The San Francisco call., 1909-04-20
This CITY NEEDS
GREAT ORCHESTRA
Henry Wolfsohn, Manager of
Musical Geniuses, Takes San.
Francisco to Task
Permanent Organization Would
Do Much TO Further Educa-
ton in Matter of Music

Henry Wolfsohn. eastern impresario
and manager of musical geniuses from
New York. ~arrived in San Francisco
last night with his latest and perhaps
most important charge, Mischa Elman,
who is to play a series of concerts in
this city.
Il have come to the coast" said
Wolfsohn, merely on account of the
Importance of my present attraction,
the Russian violinist However, while
here / propose to look over the musical
situation and see what may be done to
develop more and better music in this
city and throughout the coast.
URGES PERMANENT ORCHESTRA
What you need here is a permanent
orchestra. Even Los Angeles and Seat
tie are ahead of you in that respect.
Both those cities have regularly or
ganized orchestras capable of doing ex
cellent work and of supporting visiting
instrumentalists in the concertos of the
great masters. I tell you that there is
wave of interest in orchestral music
that is sweeping westward, and San
Francisco can not afford to keep be-
hind the times. Four or five years ago
there We're permanent orchestras only
in Boston, New York and Philadelphia,
besides. of course, the Thomas orches-
ira. Now New York has another or
chestra besides the Philharmonic, Min
neapolis has an excellent body of in
strumentalists, Cincinnati has its or
chestra, so has St. Paul and Buffalo, not
to mention Los Angeles and Seattle and
various middle west cities. 1t is worthy
of remark that the largest city on the
Pacific coast is still without an orches-
ira. It is burning shame. Orchestral
concerts are educational: they form the
basis of a normal musical life; they are
essential to the artistic growth of a
community. / am going to see what
can do toward rousing some local in
terest in this matter.
SAN FRANCISCO WANTS THE BEST
The trouble with San Francisco is
that she has been spoiled. You will
not take anything but the very great
est and the best We in New York can
Heinks, Paderewski, Elman. Melba.
Caruso, Tetrazzini, Ysaye, Kreisler
Hoffman, Bispham and that's about all
You must realize that there are not
more than 10 or IL of these sensation
ally great artists available. What are
you going TO do about it? In the east,
organizations of musical folk encour-
/ attractions; not necessarily the great
est, but the mighty good. Here they
starye TO death.
1t is not that / do not have conf
dence in San Francisco. In less than
three weeks after your big fire l con-
tracted with Greenbaum to send Cor
goza, Rosenthal and Sehumann Eeink
out here. l was told by my New York
friends that / was mad to take such
a chance. San Francisco justified my
temerity by supporting all these at
fractions in most liberal manner You
VIII have music here no matter what
may happen. but you demand more
from the man who supplies than can
be given.
ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS
Orchestral concerts will develop an
even and a regular appreciation for
music They are necessary to the
culture of the city
We are coming to a point where in
my opinion, every city in the United
States will support it's own permanent
orchestra. San Francisco should get
into line. l am free TO confess that
while | have no direct interest in see
ing the establishment of an orchestra
here, 1T would greatly benefit me and
all other purveyors of music by devel-
oping musical taste and a sane and
normal appreciation of the good that
may not be the greatest or the best but
that is still good, artistic and worthy
OF serious support and encouragement"
In the party with Henry Wolfsohn
are Mischa Elman, the Russian violin
fst, his father, Saul Eiman. and Henry
Grabon, Elman's accompanist