The sun., 1916-12-10
~ ". J.. HENDERSON.

Chi pVIIOIHanCeb, OltCtuB Oay
after day In concsrt hail and
opera house, finds himself confronted
with innumerable questions and prob
lens. Some of the former seem I'M
enswerable and many Of the latter
lnsoiuble. In the frst place why do
90 many young and apparently SANE
persons appear on the concert stage
with equipment adequate only to anna
teur doings?
There have been in this town this
season a dozen singers and players
Who twenty years ago would have
been content to emaln In private life
and give pleasure to IA few friends at
home on social occasions. But now
the observer is driven to the unplea-
SAINT conclusion that every one who
q play the notes Of the pieces In the
concert repertoire land some who an
not quite do that) and every one who
can "hum a little regards the posses
zion Of such ability as a business
asset with which he must set himself
Wy in the market place.
Tic man who Is not so buried in
music that he cannot think about any
thing else seeks to corre!ate such n
condition with the General life and
thought of the country. The newt
able conclusion seems to he that 1t Is
Q part Of the now irresistible Amer
lean race to get rich quickly.
The lame n the halt and the blind
Join the mad rush and hobble impo-
tently after the young. the strong and
the swift In the frantic pursuit Of the
mighty dollar. OF course they all call
themselves artists and some Of them
very sincerely believe in their mission.
But n musical artist Is not to be made
Of q human being who merely throbs
with sympathy for beauty. but ~ one
who can breathe life into the printed
page for the uplifting and clarifying
of the thonzhts Of others.
Their have been in this current sea-
son r~ccitals ~ such unspeakablc in
competence that newspapers have
omitted all reference To- them. This .s
in accordance with the newspaper
theory that some happenings of every
day are not sufficiently important ior
publication. II the sporting Depart
mcnt gives no account of "A badly
played amateur ball game in Prospect
Park no one raises any serious qucs-
ton. but IL the musical department
declines to describe piano playing or
singing not up to the standard of any
good music school in town. some
- l~N,,. ,..b,- b.sSsll,. shna,
remarks may enlightcn some Of these
lnQuirers.
Many OF these incompetent musical
performers are the victims OF so-called
friends. THE suns chronicler has
ventured to conjecture thac this was
the trouble in some cases and the
friends nave been vexed even To the
use OF nk. Blu the present writer
has been in this business many years
and has seen all phases Of IL. Earnest,
ambitious. but incapable youngsters
with barely enough talent to raise
them to the level of professional mcdi-
ccrity, are too often surrounded by
people who praise them enthusiastic
ca.ly and who invariably say Yes"
when asked. do you really think l
should give a recital?"
Furthermore. real artists who rave
both brains and emotions are often
misled by these friends as to their real
field. And such influence can lie en-
erted effectively upon natures by no
means wanting in independence. The
artist must lean a little on his world.
He cannot dwell forever a solitary
spirit shu: up within the four walls Of
his own skull. He reaches out, feels
the vibrations OF the life around him,
and cannot be coldly unresponsive to
It.
II he finds kind and loving tongues
either urging hin to strike out into
new paths or at the best politely
sgre..ng with BIN when he hiE.se!f
suggests 1t, is II wonderful that he
sometimes scr astray?
How many friends has any one who
will plant themselves directly before
him and say. do not do this; 1. will
be a blundcr. You rave not the phys
ical powers or the talent for it,? Such
friends are very scarce. so scarce that
Emerson said. "a friend II the master
piece of nature" He was wise.
The death OF Hans Richter remove
one more OF the devoted circle of sup
portcrs and aids who surrounded Wag-
ner in his final years OF triumph. Her
nan Levi and Mottl. the great Won
Buelow and the great Seidl were al
ready In the other world when Richter
was still exercising his potent infiu-
ence in London. Many Of the singers
who interpreted the famous roles In
the day-' of battle for recognition are
gone. Some remain. Niemann fingers
with e~ighty-odd years upon his shout
ders; Niemann, the first Siegmund at
Bayreuth and the Incompatible Iris
tan, IN so far as tragic weight Is 10
be considers Lllli Lehman. greatcrt
o. all BruennhiLdes and IsOldes. is still
1n tho shadows OF the C~ruenewald
There are others too. but no matter.
Richter was never anything but Q
name to the United States. Doubtless
no might have been brought here had
conditions been more favorable, but
he would not have remained long
Motifs sensitive artistic soul was
shocked when. he was forced to con-
duct 'TannhaeIscr" without rehearsal
He had never before heard OF such
misdoings.
Richter might under conceivable cir
cumstsnces have been induced to come
to this country to prepare the par
sifal" production. These circumstance
would have included necessarily tn.
consent OF the Wagner family to tho