The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-05-12
NEW YORK
 MUSIC REVIEW
By DIXIE HINES


 New York, May 12----Sn the wake of every concert season there follows series of tragedies. Struggling medi- ocrity, voiceIess singers, stiff fingered pianists, tuneless 'cellists, off-the-key violinists-from China to Oshkosh, from Kokomo to Stockholm-they came to test their powers on New Yorks music gorged public. Boldly they challenge comparison with the greatest, the most renowned artists. They have a brief day of fame. Then they return to oblivion and home.
 Fleeting names of those who tried and failed bob up from time to time. They who hired a manager to ar range a concert, hired publicity man agers, hired even audiences to hear them, saw their pictures in the Sun day newspapers, read an announce ment of the programmes in the same pages, played and sang, then disap- peared, all have been recorded in the
 musical records. To them came crit ics and the public in full expectation, only to leave disappointed. Flashes of genius have been scarce.
 For the public, which dotes upon "old faYorites,' weeps over old music and searches the newspapers for for | eign looking names among the plan | ists and 'ceIlists it has been an event. l fuI season. In fact, the quantity and quality of music heard at concerts | and recttaIs this season has been ex- ] traordinary Only the critic who
 noses in and out of concert halls. | looking for new thrills, new faces. new manifestations of genius, can complain. It has been a, bad year | for novelty seekers. There have been l few new stars and a scant allowance i of new masterpieces.
 1 Outside of the opera, no absolute i Iy unknown vocaIists have been | brought into great prominence. | Some have shown real promise, and among the little known singers some 1 have improved past records. But it
 has not been a profitable year for
 new singers.
 Next year New York will have a
 chance to hear opera sung by the Metropolitan, Chicago, HammersteGn, Dippel, Creatore, Gallo, Common wealth, American Society of Singers and maybe a score of other well es- l tablished companies, which indicates | that the music spirit marches on. The Metropolitan will occupy it's own 1 edifce, MT. Hammerstein will have 1 his own old opera house, the Man 1 haitian, the Chicago, will return to
 the Lexington, the Society of Ameri- 1 can Singers will be at the Park and 1 the others will be housed elsewhere, possibly the Forty-Fourth Street the
 atre where Gallo has played his two
 enga agements. Creatore may be con- tent to sing in Brooklyn, and Dippei l is pretty sure to have the New Am stRr6ar11 soma bOlJSa The Knickerbocker would be avail
 able for one, and the Selwyn is quite large enough to support one of the 1 light opera companies. The Common wealth is now singing in Brooklyn, l following 'fThe Mikado" with ''The Pirates of Penzance" in which Flor 1 ence Macbeth has the leading role. | She is a most charming singer and gifted with a coloraturo voice of ex- ceptional sweetness and brilIiancy, Last year she sang with the Chicago 1 forces. With music in such abund- ance it is reasonably certain that the
 outlying districts will not be deprived of their favorite melody. Boston has been entirely without opera this sea- son, and it is said the Hub will in
 vite Henry Russell to come back. He
 started out to propagandaize Amer ica in behalf of the Allied nations
 music and drama, and his first
 sample was the ''Burgonmaster of
 Belgium" and from the results of this enterprise we strongly suspect there will be no second attempt. The French American Association for Musical Art which has established it's
 right to pre-eminence in this field,
 will direct important musical tours
 next season through Richard G. I Herndon and Frank Taylor Kintzing, ; and what they leave undone is hard " worth doing. MT. Russell is re- membered by American music low
 CTS. That may have had something
 to do with the failure of the new
 enterprise.
 Not the least interesting musical
 event of the week was the concert