New-York tribune., 1919-04-13
VIOLINISTS

nam Ysayc, Eugene
Jcffrcys, Helen Zimballst rrron,
jacobsen, Sascha
Inere Is something to be said on
the subject of programmes as inau.
e"oeu py feelings cngendered by the
war so far as concerts of the highest
c"aracter, those given by symphony
orchcstras and artists of large calibro
are concerned, the prcjudces Of chau
Nlhlstlc agltators were djsrerarded
None of the conductors of the laroor
organizations ~- the Philharmonic and
Nymphony societies, the Boston and
Philadelphia orchcstras and tho or.
chestra Of tho Metropolitan Ocpra
House admitted the compositions
OF living Germans to their usts
None of them placed a tabu on tbo
works OF the German classical masters
who are dead. At the very outset Of
the season reasonable and liberal ex-
ample was set by NJ. Messenger and
the orchestra which came to America
from Paris to make patriotic propa-
Vi.
another Frenchman in the compilation
OF the lists for the Boston Orchestra
The prohibition against music of man
who were citizens of the countries
with which we are at war was looi-
cally sound and involved no question
OF art. 1t was enough that the enemy
should not receive support of any kind.
1t was not necessary that intelligence
should be stultified by holding their
great dead responsible for the crimes
and follies of the living There were
some exhibitions of strange mental
operations, however, as when per
formance of Beethoven's "Choral"
symphony by one organization was
permitted to pass without protest and
performance of the same work pro
Jected by another organization met
deadly opposition. The irrationalitv
and injustice Of the procedure having
been pointed out, the protestants took
refuge behind the nationality of the
conductor. But this did not wholly
remove the absurdity. One conductor
was born in Prussia and had become
an American citizen automatically. his
father having been naturalized here.
The other conductor was born in Aus
trla and his naturalization, begun, had
not been completed. The devotion Of
both men to the country of their adop-
ton was, we believe, unquestioned A
similar confusion prevailed in other
cities whore symphony orchestras are
maintained. Mr. Stock in Chicago.
though a resident Of the United States
for thirty years, had neglected to pro-
cure his final naturalization papers
and found himself barred from doing
so last summer.
In consequence he was cstopped
from conducting the orchestra founded
by Theodore Thomas by rule Of the
Musicians Union. The bar was lifted
few weeks ago, but in the interim
the orchestra had to make shift with
an inexperienced man and invite CON
ductors from other cities in an effort
to maintain popular interest in it's
concerts. In other cases conductors
Of foreign birth scuttlcd to cover and
became American patriots over night.
Their political sentiments and sympa-
thics Of ycstcryear were not questioned
by the communities that felt need of
them.
1t was in tho programmes Of the
song recitals that the ban against the
German composer was most emphati-
cally pronounced The songs of Schu-
bert, Schumann, Franz, Brahms, which
have always formed the staple of con-
cert singers, were banished. 1t might
have been thought enough if the Ian
guage to which the music was COM
posed had been set aside; but the ma
jority of the singers avoided the music
of even the classics Of the last century
anless it was associated originally
with French or Italian words. The
singer who braved most was a Russian
who sang seven songs by Brahms,
Schumann and Schubert, though she
sang them in French translation.
Nine. Janacopulos, however, stood
alone in this exhibition of temerty.
She did not even initiate the example
Of Mr. Werrenrath, who, announcing
Schubert's "Who Is Sylvia ?" carefully
made record on his programme of the
fact that the song was from Shake
spcare's 1.-TWO Gentlemen Of Verona
That seems TO have sufficed in his
case but when, ten days or so ago, an
o ffica! Of the New York Board of Edu-
cation explained that "Who is Sylvia ?"
"Hark, Hark, the Lark" and the ave
Maria from SCOTS Lady of the
Lake." had been set by Schubert to