The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-04-20

dous.
But the Century opera failed sug-
gested.
Which is nexplicable to me-" said Mr.
Damrosch, Except on the ground that
the American people have no inherent love
in their hearts for opera Abroad every
place the size even of Birmingham has
an opera of its own and here we are a ma
ton of over 19O,00O,000 of people and we
support but one opera company-the
Metropolitan. Chicago, Boston, New Or
leans and the rest have failed to inan-
tain an opera and in New York that great
city of 100000 of inhabitants, when peo-'
pie have the chance to hear good opera
like the Century, presented at moderate
prices they prefer TO go once during the
season If no more to the Metropolitan IN
stead of hearing a half dozen perform
ances for the same price somewhere else"
THE orchestral concert you gave this
season-your master concerts'-tcll me
about them?' l asked
1T was merely an idea on my part,
those master concerts which originated
because of the fact that at one time this
winter in New York there were five Of the
worlds greatest pianists and it occurred
to me that the New York symphony
would give a concert presenting each OF
these artists in a programme of some
great master in whose music they eX-
celled. Josef Hoffman,. for instance, gave
the Rubenstein programme-the orchestra
contributing one or more numbers. Hof
mann is the greatest living exponent OF
Rubenstein's vrtuosoity--his pupil you
know-and he played the ID minor and u
major concertos by this composer in a
faultless and beautiful manner. Gabrolo-
witsch. Busoni, the English pianist Bor-
wick and Harold Bauer each gave a con-
eart. nd / i,Iau ii m hat I,p loo
met with tremendous appreciation and,
what Is more marvellous patronage from
New York 1t was labor of love, these
master concerts with me, the whole ar
tistc scheme appealing very much to me
and the orchestral work being unusually
attractive to me-"
THE New York Symphony orchestra is
the only one which went into Canada, by
the way. the past season, since the ouc>
break OF the war" Mr.. Damrosch said
The other orchestras were afraid-so
many of their men were foreigners and
Canada has sent over 10000 men to war.
so the orchestras gave up their trips for
that reason. I CHANGED to have warm
personal friendship with the British am
ba ssador, Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, and he
gave me safe conduct for the foreigners IL,
my orchestra. / have never seen such nu-
sic hungry, music mad people in my life
as | found in Canada. You see, they were
starved for music because of the fact that
the war had cancelled practically all their
concerts"
How have you found conditions, musi-
cally, in the south?" | asked.
''Wondcrfully improved, said Mr.. Dam
losch, enthusiastically. THE larger cities
demand good music. nor are the smaller
ones falling to do their proportionate
share in advancing the cause of art which
no longer must go begging in the north.
east, south or west From one end OF
the states to the other serious music, 70.
chamber music organizations symphony
crchestras. choruses of all kinds, nstru-
mentalists and individual singers has had
a marvellous growth and in some places
the development has been wonderful. This
growth of an appreciation of good music