The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-09-08

nept part in the lives OF all the peo-
pie, hat it ia In fact taking now
more vital place than ever before. is
the belief OF Albert Spsiding, violin
ISL now d lieutenant in the American
aviation service IN Italy Talking
along this line recently. ne said
"GngIelfno Ferrero, the historian.
once said Art is a pleasure without
a need wonder IL he would re-
peat that statement today. Life. from
material standpoint. has during
these past four years come 10 be made
of sterner stuff than il was in the
snconsequeutial days which preceded
the great war.
Material Pleasures Given Up.
People have sacrificed and suffered
to the utmost extent. Material pleas
ures have had 10 be given up one by
one. Djstrac tions, luxuries and mani
fc'i interests have narrowed them
selves down and become merged into
one great spiritual. mental and physi-
cal winning the war for de-
mocracy.
The psychological result of this
wall he 10 prepare and fit people more
for the great consolation and mental
upiift that art, and especially music,
can give. For the pleasures OF the
body will he substituted the pleasures
'of the mind, by necessity at first and
hy choice afterward. Books will be
read, pictures looked at and music
listened to with greater attention, in
terest and concentration than ever be
fore
more will be got from them, more
will be demanded of them No pa
thence will be shown the charlatans
1.-THE faddists and the tricksters who
hitherto have owed their facile sue
/ cess to the easy eredulity of a public
who would GO inconsequentially to
I their art much in the same state Of
mind as they would go TO a fashion
able restaurant.
I Remember that the intelligent lis
tener The iAymau, plays almost as i'm
portant 4 role in HE development of
the music Of his country as does the
4 executive musician. the composer or
the Interpreter. His is the right and
indeed the duty TO demand the best
and nothing but the best,
Few Reany Can Enjoy Art
He should not applaud an ac
'kuowledged success simply because
tSoigaebodv else las told him il wa
good There is nothing TO b,
ashamed of in saying, I do not un'
dcrstand,' or / do not like such 9
work. Enjoyment of art. looking
Through the eyeglasses of another
person is not enjoyment at all. or a.
least it Is only enjoyment or the fadec
sind pale kind that people have whs
lare eontented to know the great PIC
lures Of the world only through re
productions and cheap chromos. They
get the surface without the substance
tit is food without a tastA.
we VIII have no patience with mu
siCians. composers and interpreter
, generally who have vocabulary o
many words hut have nothing to say
Thu vocabulary the dictionary. is a
necessary in music AS it is in litera
lture, but jugglers OF notes and jug
, glers Of words can never give US wha
we really Want--the true expression
: OF mems ennobling experiences ant
Ideals
Too many composers OF talent hav,
allowed spontaneous inspira ton to b.
, drowned by an overflow of rhetoric
The whole tendency Of modern music
, while enriching our vocabulary AM
power of expression. has been to de
velop this decadent form of art. /
has brought us many admirabl
things and il has taken away SOM
OF the essential things
/ we must have more simplicity
more thought and less notes. Pleas
4 rcrefnber that | am not decrying tn
value or the necessity of obtaining
greater range and scope Of expressi on
, I whether II be in harmony, orchestra
tion or form. But too often in mod
ern music II is used to swamp ant
cloud thought rather than TO clarif,
II
Those blind worshippers OF modern
tsn whose motto ts: Away with form
tradition and the conventionalities o
musical grammar must not forge
that in king this freedom OF ar
they should not run the danger of be
coming slaves to chaos else they vii
be emulating the political example o
he BolsheYiki in Russia,
with reference TO this / must say
r-s " a r an
lng IN Italy. A public that we haC
thought only opera mad is now turn
ing 10 The works OF reros and Bossi
IeroSi Is certainly the first musica
figure in Italy. He il too little known
in our country: indeed until the pres
ent time he has been too little known
In any country. including his own, bu
there Is now a gradual and ever in
-crcasing awakening to the lasting
value of his religious oratorios and Of
HIS beautiful orchestral works.
III italy can produce more like hin
We viii have 10 return our impression
=
II has been so long since ] have beer
out Of music personally that you MAY
wonder at my t@meritv in expressing
opinions about il, but T. Will say thai
t+s4tR@.t.4F4a- never make Hs-Rasse IN y
self now ! think about II more per
maps than ever before In the face o,
the terrible disaster that is an every
day living reality, music in the alb
gtract has come to mean n necessity
The interviewer then asked Lieu
tenant Spalding what his views were
on German music, saying II under.
stand that a wave Of reaction againsl
German music has gone all over tho
states well as in the allied coun.
! tries. What is your opinion in regard
/. to this?"
lie replied. smiling humorously:
Il do not believe in excluding al
German music. but believe that we
should only listen to music Of dead
Germans. There are two reasons fol
this: First because it is good music
=. and second. because the Germans whs
wrote II are dead and dead German
! ls better than living German.
Different From PrDssian Deviitry.
Bach, Beethoven, Mozart Schubert
r Schumann and Brahms have nothing
10 do with the heilishness Of the Ho.
henzollerns and Hapsburgs. Their ut.
&.