The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-05-18
"Crack. crack, crackerty crack
Such is the tune of Offenbach. -


Who could say these things and es-
cape with his Efe9 Richard Wagner.
May %, 1918, will mark the oente-
nary Of Wagner's birth. and, on Feb
ruary 13 last, generation had elapsed
since his death. It may therefore be
fitting TO ask ourselves (1) What was
the outward life of this man for the
What progress have we made toward
understanding his art within the last
genera tion?
We may sneer at the egotism Of this
man and pat ourselves on the back, say
ing, GLOW moderate, how liberal, how
tolerant. we arcl'' / do not underrate
these virtues when they make up the
sum Of mans nature, as. for exam
| pie, applied TO Lincoln, today perhaps
acknowledged as the embodiment of the
noblest and deepest principles Ameri-
cauism stands for. But too often they
imply not the conservatism Of truly
broad culture and noblest charity but
mere absence Of individuality.
Men Of marked individuality will al
ways trample on conventions in one
way or another. Our own Emerson.
the calm, almost saintlike thinker, met
with the most violent opposition and
Idenunciation at certain period Of his
life. The tragedy Of Shakespeare 3 life
has never been written. Perhaps it is
embodied in his sonnets. Why enumer-
ate more instances? Their number is
legion. But what shall we say of a
man who had medium of expression
the most subtle, evanescent and ethereal
oncelvable-music9 Who wrought in
an art then, as it still is to some e1-
tent, in a state of constant transition
and Developments A man who was the
most graphic example Of what Franz
Liszt, in his "Les Bohomiens ct de
leuIr musique en- Hongrie, so apply
styled "poetic egotism."
But Wagner, by reason Of his pecu.
liar organization and development, not
only availed himself Of music, but OF
the dramatic fabric Of versification as
we'll, His conception Of life was al
Of political and social life, Like q
child, he ever unhesitatingly gavo ex
preston TO what he believed. Like
a child that is contradicted, he be
came impatient Of all restraint and op
Iposition when he was contradicted. Is
lit astonishing that this man should
have been at feud during almost his en-
tire careerq
To set up his standard in music, ht
had to tenr down certain others, The
representatives of those standards au(
lowers fell upon him. Many o.d 81
from conviction, many from motives Of
self-interest, many because OF the an
tagonism naturally created in the hu
man mind by ruthless and uncompro
missing insistence upon ideas, new, start
hing and at variance with all tradition
Many opposed him because they wer
influenced by the representatives of ;
press, whose proteges and whose stand
ards OF criticism be had been compelled
to attack in defense of his views !
goodly number, finally, willing perhap
to become converts if convinced, ofte,
had to listen to inadequate and mis-
leading performances. / earnestly be
lieve that the change Of attitude to
ward Wagner began, not with the pat
ronage of King Ludwig, which, 0
course, influenced many, but with tn
splendid performances given under tn
composers direction at Bayreuth i
1876
Here was man unhesitatingly steI
ping forward in his artistic careel