The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-03-05
THE WEEK OF OPERA.
Metropolitan Opera Heuss.


10 rule. fIe Ia probably wrong. But
IL is by no means certain that his
particular combinations Of tones are
wrong in themselves. TIE real cause
of the difficulty which confronts us as
hearers is hat We have no yet dis
covered the artistic design underlying
tho progressions.
None OF us need fear to say unhesi-
ta,ingly that We do not like Schoen-
bcrg's melodies or harmonies. hut VIC
should he cautious about preaching
from the housetops that the man is an
immortal genius because he uses rnein.
Neither, should we declare in bugle
tones that he has cut loose from the
who.c past. lie is its product just as
surely "a Wagner was. Whittier
music VIII go next none OF us a tell
We shall have to wait to see what
tho composers will do. They make
music: we listen TO 1t.
The appearance Of doubt in this
whole matter Is created by the un-
uucst,onu ole pose which affects all this
new art. These wizards Of scales and
maslcians Of chords have no message.
The irresistible elOuuence OF unpre-
medi;ated emotion is n to he
discovered in their writings. The poet
looks into his soul. they look into their
brains. They IA no inspirations;
they have only methods.
When Italy fell under the heel N
spain and In her supine feebleness
gave birth to her baroQue opera n
literature. she Was no worse thai
these c~masculated Teutons. 1taly's lit
eraturc became q Wholesale shop TOT
smart phrase making. a Rarb whicn
,ain,y e~ndeayored Ia conceal the n
If a starved and emaciated thought.
Thr Teu,onic composition Of to-day IL
u superb and disconcerting triumph
Of that s~ys,efnatized idealis;n Of which
Jean chr.stophe 80 bitterly complained
and wilich has been the grand self
deception If Germany and Austria for
tic last hundred years.
Dnc has oal, to read the excerpts
from the German newspapers from
day 10 1,as to bc convinced that to the
Teutonic mind tierc is some special
wonder working force In the word
system" Everything is systematized.
and ia their stIpendous and blind pride
IL efficiency these peopl" cannot real
IL. that their art. their literature .aut
Their music nave been completely and
fatally systematized ever since the ze-
NTH Of Wagner's career. In II proc
eS> of the merciless regulation OF sys-
TEN philosophic thought has been
crushed NJ Of existence n lies Il
shattered corpse by the side Of dead
poetic inspiration.
The composer who has nothing Ia
say and who makes amazing eNplora-
tons into The realm of style and tech
ME is no better than the literary man
who invent nothing but "a novel form
of polite slang. This is the deeper sig
riicance OF the musical movement uf
which Schoenberg is the foremost Teu-
tonic leader. Debussy. who had the
good fortune tn be a Frenchman. was
able 20 compose "I.'Apres Midi d'Tn
Faune' because he had not sold his
soul 20 the whole tom scale and it's
developments.
When S~choenberg vas young he
composed "A seXtet with a programme
"Nerklaehrte Nacht." Il was a thing
with some red blood in f.. for Il at
tempted tn translate certain human
passions into music. But the composer
presently abandoned inspiration for
ratloc.nation and romance for imprce-
rsthle efficiency. In those early days
he seems to have been tempted TO he
An independent artist saying VIVA, was
in him 10 say and not wasting the
force OF his soul on the way OF saying
Il
Now he is a slave OF a system which
he fondly believes he invented. and his
entire v.rility is concentrated upon the
demonstration NJ II. He aims at the
i, ideal ctfi ,!cncy, and the result Is that
: his ideals have become systematized.
Once systcmat!zed they operate as
regularly. as smoothly. and as mechan-
, .cally as a good clock. And like the
hands Of the clock. they always come
back tomorrow to the point from
which they started to-day.