The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-28
ITEMS OF NEWS TO
SOCIETY WORLD
Dance for Visiting Girls on
Highland Avenue
THE DAYS EVENTS
Mr.. Glenn Harris Gives Dance for
Two VisitOrs-Miss Kate Perry
Entertains for Miss Hardie.
The Art Exhibition
by MYRTLE MILES
The Social Calendar

Leila Smith entertains the Highland
Clan this afternoon.
Mr. and Mrs. ". Winans Freeman
give a dinner dance for Mr.. Webb
Offutt.
Saturday-Miss Elizabeth Bowie gives
a dinner at the Country club for Miss
Hardie.
Monday-Mr. and Mrs. Richard Ran
dolph entertain Monday night bridge
club.
March 5, 6. 7-Exhibition of the Bir-
mingham Art club at Clark & Jones
hall. Wednesday afternoon and even
ing a reception will introduce the eX-
hihition.
March 3-Hugo Marx and Miss Elsie
Bensinger are married in Louisville
at the Seelbach hotel.
March university club semi
monthly dance.
March 15-The Phi Delta Theta fra
ternity dance at the University club.
That music-loving America does not
want American music is the charge
in a recent paper, where he sustains
his assertion in part thus:
Lately Mr.. Stock. the well known
conductor of the Thomas orchestra in
Chicago, devoted two whole pro-
grammes to American composers The
audiences were not as large as usual;
but at least something had been done
for the American composer. The news
papers were loud in their praise, the
presumption being that the experiment
was a daring one, and that the Amer
lean composer was a downtrodden be-
ing whose cause needed a champion.
There is in fact, chronic complaint
among American composers or their
friends that they never get a fair
chance; the orchestra will not play
their symphonies aQd tone poems; man
ayers will not ppoduce their operas;
singers are chary about choosing their
songs. 1t is never suggested, of course,
that audiences will not go to hear
American compositions. 1t is more in
teresting to suppose that conductors
and managers are engaged in a con-
spiracy to ignore talent.
The charge against conductors and
managers would have greater weight if
it were accompanied by specific in
stances. Who, for example, are the
composers who suffer under this con-
spiracy of silence; and what are the
immortal works which are denied a
hearing? Is there today in existence a
single opera, symphony, concerto or
other orchestral composition by an
American composer of any real mn-
steal value which is being witlA~Id
from the musical public because COLI
ductors prefer inferior foreign works?
We should like very much to get an
answer to that question. Our own be-
lief is that the native composer is en-
couraged beyond his intrinsic worth.
Two American operas that we know
of have been accorded lavish produc-
tions by the Metropolitan Opera COM
pany in the last three years, and a
third was produced by the Boston
company. 1t is safe to say that neith-
er Mona" nor THE Pipe of Desire"
(was not that the title of the Con-
verse opera?) would ever have been
produced If they had been composed
abroad. And If there are any other
American operas better than these
waiting to be heard, why do not their
composers come forward? The Metro
politan Opera company offered a s10,-
900 prize for an American opera, and
the best 1t could find was Mona" And
did not the Chicago Opera company
produce "Natoma." by Victor Herbert
on the ground that Herbert might al
most be considered an American COM
poser? That was the only reason that