Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-10-27
AS ONE WOMAN SEES 1T
The First symphony Concerts, for
Which Mrs. gillespie Jsopardlxed
Her Little All to Bring to
Philadelphia ' r..
BY SARAH ID. LOMRIE


i certs this autumn l was hailed on the
streets by teacher of music, Miss Martha
Barry, whom many Of us know and honor in
this town. and what she had on her mind to
tell me was that she had been SO refreshed
and thrilled by Saturday nights concert that
the momentum Of IL was still carrying her
along. a.- ...
thought as she spoke about the evenings
inspira tion of a story that had been told me
only two days before by woman who was
once also teacher of music, apropos of the
dea.th there was in Philadelphia Of any such
inspiration for either pupils or teachers or
ordinary music lovers In the early eighties
when she was young and most Of us were
children. -.
A LII. THE way up the street thought OF
"A Mrs. Gillespie. What great old ever
audiences that crowd into the symphony con
certs this winter owe her for her spirited
vcnturesomeness, her almost willful perti-
nacity in bringing symphony concerts to this
city stepped in inartistic interests, jeopardiz-
ing her little patrimony-indeed, losing more
than a little of 1t so far as ever having any
return in dollars and cents is concerned
in order that teachers Of music and the few
that hungered and thirsted after it should
have an inspiration from hearing great music
greatly played.
Her own daughter was a teacher of music.
Ellen Gillespie, might have been a great
artist. She had temperament enough and
technique-she studied with Won Bulow and
for four years at Stuttgart--but not the
physique. Now she Is something quite diff
ferent, |. e., the wife of great physician
for presidential elector by way of proving
her mettle as new woman.
CHE TOLD me about the way Philadelphia
L Hruf bad n.ha. - hxA -.
certs.
One day Theodore Thomas, who was her
mothers warm friend-and, indeed, like
member of the family--said to her:
Granny, Nellie cant teach unless she hears
mlsic!
of the men and women of her profession in
Philadelphia could hear music.
They could not go to New York to hear 1t
every week or every month even. The most
highly paid received 50 lesson. A woman
teacher was generally supposed to be thank
full for 81 lesson. II Mrs. Gillespie's
daughter had not been a pioneer in those
days, as well as in these, she, too, would
have been thankful for 81 an hour. She
asfcd and got what the men teachers asked
and got, however, and incidentally made it
possible for all the women who succeeded
her to earn living salary.
TNHEODORE THOMAS, for his old
L friends sake, and for music sake, made
most generous. indeed almost a quxotic
offer. II Mrs. Gillespie would guarantee the
pay of his orchestra men for a series Of con-
certs, he agreed to forgo any honorarium
as reader and to divide the profits, il there
were any. on a fifty fifty basis.
What the present orchestra committee and
the womens auxiliary have accomplished
with the help of the whole city one woman
some thirty, years ago started out to put
through by her own initiative. And she put
1t through! The concerts were given, the
musicians were paid and the artists received
their honorariums, though at what cost to
her own capital the following little collouuy
between her daughter and herself on the
night of the first great Wagner concert goes
to show.
The artists were Materna, Fischer, Win
kelman and lesser lights. There was a great
turnout in the Academy, for many persons
were hearing Wagner for the first time and
had come from curiosity, but even great
turnout could not cover the expenses of an
operate concert at the then concert prices.
So that when Mrs. Gillespie settled herself
beside her daughter in the parquet circle
she knew to cent what the deficit for the
evening would be.
mo one has paid so high a price for his
seat as you and have, Nellie" said she.
How much have we paid?" her daugh-
ter asked.
about $25OO apiece" her mother said
serenely.
In the end, in spite of fearful prognostica,
tions from the onlookers and subscribers,
the concerts began to pay. That is, Theo-
dore Thomas and Mrs. Gillespie did have a
dividend. The first fifty fifty division they
made netted each sixty-one cents.
T ASKED Mrs. Davis once where her
mother got her music. She said the
Duanes were very musical, and so was her
prnD Inn thar nchA to-.
granddaughter.
William Duane was a lawyer-incident-
ally he made Stephen Girard's will so
clevery that never a lawyer since his day
has been able to show how it could be
broken. The family house for all the young
life of his children was at Sixth and Chest
nut streets, where the PUBLIC LEDGER
building is now. The girls went to the
fashionable Madam Picots school, where
music of tinking kind was taught after a
somewhat draconian method. But they had
private teachers and the house was full of
music. Sarah played the pianoforte Mary
sang, Ellen sang even better-"superbly"
was, | remember, the traditional word for
Ellen's singing. Observation-Disclosures Lib,
or Lizzie-afterwards Mrs. Archibald Ham
ilton Gillespie, played. All the new music
was tried over as matter of course.
TNHE musical center in those days was
L Musical Fund Hall and the great musi.
cal events of local kind were the concerts
OF the Choral Society. Dirigo was the
leader. He was superseded by a Frenchman
who had a fashionable following for a
while. hut the Duanes. being both musical
and fashionable and loyal as well, did not
swerve from Dirigo and brought the leader.
ship back to him. Even In those days the
one they called lib" was a great cham.
piOn, it seems.
Tn 1867 when Mrs. Gillespie took her
young daughter to Europe-her husband,
noted soldier, had died in the Civil War
1t was with the intention of giving her girl
the best musical education Europe could
afford, no matter what the cost might be
to her somewhat slender means She evil
IDENTIFY realized from her own experience as
a girl that America did not then afford many
musical incentives for n young student.
What she did then and some years later
in pursuit Of that musical education made
her an authority in the eyes OF her fellow
countrymen. Indeed, it was through her
that Richard Wagner was commissioned to
write the music for the Centennial march
He received $4,000 for that very mediocre