23
WHEN IN BERLIN
please register at the office of the Musical Courier, Schel-ling Strasse 9, so that our correspondents throughout Europe can be of service and assistance to you wherever you may sing or play, or just visit.
fire department of Fontainebleau reports that the general installation of water on all the floors and of seventeen fire extinguishers has diminished the risk of fire to a point lower than it has ever been.
(3) It is asserted that the use of the Louis XV wing as a hospital for contagious diseases during the war and the failure to disinfect it since have rendered it unsanitary and therefore unfit for use as a school. In the first place, though the building was used as a hospital, no contagious cases were admitted. Secondly, it has been thoroughly cleaned, disinfected and overhauled generally. Mr. Casa-desus told a member of our committee that over 40,000 francs had been spent on new plumbing. There are baths with hot and cold water and modern toilet facilities. The French authorities met American requirements in every respect and converted an ancient palace into a thoroughly well equipped, well ventilated and commodious school building as free from “nauseating odor” as one could wish. The water of Fontainebleau, as shown by the name of the town, is famous for both its abundance and its purity. In the two summers of the life of the school there has been but little sickness of any sort and none that could be attributed to unhealthy living conditions.
I think I have shown that the attacks upon the conduct of our women students and upon the fitness of the famous old palace for use as a school of music are baseless and that the journals that have printed Mr. Casadesus’ letters or drawn their inspiration from him, have not taken the trouble to verify his charges. It is worth repeating that Mr. Casadesus’ hostility to the students and his disapproval of the use of the palace have been made public only since he was retired from the directorship.
As a matter of fact, it would be hard to imagine a more inspiring environment for a summer school of music, and all our alumni seem to feel this. American students, already well grounded in the science of their art, are privileged at a moderate cost to study under the best French masters and to absorb something of French culture, which is the flowering of one of the great civilizations of the world. That American students are alive to the value of the opportunity is evinced by an active Alumni Association of already more than one hundred and fifty members. In addition to the musical value of this international foundation, the first of its kind in history, is the strengthening thereby of the tie of sympathy between the citizens of the two sister republics. It is the unanimous feeling of the American committee whose function it is to enroll one hundred American students that the Fontainebleau School of Music is an institution of high ideals and high achievements and worthy of hearty support.
(Signed) Francis Rogers,
Chairman of the American Committee of the Fontainebleau School of Music.
MUSICAL COURIER
combined with sentiment and romancéis recorded in the case of Dr. Casey Wood, an American, who after traveling 15;000 miles has at last succeeded in satisfying his desire to hear a nightingale. Three times he crossed the Atlantic in search of the bird in England. This time, with the help of British ornithologists, he found one in Dorking. The bird regarded Dr. Casey with suspicion at first then warbled a bit in a low contralto, and finally sang for an hour. “The only thing that compares with it is the American mocking bird,” said Dr. Wood. The pleasing reward obtained by this persistent hunter of the beautiful is a charming proof that he who seeks shall find.
So the nightingale is one of the natural curiosities of Dorking! Another one is the watering trough in which Tony Weller forcibly immersed the Rev. Mr. Stiggins, to the great satisfaction and delight of his son, Samuel Weller. Is the trough still there? And if so, did Dr. Wood take pains to visit it? For us, though musical we are, it would have four times the interest of a whole flock of nightingales.
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FONTAINEBLEAU
Having read in French papers some very lurid statements about social and sanitary conditions at the Fontainebleau School of Music, the Musical Courier, disbelieving them, requested Francis Rogers, now the chairman of the American committee for that institution, to make a clear statement of the facts of the matter, which he has done in the following communication:
January 5, 1923.
To the Musical Courier :
A few weeks ago the Ministry of Fine Arts in France decided to make a change in the directorship of the Fon • tainebleau School of Music. The reasons for this change need not be gone into here; they are familiar to all the alumni of the school. The American committee of the school, feeling that all matters of administration in the school should be left entirely in the hands of the French authorities, had nothing to do with the making of this decision, although it also feels—-now more than ever that the decision was a wise one. The decision had hardly been made before stories, some anonymous and some signed by the retiring director, Mr. Francis Casadesus, but all probably from the same source, and all reflecting unfavorably on living conditions in the palace, began to appear in the French papers. These attacks have now reached our shores and the American committee is glad to avail itself of the proffered hospitality of your columns in order to show that these attacks have nothing behind _ them but malice. Several of the committee visited Fontainebleau last summer and one was a regularly enrolled student.
These attacks, so far as they are known to the American cimmittee, follow three lines:
(1)	It is asserted that the American women students burned with cigarettes and otherwise maltreated furniture of artistic and historic value in the palace. The answer to this assertion is that the Louis XV wing of the palace, in which classes are held and in Which most of the women students are lodged, is equipped with modern furniture only, inexpensive and substantial, as befits its purpose. All the furniture of historic and artistic value has been transferred to other parts of the palape where_ it may be visited only in the company of an official guardian. In this connection, it may be added that the American students at the school, both men and women, have shown themselves to be an exceptionally serious and well-balanced group of young people Until his retirement, Mr. Casadesus had only words of praise for their standards of industry and conduct.
