New-York tribune., 1922-11-12
ne Pains and Penalties
OF Newspaper Publicity
sss Sacbuf's Auspicious Addition in the Yale Bowl;
lsites and Their Doubles; An Effort TO Straighten
Ont the Genesis of Young Peoples Concerts

man VINO asserts that he created them
or the mere recorder OF eveutss In
the case Of world shaking catastrophes.
iake the late, present and imminent
war, we must perforce wait until all
tne evidence has been adduced and a
judicial calmness has come over tbs
mind OF mankind, before decision
can be pronounced. But how about tba
genesis of musical institutions which
nave grown up within generation.
are WITH US yet, and touching which
1T Is fond hope that they may bs
perpetuated? Ought not the facts he
determinablc now, while memories Of
the origins still live /? We should think
SO, and 1t is only because we do think
so that we have often felt Obliged Co
set matters right, even at the cost Of
hurting the feelings of good people
whom VIC respect and admire.
Touching the Genesis of
Young Peoples Concerts
We used to set it down 60 the en-
thusiasm of youth and iliial effec-
tion, which no one feels like rebukine.
when Mr.. Walter Damrosch made utter
ances indicating conviction that
pretty much everything that was ad-
mirable in the musical activities OF
New York began with the arrival In
this city Of his revered Sather---the per-
formancs Of French music and OF Ger.
man opera, for example. In both cases
we thought it best for the sake Of his
torical accuracy to try to set him right
by appeal TO the records--to point To
the programs Of the Philharmonic So
ciety (Which are easily accessiblel and
to the story of German opera COM
panies that carried their particular
evangel to many sections OF the coun-
try generation before the inesti-
mably valuable German regime at the
Metropolitan Opera House WAS dreamed
OF. In Mr.. Damrosch's musical mem
oirs, publishing serially In "The
Ladies Home Journal" we are glad to
recognize evidences Of conservatism in
statement. though we are not quite
willing to let all his statements pass
uncorrected. For instance, we do not
know that FOR years before she began
singing the Wagnerian roles In his
company Nine. Nordica had been a
mere utility singer" at the Metropoli-
tan Opera House. We have an impres-
sion that before she effected her debut
in New York at the Academy Of Music,
in November, 1883 Can incident which
1t fell to my lot to record), she had
sung in the opera houses of Italy, Mos
COW, Dantzig, Berlin, Paris and Lon
don. Likewise that she was q
familiar figure in the Metropolitan
company till near the end Of her career,
and that she reached the zenith Of her
fame when she sang Isolde to Jean de
Rcszke's Tristan, in 1895.
But even that does not concern us
now. In the Symphony Society Bulle-
tin (and the newspapers that have
made the Symphony Orchestra's press
agents statements their own) we have
been told that though Mr.. Frank Dam
rosch founded the Young Peoples Con-
certs in 1898 Mr.. Walter Damrosch
had given the first OF such concerts in
New York in the season 10000 (meau-
ing 1s91-'s2) and that they were, "an
innovation in the musical life Of New
York" They were nothing of the kind.
Mr.. Theodore Thomas had "perma-
nent" orchestra in New York (that is
an orchestra which played at his con-
certs only) long before 1891 and among
the semi-weekly concerts which began
in 18S5-18se there were six Young
Peoples Concerts at which the best
Of music was played and the finest of
solo artists employed. Simply for the
sake OF comparison with present-day
offerings we present here the program
of the first concert OF the young Peo-
ple's Series" in the Academy Of Music
on November s, 1885:
March from '"rannhauser" Wagner
iSssxet Aiesretto from the seventh symphony s.sSA
Ar. sweet BIRD" saiiss Jaeh> -. Handel
Invitation to the Dance" Weber -Bsrlioz
Ave Maria" (Mis. Juchi .Goanod- -Baeh
Autumn Roses" waltz, Strauss
Hungarian Rhapsody. No. 2......... .Liszt
A continuance Of the Young Peoples
series was announced for the next sea-
son. but then Mr.. Thomas was so busy
with his own concerts, the National
Opera Company and as conductor Of
the Philharmonic society that he let
the title drop, but revived it again in
1Ss7ySS, when he gave no less than
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