Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-12

| consideration. unfortunately IL does not,
because of the parents ignorance of musical
conditions. The cost of preparation for a
musical career is ten times greater than for
any of the professions just mentioned, and
when the period of preparation is ended the
odds against the young aspirant for fame are
tremendous. In all other professions about
seventy-6ve per cent. of those who begin
| finish the preparatory studies; but in music
about eighty per cent fall out of the ranks
in the first period, through lack of talent,
character, health, or money. Of those who
survive to face the fire of public criticism,
hardly one in a hundred succeeds.
"The point of contact with the public is
| the great crisis of the virtuoso career. No
matter how perfect the players technical
equipment, if he lacks magnetism the public
seems to be quality of personality, which,
like its counterpart in physical science, inn
plies a current of attraction. 1t sets up
bond between the player and his hearers
and enables him to sway them to madness
or gladness. 1t gives him the key to their
hearts. Unfortunately it is an inherent
quality which no teacher can impart. One
can never tell, therefore, until he has passed
through the ordeal of public playing,
whether or not he can bring the human note
into his art.
with little enlightenment we realize
that the virtuoso career is a tremendous
hazard of fate. But children have no such
knowledge. Neither have the parents, in far
too many instances. If conditions were
better understood, as they might be if that
musical novel was written, we should be
spared many, many failures.
"On the other hand, the child who has
genuine love for music is not going to be
deferred by obstacles. l recall my own
experience. From the time 1 was seven
years old 1 was determined to become a
| violinist. My schoolmates fouted me.
They were going to be lawyers, engineers,
business men. One week they had one idea
of their future, and week later they had
sence of years, find some of them are still
undecided about their futures. But
never swerved from my ambition to be a
violinist. l was told just what it meant,
what l should have to sacrifice, what
should have to risk. l was willing to brave
everything. Every boy and girl with the
real genius for music in them will do the
same
but there are many things to be consid
cred. In this country, where there is so
much musical talent such great love of
music, and SO much wealth to foster bud
ding talent, parents and children are likely
1t isn't easy to tell whether the child's talent
is equal to his or his parents ambition. 1t
isn't possible to know whether the child will
have the character to carry him through the
trying period of preparation. 1t isn't pos
sible to tell whether he has the tempera-
mental qualities to commend him to the
public. The hazard remains so great that
we must find some sure way of obviating
this distressingly high percentage of failure.
The only remedy I can see is through uni
versal recognition of music as learned pro-
fession. The first effect of this would clear
the air at once, so that Our talented young
musicians would soon grow to realize that,
outside of the virtuoso estate, there would
be something honorable and desirable in the
noble occupation of teaching and in the
artistic service of orchestra playing.
1.-The great lesson of this musical novel
that we have been talking about should be
that nothing that is really artistic is insig-
nifcant. 1t should teach that wealth and
fame are not the rewards that the true
artist should seek through his music; but
rather that serene happiness which music
brings into his life, and through him into the
lives of others.
SPEAKER CANNON'S UNCLE EPH