New-York tribune., 1921-05-29
gestion Of smashing crockery in "Till
Eulenspiegel," the noise of thunder
and the tinkling of cowbell in the
alpine Symphony" and so on and so
on.
Herr STRAUSS Descriptive Music
Shows Advanve in Technique

Shows Advanve in Technique
We fear we are being led ento some
thing like criticism of Strauss's music,
when our purpose was only reminis-
cence and anecdote. However, the re-
turn to the highway has been made
easy by this sidewise excursion into
the field of programatic and descrip-
tive music. Strauss may have no higher
ideals than the men who made stories
of battles and storms a century and
half ago, but he has improved wonder
fully on their technique. When the
Messenger Of the Rose appears with the
glittering symbol in the opera which
won much admiration at the Metro
politan Opera House, it is a dull fancy
which fails to respond to the pretty
harmony between the tinkling sounds
of the orchestra and clustering dew
drops falling from a nosegay Of flow
ers. In the opposite end of the aesthetic
scale the macabre sound produced by
rasped double bass string which
seems to proceed from the cistern
prison Of John The Baptist in "Salome"
provokes a grewsome thought of bone
and gristle severed by the executioner's
sword.
Such things do not suggest a high
order Of musical invention, but the
order is one in which Strauss has ac-
quired a peerless mastery and which
seems to represent his ideal of musical
expressiveness. We say seems, but we
believe that it really does represent
his ideal, and for our belief we have
evidence outside of his scores. In 1914
Albert Gutmann, veteran music pub
Usher and concert manager in Vienna,
published book of personal recollec-
tions largely devoted to anecdotes
about the artists with whom he had
had business dealings and social asso-
Citations. In this book Strauss receives
considerable attention, and one Of his
stories received an amusing pendant
which found confirmation Of it's truth
In an incident Of Strauss's American
visit. Gutmann relates that after q
performance of the "Symphonia do
mestica" the composer declared that
the expression of external incident
marked the greatest triumph of musi-
cal technique. After the remark he
put down upon the table q knife and
fork in such a manner that gentle,
clashing noise was heard; whereupon
he said: "To reproduce little noise
like that so that there will be no doubt
in the mind of the hearer as to what
made it requires great artistic tech
nique. I'd like to carry it that far"
Here is the American pendant to the
Gutmann incident, of which it is in
fact only variation: While in Bos-
ton he sat at luncheon in the Tavern
Club with Mr.. Charles Martin Loef-
fer, and to him expressed his conviction
that the descriptive capacity of music
would yet be developed to such de-
gree that it would be possible to de-
lineate fork (pieking one up to illus
trate), so accurately that the listener
in the audience-room would recognize it.
But Of all the stories told Of Strauss's
conceit touching his ability to define
ate external things by musical means
that told by Felix Mottl to The Trib-
une's musical reviewer is the most re-
markable. STRAUSS once asked me-"
said Mottl, "if had ever noticed that
one Of the women in his Don Juan
symphonic poem had red hair. replied
that, often as I had conducted the
work, I had never dreamed that one Of
the Don's victims was red.headed.
Then must have failed said the com.
poser; 7 thought everybody could rec
ognize that"
Was this msrsly q bit Of hunor In. |
tended to smuse his friend. whoss
merits as 8 musician Strauss we'll
kncv, or was II the continuation Of g
pose which he assumed before the pub
licY DID he helisva that 1t was within
the provinces or capacity OF music to
delinests Ysd-headed woman? 1t is
one Of the many enigmas presented by
tho eharasEcs Of th!s saan Of gsusesdnss |