New-York tribune., 1921-05-08
A Retrospective View of
The Concert Season of l02O-'21
Records Show Biggest Season Ever known Here
Has Been Financially Disastrous and
Artisticaily Barren

Ahe character OF these recitals has
often been discussed. They are given
to launch fiedglings on a longed-for
professional career, or to crafty the
vanity of amateurs or their patrons
they have value only in the first OF
these two eases, and then only when
The concert giver has indubitable and
obvious artistic gifts beyond the ordi-
nary category. The season brought no
noteworthy disclosure Of this nature
Its roster resembles that of many years
preceding. Only q small fraction OF
the names on it figured in the list of a
year ago, and only small lit is safe to
predict, smaller) fraction will figure
in the list Of 1921-'22. In this years
list Of 16S singers there are only forty
nine names which were also to be
found last year, and fifty-fve of the
107 pianists were strangers to the local
platform.
An Invasion of Foreign viohnists
Of singers and pianists from foreign
lands New York did not hear many. The
largest alien invasion was in the violin
field OF the fifty-three violinists
which we note as having been heard in
concerts (not including those of cham
ber music) one-half were strangers
when they first appeared. The other
half was about evenly divided between
the product of New York's music stu
dios and schools (Which are putting ont
an astonishing number Of string-in-
strument players who first pose as
virtuosos and then drop into orches-
tras) and new comers from Europe.
"MIscha, Sacha, Joscha, Jascha-where
do flddlers get their names ?" asked the
humorist of Cleveland newspaper
when the vanguard appeared among us.
The answer is both national and racial
and the invasion is larger than is indi-
Gated by the names in the list append
ed TO these reflections, and more sig
nificant than it may seem to careless
observer. 1t has, indeed, large bear
ing on the orchestral problem which
we shall discuss sooner or later When
this influx of violinists from Russia
first attracted attention it excited con-
siderable wondement. The young men
all played remarkably we'll and aston
ishingly alike. Had Russian Jews, in
addition to all their other striking
mental traits, special gift for the
violin7 Had supposedly difficult in
strument by some strange chance be-
come al easy one for children of a
single race? It seemed as if there was
truth. in one or the other OF these
propositions. But neither conclusion
was necessarily correct. The simple
fact IS that the invaders Of our con-
cert rooms were simply the musical con
tingent OF the Jewish immigration
from Russia which has been going or
for years. Present political conditions
in the land OF their birth, present OPP
portunities seen In the United States,
sent them here as 1t had sent their
master teacher who had preceded them.
Leopold Auer was preceded by young
artists whom he had trained; he was
followed by promising young pupils
sufficiently trained TO make tolerable
show upon the platform and by few
other men OF greater experience who
would scarcely have thought Of pre-
senting themselves as virtuosos here
had not America become an Ell Dorado
for adyenturers of all kinds. No doubt
there are as many well equipped young
violinists in Germany, France, Italy
and England to-day as there are Rus
sian in the United States. Moreover,
we are developing a similar class of
musicians in this country, especially
in New York. They hold scholarships
in our endowed music schools which
have slready developed few violinists
entitled to be called artists and are
developing many who have entered or
will soon enter the ranks Of our
orchestral handicraftsmen and there
will find numerous company Of kins-
men. And here we meet the orchestral
problem which has long confronted
music lovers in this and other cities.
Present and Future of the Orchestra
The lovers of high-class orchestral
music in New York have long depiored
its decay. They have seen that decay
in the things which have been adduced
as evidence OF its growth----the multi
plication Of orchestral concerts. It is
not likely that critical historian
would attempt to prove the literary
culture Of people by the mass oi
books printed for il unless he could
produce evidence that the books were
good literature and were both read
and appreciated. If it appeared tina,
the books were printed at the cost Of
few individuals, either for personal
vainglory or in the belief that they
were promoting the intellectual wei.