New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-03-25
The yellow Streak in Music

10 the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: Periodically there appears in
the field Of art a work which blazes
the trail for new quality, hitherto
more or less unexplored. 1t may be
for better or for worse. Mr.. Grain
gers suite an a Nutshell" is probably
for one or the other.
Hailed as the bearer of fresh and
healthy tidings from a virgin land, in
many ways akin in spirit to our own.
the young Australian reached our
shores a couple of years or so ago with
laudable list of successes-pi anistic
and otherwise already behind him.
lie brought US some songs Of worth
always of greater worth when found
ed on folk materially, a few original
outputs and various bits Of surpris-
ing charm and freshness for other me-
dums. He became a success--more
than a mere success. His splendid
command OF NiIlAts fhy thHiiN S"ONP
of the piano endeared him to the
hearts Of the pianist followers; his
novel and youthfully exuberant inter
pretations of older works infused life
into much played repertory pieces.
His ideas were stimulating. original;
he was not to be held back by formula.
dogma, unless he chose for the sake Of
a whim to argue so and so. We liked
him and he liked US. We liked him
for his Australian ideas on democ-
racy, for the clear mountain air he
promised to lend to music, for the
spirit Of the open he seemed to carry
in n time Of turgid introspection. His
WITNESSES were effective. We did not
mind if he coined phrases now and
then. We bore with his "dshed up"
for "fddles, bass 6ddles" etc. He
said he wanted to use Anglo-Saxon
words exclusively. We thought him
not quite impertnent. merely almost
too witty, when he directed us to
"louden lots" instead Of to "molto
crescendo." Then we became somewhat
suspicious. Was it all quite so healthy
a. VIC had supposed, this spontaneous
humor? Was he an un-sclf-conscious
and delightfully."- naive as he must be
20 have such witty ideas? Were these
hybrid and overladen prescriptions
quite within the bounds OF wha. is
natural, spontaneous, wholesomely
boyish?
Then came ain Nutshell" The she'll
burst Il was lots Of fun, and our
friend and guest dsarmed our criti-
cism by maintaining that Gay but
Wistful" was. an attempt TO write an
air with a music hall" flavor. embody-
ing that London blend of gayety with
wistfulnsss so familiar in the per-
formances Of George Grossmith. jr.,
and other vaudeville artists. We could
not object 10 it's mood, since this was
intentional. The most We could do
was 10 wonder whether We liked the
sultry vulgarity OF the vaudeville
stage in our concert halls. The Strauss
Waltz is so fresh and open and frank
SO was the Granger music at first.
OF course, there is a yellow streak in
America, but % comes a bit hard to
find IL used by the better type OF com
poser the one who has had all the adj
yantages. Nevertheless the platform
Humlet" and the Gay but Wistful'
and the "Gumsuckcrs' March" were
lots Of fun. good-humorcd and jolly.
The remaining number was called
merely pastoral" (for my dear com
rade In art and thought Cyril Scott).
We were not told in the programme
notes that IL meant this or that. And
when We say il was yellow music we
may add that we don't care for yellow
music, and are sorry this sort Of thing
has begun In the concert hall. The
highbrow would say 10 was sensual,
possibly the most sensual music ever
written; the lowbrow might say it was
just the spirit Of Broadway az It's
worst. the side Of 10 none Of Us likes
when the best part Of Us has the upper
hand. u was Grass. Crsssness in mu-
sic il a bad sign The Pastoral" was
90 Grass that We wonder whether a
composer can stumble on such mood
through an intellectual process. Could
he III down and say he was gsine 20
write piece which sounded richer
and more unrestrained IN the orehes-
ira than anything he Rad ever heard
using a greater number Of modern
chords than any one else, just 70 show
what ~ sp-to.dste fort Of q musical
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