptahly for our public. Tn
 work must 20 on, as you are pro
 gressing a still greater demand wa
 l. a -ty T1NS rA TT