ytait $, 4 114 114 essMPtoaaiUJKJiwBww D The Evening Ledger Amusement Section, Saturday, October 16, 1915 WHY IS MUSICAL CRITICISM AND WHAT CAN IT OFFER? The Approaching Riches in Music Used as a Pretext to Explain What the Critic Can and Cannot Pretend to Do TRYING THE DOG ON THE DRAMA 38bf irmS-:'v; i mi sa n MMlii-i V$ r.Krr?Sf--5', raSrfTtCv ,1 samommrrfsssi. nn i s -w Siim VJHi r a 12r.w um&iu 8? iff As 4 f .Jlk if m E" TA PrAsIdi ffor t Held. THE second season of music which the Kvenino I.KDOEn has the pleasure of reviewing, began yesterday with the first concert of Philadelphia's greatest musical Institution the Orchestra. Announce ments, which have been sent to the music editor nnd which havo nppcarcd In the newspapers and musical Journals, Indi cate a year of splendid activity foi Phila delphia. Last year the Orchestra alone fulfilled Itself. Tho opera was curtailed nnd the concert season wns a disgrace. This year, bcsldo the Orchestra nnd tho Boston Smphony nnd Mr. Damrosch's New York organization, all of which were heard last )car, wo shall have two series of operatic performances, and at least one series of afternoon concerts. Two new organizations for chamber music have been formed and the plans of local musi cians nnd of nmatcum are full of promise. Tho reviewer of music would be some thing less than human If he did not take a vast deal of pleasure In this prospect. He can feel, In the first place, that his work justifies Iteclf more thoroughly when music Is being heard frequently and by great numbers. Mere numbers, of course, mean nothing. If 10 times the population of Philadelphia heard all the bad music written slnco Jean-Jacques nousseau a terrible thoughtl there would be very little gain. But If all the citizens of Philadelphia had a chanco to hear a great deal of good music every year, and took advantage of the chance eagerly and with deepening appreciation of what music means, that would be a far better thing than for a thousand Phlla delphlans to progress to the point where they could honestly say that they pre ferred Stravinsky to Beethoven. That point should be made clear. The reviews of music In the Evenino LKDaun are written not for the trained musician, nor yet for the man with a-tralned musi cal ear. When a technical question Is vitally important It is given due consid eration. But in the main the criticism Is written for those who go to hear music because they like It and not because they are exceedingly Intrigued by a succession of exploding thirteenths. Tho purpose of the reviewer Is always to interpret the music in Intelligible human terms not particularly In literary terms, al though that is often the easiest way to make a meaning clear. Letters are frequently written to critics of plays nnd books nnd statues and oym phonles, asking how It is that another re viewer of the same object said precisely the opposite thing. Sometimes, by plac ing tho opinions of critics In parallel col umns a noteworthy satiric result Is ob tained. "Sho was in exceptional voice," says critic A. of Mme. Hlghnote. "Mme, Highnote was seldom heard to so little advanlngc," says critic B. A puzzled au ditor who rather enjoyed Mme. High note's recital finds In the first place that he didn't half appreciate his opportuni ties, and In the second that ho is a stupid fellow for having enjoyed the per formance at all. So ho wants to know. Now, concerning a certain number of things, the writer does not admit that there Is room for difference of opinion. In fact, opinion itself has no room In dis cussing the structure of a given symphony nor In determining tho accuracy of the buss drum In the second movement. These aro matters of pure fact Opinion, or bet ter still, taste, has Its proper placo In criticism. It is the critic's bounden duty to say so If he thinks Tschalkowsky Is shoddy which I hope no critic really be lieves in tho depths of his heart and it is his duty to tell why. But that critic Is not at liberty to deny that Mr. Blank's oboe playing In the Tschalkowsky number was perfect. The reader, too, has a cer tain duty hero. He must bo at least as liberal as tho critic. Ho .must not re fuse to give him a hearing because the critic disagrees concerning a favorite composer or a favorite performer. So long as prejudices are frankly stated there Is no objection to their Intrusion. The reader can always discount Mr. Flnck on "Wagner or Mr. Huneker on next year's succes de scandale, because ho knows Just where these critics stand on the questions at Issue. One of tho lerser-known Whistler sto ries concerns an unhappy fool who bored the painter for three hours and as he rose to leave, said: "Jimmy, don't you think that that panel ought to hang a little higher on the wall. But I suppose that's a matter of taste, after all." Whlstlor flung around at him. "Great heavensl That's the first sensible re mark you've made today and you had to spoil It. It isn't a matter of taste, It's a matter of judgment Of course. It ought to hang higher!" The matters of judgment are the crux . of musical criticism, and they are its salvation. Musical criticism too ofen con ftists of calling things no one cares about by names no one understands, it is only when judgment Is exercised that criticism becomes self-respecting. The meaning of music nnd Its Interpretation, Its signifi cance and its value, these are the ma terials on which judgment operates. On the soundness of these judgments the critic must rest his case. Humble before tho great work he hears, humble, before