Evening star., 1954-04-18
News of Music
Still q Man Of Mystery
R. S. Gray, Thot Boch GeseIIsehoft
Subscriber, FoiIs q Researcher
BY Doy Thorpe

A few weeks ago there was
In this column the story of
r. S. Gray. the man of music
and mystery whose name ap-
pears in the subscription list
of the Bach Gesellschaft, the
first volume of which was pub
lished in Germany in Deem
ber. 1851. His address is given
as Fort Dodge, Iowa." a from
tier post which acquired its
name on June 25, 1851.
Helen C. Strobe, of the Fort
Dodge Messenger and Chron-
icie, saw the article and since
has gone to considerable effort
to solve the riddle of how there
could be man in Fort Dodge
in 1851 familiar with the plans
of the GeSellschaft, and how
the name of the town could
so soon have been a matter of
record in Leipzig. Germany.
Her article in the Messenger
and Chronicle of March 30 is
an interesting progress report.
Fort Dodge" she writes,
twas established as a military
post in May of 1850. The in
fantry arrived here on
August % of that year. Fort
Clark was the first name given
the frontier post. On June Is.
1851 (the same year Gray'S
beloved GeSellschaft was is
sued, the name was changed
to Fort Dodge. Just how Gray
anticipated that change when
he subscribed a year ear
lier is another tantalizing mys-
terry" (There is no evidence
when he subscribed.-D.TD
No MiIitory Mon
"Since there were no resi-
dents here but soldiers, and
a few wives, one might con-
clude Herr Gray was a mill
tary man. But Miss Maude
Lauderdale, curator of the
Webster County Historical Mu-
scum, has made a thorough
search of the records. Gray's
name is not listed"
Miss Strobe goes on to say
that the town of Fort Dodge,
as distinct from the military
reservation, was laid out in
1854. Fort Dodge then had five
residents-none named Gray.
City directories listed no
Grays until 1896, and then none
with the proper initials. Local
undertaking firms and Secre-
taries of seven cemetary asso-
Citations in existence at that
time" continues Miss STROBE,
checked their records for us.
So did Webster County Clerk
Joe Youngstrom.
"They found no record Of
Gray's death or burial here.
Even a query to the State
Bureau of Vital Statistics
drew a blank. Another letter
to the State Census Bureau.
our last resort. has not yet
been answered.
Herr Gray seems to be the
little man who wasn't here.
It's possible this problem is q
matter of geographical con-
fusion. We'd like to see one
of the Bach volumes-do they
list Herr Gray's residence as
Fort Dodge, Iowa or just
Fort Dodge'?"
I am not surprised that
Miss STROBE, after reading my
mythical biography Of Gray,
is suspicious of the photograph
of the subscription list con-
tanning Gray's name that was
published in The Star story.
However, I can assure her
that it is a true photo Of the
Bach Gesellschaft, Volume /,
published December, 1851.
Mozort at Home
If you intend to go to the
Salzburg Festival this sum-
mer, it would be wise to get
your tickets soon. Some per-
formances are already sold
out. Perhaps the Oldest and
certainly the most famous feS-
tival of music has a large and
varied program this season.
Furtwaengler conducts Don
Giovanni" and Der Frei-
chutz;;" Sell the world pre-
miere of Rolf Liebermann's
Penelope; and Karl Bohm
"Cosi Fan Tutte" and "Ariadne
auf Naxos." Arbitrarily to
mention only Mozart perform
ances in the birthplace Of the
composer, there will be heard
the c minor Mass. Litaniae
Laurentanae. the Dominican
Vespers. the Spatzenmesse,
Kronungsmesse, Requiem and
the big D minor Kyrie. No, a
complete list is impossible.
You can get your copy of the
unchanged red-bordered pro-
gram at any travel agency.
Let us hope that Salzburg, too,
is unchanged. An advance
copy Of the program notes Of
the National Symphony con-
cert at the Pan American
Union tomorrow shows the
clear and informative writing
to be by the music critic. John