The San Francisco call., 1910-03-20

NJ
A think
How is it." she asked me. that
san Francisco waits for artists 10
grow old before they are recognized?
And how is il that san Francisco
recognizes q Tetrazzini before she has
any fame al an2 If a singer
or an artist comes from the east he or
she has 10 prove ability. You have no
conscience at ali. Even kreisler had
20 play al first TO small audiences.
Now. 1 am told. he is a great favorite.
An operate artist like Tetrszzini, how
ever. gets instant recognition. When
! sang last sunday afternoon I could
count the house between the verses
Of my songs When come back again
I hope 10 sing before a bigger audi
ence.
I have heard about Dutch thrift
said /
This is not thrift she rejoined.
This is merely ambition And then
! felt ashamed
.,I SHALL never 90 on the operate
stage said Miss koenen. though
have been invited TO do so. Cost
ma Wagner was somewhat shocked be-
cause I refused to go TO Beyreuth on
her invitation. An invitation from the
widow Of the great Wagner is Just the
same as a command from the king or
kaiser. Few persons refuse it but I
did because felt that my sphere of
usefulness was not on the eperatic
stage but on the concert. There is as
much opportunity for the actress on
the concert platform as there is on the
stage The trouble is that few realize
il. What nobIer poems are there than
those which Goethe has written and
that Schubert has set TO music, as. for
instance. The Erlking'? What lyrics
are p-ettier than Heine's. and why isn't
Il just as fine a task TO interpret Bhese
on the concert stage as II is TO spout
theatrical nonsense on the operatic2"
trME. VAN ZANTEN. who was Miss
AN Koenen's only teacher, insisted
that her pupil study all of the
modern languages That is one reason
why We could talk at the ST Francis
without the aid of an Interpreter The
Dutch confralto has mastered a uni
versatility Of language as well as the
universal nguage-musie-
II am not discouraged. said Miss
Koenen. that so few were at my con-
cert last sunday When I made my de-
but in Vienna in 1902 there were not
more than 200 persons in the hall San
Francisco is not more conservative.
you see. than Vienna. ! do not com
plain. because 1 know that the only
ears that one hears with is his own
Even critics do not help artists much
The public-how do you say 1.-THE
public is from Missouri"
= INCE her first appearance in public
eight years ago Miss Koenen has
- enjoyed a brilliant career, although
she did not start with silver
spoon in her mouth. Il has been, how
ever, her good fortune TO win recog-
milton as soon as she had hearing.
Like Won Rooy. the Dutch tenor, she
has convinced the world that there is
vocal music IN Holland.
who is your greatest composer" I
asked
Bernard Zweers." she said, though
he is scarcely known outside of Hol-
land he has written in all the forms
songs. chamber music. chorales,
symphonies and opera-but he IS es-
sentiany Dutch, and his music is as
little known outside of Holland as
chadwick's is outside Of America We
Of Holland. however. DO not feel it
necessary 10 defend our music If you
remember, the cradle of European
music was rocked in the Netherlands,
and not in Italy. We have the trasii-
lions Of Palestrina in our neighbor-
hood
fASKED Miss Koenen how she man
/ aged 10 convey in her singing the
histrionic message; how she had ever
learned 10 act her songs so well
MY teacher said she. was an op-
cratic artist. and she gave TO me, no
doubt, the idea Of the necessity Of act
ingf&s weir as singing my songs. +
waAknot taught TO practice my songs
before a mirror ! was taught TO mir
ror my songs There's a great differ
ence there, don't you seee Whatever
I sing L say. and whatever / say /
sing. That's al. there is TO IL A song
is poem. and most poems. at least
poems that are good. are songs. The