Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-10-13
MAKE THIS CITY MUSIC CENTER
To the Editor of the Telegraph:

The impression is so prevalent that
harrisburg is an unmusical city and
not good patron of the arts, that it
is with much pleasure L note our op-
portunities to hear music of the very
highest class during the coming sea-
son.
True, some of the conservatives say,
1T is too much! Harrisburg will
never stand for so many concerts" 1t
is in protest to this doupting spirit,
which is the surest way to bring tall
ure, that L venture to write to you.
The Telegraph has always stood for
progress and your cordial support oil
all arustic ventures has counted large
ly IN their success.
AS to our being unmusical, l would
IKE to contradict 1T. A city which
boasts the second Oldest woman's mus
lcaf club in the United States, u club
Wnlch grows i'll NlSor and artistic
merit yearly, and has had for twenty
one years an organization like the
Harrisburg Choral Society, which is
one OF the. best trained choruSeS in
the country. has every right to rank
high among musical cenIers.
L have heard many OF the big
choruses of Philadelphia, such us the
Treble Cleft, the Eurydice, and the
Philadelphia Choral Society, also the
Damrosch chorus of New York; l have
never heard more brilliant or finished
work than is done by our Choral So
ciety and the chorus of the Wednesday
Club.
Individually we have singers, plan
lists and Viollnists OF unusual ability
Tor amateurs, and the number of clever
music students with our various con-
serNatorleS and teachers is very large.
With such background why should
any amount OF muse be too much
lor us to support? Harrisburg has
every requisite to become u great
music center such as orcester ana
Cincinnati. We are far enough from
the large cities to make attendance on
their musical attractions The privilege
OF the few; We are Il railroad center,
so can draw on u wide territory, anu
we are the seat OF a large Ioreign pop
uIatlon.
II there be u doubt about the musl-
cainesS OF America, there Is none
about the INFORM love OF music in the
Italian. the German. and all the
slavic races. how 1t has added to the
inconsistencies OF these adopted cItl-
zenS, accustomed To hearing the great
est artists at nominal cost, that un-
I'LL recently opportunities TO hear the
music their starved hearts craved has
been denied them.
Last yeaI cUruial support was given
TO our musical ventures; this season
when we are 10 hear such artists OF
international Tame as Amato, Gluck,
raul helmers, Hans Kinder, Kitty
Gheatham, Margaret keyeS, Mary Gar
uen, GauSkl ana Schumann-Helnk,
eN en- greater support should he assur-
cd. Ihls is almost d test year. III tne
puDllc uoeS not respond we will fall
back into our unmuSlcal rutS and the
opportunity lor new era in The music
oI HarliSuulg Is lost.
Sometimes u great artist fails to at
tract because the mass OF the people
Il n 1-aD a hnx hpf
remember when Madame Aida was
here on Thanksgiving night few
years ago, very few heard her. They
uid not realize in time that one of the
Dig metropolitan Opera stars was to be
With us.
This may be the case with Pasquale
Amato, who opens one of the concert
courses next Monday evening at the
Chestnut Street Auditorium. How
many know that he is one OF the great
est baritones, not only of the Metro
politan Opera Company, New York,
hut of the world?
His rise to fame has been spectacu-
lar since he made his debut as Ger
InoHt in Traviata in 1900. For two
years he struggled; then Gatti- Ca
sazza and Toscanini heard him The
wonderful voice is there and the tenn
perament" they said, but there must
De more art Go to Germany and
study"
1t meant dreadful hardships, but it
paid. He returned to Italy in 1906,
and scored such success as kurWenal
in Tristan" that he became the idol
of the musical loving Italians. He re-
ceived tremendous ovations whenever
ne appeared at La Scala, Milan.
When Mr.. Gatti-CasaZza came to
New York in 1908 his first choice in
baritoneS was his famous countrynaan
Pasquale Amato. Again his Germont
made an instant hit. In the four years
since his debut. Amato divides with
Caruso and Farrar the honors of the
Metropolitan Opera Company.
The Italians and Germans of Har-
risburg know and love Amato by repu-
tation. When he sings here for the
first time on Monday evening they
will forget their bitter political and
racial differences in their common en-
thusiasm for the beloved baritone
who is equally famous in the great
operate roles of his native and adopt
ed land. Americans will also yield to
his spell.
The part of music in the making of
good citizens is recognized psyche
logically. 1t is up to us Harrisburgers
to encourage it; especially since it has
been brought within the means of all
classes. Besides in these troubled times
music has new role to play--the
peacemaker. Genius knows no coun-
try.
In the interest of Harrisburg and
her place in the world of music, ask
you to publish this letter
Mem her of the "Wednesday Cluh