The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-11-14
Music and Musicians

AprUpCs UJ Tho gcuuiu"ncss -, the|
hgh musical status Of Saii Lake IitN,|
what do he experiences of grand opera
companies. grand concert companies, re
sijal artists, r5c., SIGNIFY
IL III" uluch-rcputed nuNlcaI taStG anu
excellence Of our city n thoroughly lie
gifimatp on" or one that must look toI
the various definitions OF these terMs
for place 10 stand
There is ro denying thr fact that
salt Lake has an ynFIablc reputation
i0r music, that s-cumparcd with other
rites OF like size and location. 1nd That
very much is anticipated, very much
expected hy these who venture TO catcr
TO the demand for musical events and
who arc i'm the business Of supplying
musical attractions.
There is also no dc3yinG The fact
that music of high grade is moi oas:l'
maTEctabl" in bnt very few loca'itls,
on this side OF the world-perhaps this
statement Should be modified 10 read
on the upper side Of This sidc-ior IL
is Il proven flc that the South Amer
lean rcpubiirs wj'h Latin population
patloni2c very literally, nj least, grand
opera
IF. then. Salt Lake pretcnds To dis
tinction as IA musical city-it Is all
the moro an important question OF III
tcrcst, and of concern rs TO the gen i
uircpcsS of lis claim.
I
sjcal worth appropriated by Salt Lake
IL capable of special dcliuiton-lf ono
taxes the experiences OF grand opera
managers and promoters OF high-cass
music into the accouut-for their stor
ies told ''thc morning after, would
all have The same dull sound of an
empty cOi'cr-with perhaps few gar
ish trimmings in the way OF cXplctivc. |
TO illustrate; The recent fiaSco of
the music festival assoCiations-thc loss
for want of patronage incurred by the
Salt Lake male chorus and Orpheus |
club concerts last year; the struggle |
of The local symphony orchestra and
Gus cxamplcs-thc grand opera seasons
OF last year and this at the Colonial
thcalcr
In each case of The abovc-a mu.
steal Offering of refinement TO re.
fined taste was madc-hut Salt Lake |
partooll OF. the fare with. gloved fingers,
and not ut ell with the famishcd eager |
ness of one who is hungry for good
things. The festival was pushed, the
concerts of the singing societies he
fricnded by personal and social pcrsua-
sion, the symphony orchestra adequately |
announced and doomed, and the grand
opcra thoroughly advertised in bust
ness manner, and these all met the same
fate as the girl S party TO whom no
body came.
On the other hand-(the Icft)-there
is a strong almost violent acccleratiOn
of the public pulse for music of the
popular gcnre-the kind that requires
no culturc-acquircd or instmCtive-for
ITS appreciation-the kind that has no
more to do with art music than the
funny paper has to do with art or the
comic papers TO do with literature. Salt
Lake crowds the thcaters TO see the
light frothy so-called musical plays,
and fees from the concert halls like
the poodle does the parlor when Mary
starts to sing.
Salt Lake is singing the ditties Of
Juder. Hover, Conan and others of like
insigniiCancc 10 the musicians, while
the music of Schubert, Schumann, Mo
zart, Wagner, Verdi and other great
composers is a hush in comparison,-ask
The music dealers.
To be sure there is "A great deal
of good music attempted by the profes-
sionals, and few, If any of them are
not provoked by the persistence of the
bad musical taste. But these arc Just
the box Office, and this is the anxious
phase of the question.
If the Salt Lake public is not mu-
sical in the strict sense of the term
may that public not be deprived of good
things that would otherwise be coming
this way, for the manager of musical
cannot be fooled forever.
It would seem that Salt Lake is no
better and no worse than other cities
and that the only delinquency for which
n Just complaint can be made is that
of bluffing one IS self into the belief
that Salt Lakers are some better. 1t is
gime Salt Lakers awakened to this fact i
and TO develop something that will look
good 10 the grand opera lmpesarlos and