The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-03-09
East Side Loves Music
University Settlement Lectures Shun
High Brow Pose but Teach
True Appreciation

| which he takes naturally is either tho
sobby trash song or 1t is genuine ar
tistio expression OF introspection and
sorrow.
Leave him to himself and he's likely
to waste his appreciative endowment
on I'm Sorry Made You Cry Guide
him and you find him astonishingly
ready to do what Prof. Mason calls the
listeners essential share in a fine con-
cert-and thus TO enrich and brighten
his own life and to improve himself AZ
a member OF the community and in
every other way. He may or may not
| discover in himself an aptitude for
music making. But II his children do
and you know how many, OF our ris-
ing young musicians have come OF
this people--he will be likely TO en-
courage their bent and give them all
the help he can.
Prof. Mason Cooperatcs.
81 laid my notion before Prof. Mason
and found him all sympathetic inter
est. He is the real father of the en-
terprise and TO all the people who
| have attended the lectures he seems
like a sort OF musical big brother. o..
One Of the most encouraging fea-
lures of the experiment so far Is the
number of cases we see in which
people have dropped in to hear one
lecture and have been so delighted that
the following week they've come again,
plotting friends. We have a group OF
regular attendants who come all the
way from Brooklyn, and l know Of
man and his wife who live on goth
street-they show up every Sunday
night, and say they wouldn't miss one
for anything.
The Rise of the Cults.
THE two things we hope to help
people TO get away from are the dread
OF Classical music as a lot of dismal
noise, comprehensive only to the
qualified elect, and what 7 may call
the false kind of appreciation that's all
too common. A singer. for instance,
makes tremendous success. 1t be-
comes the thing to so and hear her.
And so many people fall over them
selevs TO go, and sit through the eve
ming excited about her celebrity and
deceiving themselves into feeling that
theyfe having an artistic treat
whereas If they hadn't read about her
in the newspapers they wouldn't know
whether her singing was good or bad
| In that way cults spring up
Caruso cults, Galli-Curci cults and 70
on. We hope our people will want to
hear Caruso and Galll-Curci but that
when they do hear them they'll enjoy
something more genuine than Caruso's
or Galli-Curci's mere reputation"
Prof. Masons introductory lecture
was on THE Listeners Share in
Music As reported by the Outlook
he warned his hearers against tho
, fallacy that all music is divided into
classic" and popular" the classic
being dry and formal, while the popu-
lar alone has interest for the ordinary
mortal. This he spoke OF as the Glow
brow fallacy. He went on 70 arralRn
the "highbrow fallacy"--citing Brander
Matthewss definition Of hiGhbrow as
a man educated beyond hIS, intelll-
gence. The fallacy is tho assumption
: that all classical muslc-is good, and
all popular" music is bad-the truth
. being that some works by classical
: composers are not so good as others,
and that some popular tunes are gen
. timely good, although classical music
as whole goes deeper and affords
more lasting JOY.
= Progressive Education,
The programme OF the course 10
: constructive and progressive, tho idea
being to guide the audiences upward
through successive stages OF apprecis
ton, and II possible TO turn them out
in the way Of becoming good concert
goers-
The second lecture, by Mr.. F'riskiu.
was on early piano music, down TO
Beethoven. The third, by Mr.. Wait
ing dealt with modern piano music
The fourth by MIR. Mason, was a dis
eussion Of early symphonies, with
: special reference 70 Beethoven's
. famous Fifth Mr.. Henderson followed
I with a talk on modern symphonies
J and symphonic poems, for which two
! young pianlsts furnished illustrations
IN four hand arrangements. ono OF
these being OF Goldmsrks Pro
: metheus Bound"
John Powell talked OF tho music OF
' the romantic period, dwelling upon
Chopin. Schumann and List. MI.
, SCHNEIDER will be heard on folk songs
| with special attention 10 Russian and
/, Niddish ones; Mr.. Brockwav on 'eThe
t Art Song" Uhis evening", Mr. Gordon
, ON modern opera, especially Verdi.