the people whom he ad dresses, the critic Is nono the less con fident In the sanity (if his Judgments be cause (ho hopes) they aro the judgments of a normal human being Ho can have no purpose beyond that of making the meaning of music a little clearer, if that li necessary, and revealing Its grandncss and Its glory to those who may not sus pect their existence. Ho must write not for the few who already know, but for tho many who may know. Ho has .many consolations. Ho is constantly in the presence of beautiful things and ho pays for this by hearing them brutally mis done at times. And ho Is constantly in search of a greater and clearer beauty. He has the pleasure of saying what he sincerely believes and has the pleasure of discovering, about once a day. that ho is all wrong. But the great and seri ous happiness of his work is In tho be lief that it spreads a light not so use ful as an economic treatise, nor so effec tive as a tract but a light which burns clearly and warmly somewhere in the human spirit O. V. S. THE PLAYWRIGHT INTERVIEWS HIMSELF Continued from Fate One "Hero, wait a minute," said the Inter viewer, "let me ask an occasional ques tion, or this won't seem like an Inter view. If the success of 'Under Cover, as you infer, is based on fooling the audience, and bo maintaining your suspense, I suppose that once having seen it no one ever comes back a second timer "I am very glad you asked that ques tion," the author answered quickly, "be cause, curiously enough, many of those who have been deceived like to come next time with somo. one who docs not know tho plot and watch their friends get fooled, too. I suppose the desire to bo behind the scenes, as is were, to be in the know, is a more or less universal trait in human nature." "Wo seem to be talking o lot about "Under Cover,'" said the interviewer, "let's be more general. What do you con sider tho trend of the modern drama?" "I believe," the author replied In stantaneously, evidently riding a hobby, "that tho day when a merely good, well made play, with an interesting story, will register a real success Is past. There was a time when such a play, proceeding along well-balanced, technical lines, tak ing tho audience Into Its confidence, with a last act that only tied together Un loose ends, would amble along pleasantly enough for its 10 or 12 weeks In New York and then go on tho road to 'clean up.' " "And nowadays?" Interjected the Inter viewer In order to break up the para graphs. "Nowadays, there aro so many the tres, so much competition, so many pro ductions, while all the time the theatre going public has not Increased propor tionately, that only the very best. plays succeed. Tho theatre is the only busi ness I know of where no one takes ac count of the demand, but is concerned merely with the supply. Other businesses 1" ..S. lmca run on nalf time, turn out uJ. tnelr "?ual Product, but the theatre, with conditions cheerful or depressing, war or no war, goes on merrily pro ducing, each for Itself, with no spirit of co-rpcratlon Or combination. There have been C7 new productions in New York this season, and the season proper u not three months old! So it has come about that only plays with a real Idea, with some different twist, some genuine nov elty, aro making successes, and the proof of it Is in the New York failure.! just r.ow. I believe, too, that more and more, the method of the novelist will predominate In tho theatre that is, not telling the nudlence what Is going to happen or even suggesting it but letting character and plot develop themselves. I feel, too that more and more a play's last act must bo Its best, for It is their impres sion of the last act that the audience take home with them." "Are you," asked the interviewer abruptly, "trying to 'uplift' In your plays?" "Don't make me laugh," replied the author. "I'm trying to entertain. I be lieve tho theatre Is first of all a place of entertainment, and If In the course of that we can point a moral, or instruct, so much the better. Personally about my own work I should like to feel that every audience which goes out from any play of mine has been a bit taken out of Itself; cheered up a little, made some wrat more contented, and goes home feel ing happier perhaps than when It came in. If that may be true, or any part of It, I jim more than content." "By George," said tho interviewer suddenly, "you're co-author of 'it Pays to Advertise,' and we haven't said a thing a.-uut it" "No," said the author, "but we've used up more than a thousand words. So let's let it go that IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE UNDEJt COVER." . WBJrSc rKjsvSia&v&fc With Mr. Hodge in "The Road to the old horse, Senator; Henrietta, MB. HODGE has a dog In "Tho Road to Happiness." Not to mention a hen, a horse and a canary. But the dog is the main thing, because the dog makes Mr. Hodge feel quite Shakespearean, even though he Is playing "rube drama." "You see," says Mr. Hodgo, "it is like this: William Kempe was the leading comedian of Shakespeare's company. Kempe had a dog; his name was Crab, and bo the Bard wrote a part of him In 'Two Gentlemen of Verona.' Well, when Lawrence Whitman was writing 'The Road to Happiness' for me, he Insisted that my dog Shep should havo a part In the play. But Kempe's dog was evi dently not a dependable animal, for wo read In the stage direction, act 2, scene 3: 'Enter Laurence, leading a dog.' Laurence was one of Kempe's famous rdlcs; yet his dog Crab had moro to do than mere ly bo led about on the