The New York herald., 1921-01-09
7oscani Reading of Beethoven Hampeed by Latin temperament

of absolute music Yet again rise the
memories OF his 'NIeisterslnger." a read
ing altogether too exquisite and refined
to have Teutonic character.
But granting that the theatre is his
field. who else could have revealed to
us the content of "L'Amore del Ire
Re" as Mr.. Toscanini did? We need not
catalogue his splendid operatic achieve
ments. They have not yet perished from
the memories OF lovers of the lyric
drama, But we should not demand OF
him German reading Of the fifth SYM
phony. Purists will perhaps say that,
being an italian and unable to enter
perfectly into the spirit OF such u work,
he should let it alone.
But this would be a narrow minded
view. AGounet-Sully acted Hdnllet
which was assuredly not ShalSespeare's
yet one would hardly wish the French
theatre to be deprived of the greatest
poetic drama ever written. The gain is
that the Frenchmen get something from
Shakespeare that they could not get
from any other author. None or us can
read Dante as an Italian reads him. yet
we are entitled to get all we can from
the immortal llberator Of Italian litera-
ture.
Finds Art of Teuton Too Rugged.
It Is futile to ask the Latin to COM
prehend completely the art of the
Teuton. He finds 1t too rugged, too
stern, too rigorous. lie strives to soften
It's lines according to his own ideas or
beauty. He cannot do otherwise. NO
man can be other than himself. When
he attempts the Interpretation of an art
work, he must first OF all make It
part of himself; he must assimilate It.
When he gives it forth. he gives it as It
has become a part of his own intellec-
tual and emotional nature.
Nrounet-Sully never acted Hamlet as
Edwin Booth did. Wilson Barretts
Hdn,Iet bore very little resemblance to
that of Forbes-Robertson. The four men
acted HaneEet as they saw him and each
saw him differently. The work of the
creative artist is always in part a
product of his race and his time. All the
Germans in Germany could not have
created the French Gothic architecture.
nor could all the genius OF the North
have produced the temples of the Italian
renaissance. Rome had all Greece at
her fingers ends. but the Parthenon was
made only once. The Roman replicas
of Greek architecture are as lifeless as
our own.
The galleries of Europe are plenti-
fully stocked with pictures Of the
Virgin. When Botticelu painted her she
was sacred italian. and when Rubens
saw her she was Dutch woman. The
blessed damozels OF France all sprang
from the soil, and there was never a
Judean Mary among the holy Gretchens
of the German museums
In literature the conditions are in
evitably the same. and the closer we
approach to the spontaneous growths of
the peoples mind the more clearly
drawn is the nationality. Italy in the
proudest moments Of her intellectual
supremacy could not have produced the
Volsunga Saga. All Northern Europe
could not have given birth to a mind
capable of creating the "Dlvina Com
media" Faust" could have been born
only In Germany and "The Idyls of the
King only in England. Kant, Fichte,
Hegel, Leibnitz could be only Germans,
but not even Bismarck IN his craftiest
hour could have penned the pages OF
Machiavellis III Principe" And except
as sons of United States soil Walt Whit
man and Mark Twain would be incon-
ceivable.
Why, then, should we demand Mr..
Toscanini see the Fifth Symphony as q
German sees il? 1t is far easier for an
American conductor to do this than for
an Italian. The Americans whole musi-
cal training is likely to have been Ger
man. He succeeds less with an italian
work than with one OF Teutonic origin.
Status of La ScaIn Orchestra.
Meanwhile it may not be amlss to note
in closing that precisely what has often
been limited in these columns took place
after the first Toscaninl concert. There