stage. Somo peo ple seem to think, by tho way, that the dog star in the theatrical firmament is an Innovation. This is hardly so, since it began with Shakespeare. "My dog Shep has been acting In 'The Road to Happiness' for threo years, and has never missed a rehearsal or a per formanceand now comes along Jasper in 'Young America, the latest New York success, and proves like Crab and Shep that the dog star Is something not to bo barked at This calls to mind tho fact that a dog, whether seen or spoken of in a play, Is of some consequence. Ask any dozen persons you meet whether Schnei der appeared with Joseph Jefferson in 'Rip Van Winkle,' and he will tell you that Schneider was there in person. Tho act is, however, that Mr. Jefferson never utilized a dog In the play. Mr. Jefferson was once asked why he did not havo a dog in the play and replied that ho 'disliked realism In art, and realism alive, with a tall to wag at the wrong time, would be abominable.' Asked If the pub lic would not like to see Schneider he bald, 'The public could not pay him a higher compliment, for It shows how great an Interest they take In an nnlmal that they have never seen exhibited.' "I am Informed, however, bv an old actor that when Charles Burke, Mr. Jef-J rerBOn's half-brother, appeared in 'Rip Van Winkle' In 1850 he made use of a dog. Impersonating Schneider. Another old actor also tells me that when Robert McWade appeared as Rip he also led forth poor Schneider In real life. These matters of fact I must leave to the theatrical 'sharp. There is no doubt, however, that when J. II. Hackett, the elder, appeared as Rip in 1839, Schneider was on view; that Is. Schneider's remains. When the elder Hackett woke up In the mountains the skeleton of Schneider was on view tied to a bush. "My old actor friends tell me that the dog atar enjoyed considerable popularity in the legitimate drama half a century ago. During the old days of the Bowery Theatre, E. L. Blanchard was a tremen dous favorite in a play called 'The Forest of Bondy; or, The Dog of Montargls.' This play, It appears, was not at all pop ular with the leading man, for It was .tho business of 'Tho Dog of Montargls" to dash at him in the last act and grab him by the throat A little later, when E. L. Davenport presented 'Oliver Twist' and appeared as Bill Sykes, he was ac companied by the redoubtable Bullseyc Then Lyn Harding also had a day it will be remembered by theatre-goers of our day that J. K. Emmett utilized In his various plays a strikingly handsome Newfoundland dog. The same Is true of Romany Rye, In which drama a New foundland dog was the protector of tho heroine. In Julia Marlowe's early pre sentation of Shakespeare's 'Much Aiin About Nothing- she made striking use of two Impressive greyhounds. "The dog star has come ;nore and more Into use during the last two or three seasons. The most Important utilization of a dog in a play up to the present sea son was when Laurette Taylor appeared Michael. Dog stars and dog acts, how &i Atttftfv fc i W .ftJkYAiJu.ittWa.i.M.KSA&SMwAttkaJ Happiness" appear Shop, the collie; the hen, and a canary named Dick. ever, have over been tremendously popu lar In vaudeville. Claude and Fanny Lshcr, with their dog Sparerlbs. have been the delight of vaudoville audiences for many years. We also have had In numerable Impersonators of dogs on the stage. One of tho best of the latter Is Alfred Latcll, in 'Hands Up,' at the Lyric. "There Is one advantage of employing dog stars. They are oblivious to favor able or unfavorable criticism and are not likely to suffer from megacephalla. Another thing, tho dog star Is not likely to cause trouble on account of his billing. I havo never known of one who did not prefer a blanket to a three sheet" And then the -bloodhounds In "Uncle Tom's Cabin." "The Musical Glasses" Reviews of all concerts which merit atten tion appear the following day In the reeUlar news columns of the Etknimo Lsiwib. Ai soon as the soanon is sufficiently advanced a calendar of events will bo published each Sat. urilay. For the present announcements are here Riven of concerts In the more or leaa distant future. The Philadelphia Orchestra concerts of Friday afternoon and Saturday evening, October 22 and 23, at tho Academy of Music will present the first soloist of the season in tho person of Josef Hofmann, pianist, who will play the Beethoven Concerto No. 5, in E flat, the so-called "Emperor" Concerto. Mr. Hofmann has appeared In Philadelphia with the orches tra no less than six times, playing con certos by Liszt, Rubinstein, Beethoven and Schumann. However, ho has not as yet appeared in the "Emperor" Concerto, which is rightly considered as the great est test of musicianship any pianist can undergo. Mr. Hofmann's popularity as a player wilt doubtless attract a large audience, Tho program of tho entire concert Is as follows: ' Tragic Overture Brahmi Piano Concerto No. 5, in E flat Beethoven Josef Hofmann. Symphony No. 1. In F Tschalkowikr Two organizations new to Philadelphia, IS IT TRUE TO LIFE? YOU CAN DECIDE AFTER TOD HAVE SEEN THIS FEATURE The Unwelcome Wife AT YOUR LOCAL THEATRE I ROOKED THROUOH THE I CJREAT EASTERN BOOKINO I OFFICE, 1237 VINE STREET, nilLA.. PA. WANTED ! Your Ideas for Photoplays and Stories! BIG REWARDS! No experience needed. We CRITICISE FRES and aubmlt to Leadlne Editors. Hundred! maklnjt money. (JET 11UBYI WRITE TO DAY for details. Story Revision Co. 70 MAIN- ' " " BMETHPORT. PA. , 1 -i- YK inm BJ -
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