(2)	It is asserted that the use of the palace as a school, in addition to being generally deleterious, has, by reason of the installation of electricity, greatly increased the danger from fire. An official investigation, recently made, has shown that the making of many lost postponed repairs of all kinds has put the Louis , XV wing into better condition than it has been in. for many a long year. Further, the
MANCHESTER HAS ABUNDANT MUSIC THIS YEAR
January 11, 1923
tice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and he delivers himself of the following:
The other day my dream was pictured to my mind. It was evening. I was walking homeward on Pennsylvania avenue near the Treasury, and as I looked beyond Sherman’s statute to the West the sky was aflame with scarlet and crimson from the setting sun. But like the note of downfall in Wagner’s opera, below the skyline there came from little globes the pallid discord of the electric light, and I thought to myself the Götterdämmerung will end, and from those globes clustered like evil eggs will come the new masters of the sky. It is like the time in which we live. But then I remembered the faith which I partly have expressed, faith in a universe not measured by our fears, a universe that has thought and more than thought inside of it, and as I gazed, after the sunset and above the electric lights, there shone the stars.
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“The Polish dance is the most graceful in the world,” says an editorial, “and the whole nation dances expertly.” Maybe so, but just now the Poles appear to be bumping into each other and getting their feet all mixed up.
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One reason why America takes so long to become musical is that its male citizens summon up more enthusiasm about the ninth inning than about the Ninth symphony, and they far prefer short-stopping to double-stopping.
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J. P. F. suggests that a moratorium be established for certain too-oft played compositions at piano recitals and adds: “I start off the list with Beethoven’s op. Ill sonata. What’s next?” We would have no objection to the disappearance of Franck’s chorale, prelude and fugue for awhile, or forever.
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M.	Victor	Marguerite’s	name	has	been	struck
from the rolls of the Legion of Honor because he wrote an indecent book. In commenting on the news,	the	Morning	Telegraph	says,	“So	this	is
William Hodge has just done a new play in Chicago, and the Tribune’s critic in that city wrote: “I don’t mind admitting that I left the La Salle Theater last evening in tears.” This prompts a jester in the same journal to quote a synopsis of critical opinions from the other Chicago papers:
“Ash Stevens was crying so hard when he came in from the show last night he could not write a word.”—Chiherex. “Doc. Hall was so affected by the new show he was unable to write, and although he tried to dictate _ his review, his heartrending sobbing made his words unintelligible.”—Chieve-journal. “Miss Leslie could not return to the office last night after seeing a new performance but is still standing outside the theater weeping bitterly”—Chidailnooze. “Our Mr. Collins, in attempting to write his review of tie opening last night of the latest Broadway success to visit these parts became so grief-stricken that he disappeared and has not been seen since. The police are dragging the lake.”— Chievepost.
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lhe Fascisti have a hymn called Carmtcia in era (Black Shirt). One must hope that it is long enough.
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“Dazie” communicates on crested note paper: “When I heard a lady singing Handel’s O, Sleep, Why Dost Thou Leave Me ? I felt like telling her to visit Dr. Coue, who cures that sort of thing.”
H *
But Few Novelties—Flonzaley Quartet, Casals, Bauer and Other Artists Acclaimed—Halle Concerts More Popular
have ever heard, seeming almost incredible for a girl of twenty-five. Suggia and Casals have both done well, the former playing the Schumann concerto and a sonata by Valentin¡, and the latter the Lalo concerto and an adagio and allegro by Bocherini.
The pianists have been Lamond and Bauer, the latter giving a fine performance of Mozart’s concerto in A major. It is many years since this supreme artist visited Manchester and he was welcomed back again with open arms. The only violinist so far has been Isolde Menges, who played the Tschaikowsky concerto and the adagio and fugue from Bach’s G minor solo sonata.
Of large choral works we have heard Verdi’s Requiem, the Berlioz Te Deum and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, and these have had the usual cordial response. On the other hand, Stanford’s new Irish rhapsody only made _ a fair impression on the audience. Strauss’ Bourgeois Gentil-homme suite, about which I wrote rather disparagingly last year, was done again, and after hearing it a second time, with the instruments so placed that one got a better idea of the ensemble effects, it made an excellent impression. At the same concert, Delius’ Dance Rhapsody, not a novelty, but well worth mentioning, came to us like a fragrant breath of summer.
Petrouchka was performed in its entirely on November 23, the piano part being ably executed by Arnold Perry, but the concert room is not the place for a work of this calibre, and Stravinsky’s subtleties were lost on the dull audience. The most interesting music is to be performed after Christmas, and it is looked forward to with great pleasure, as that which has been given during the first half of the season has been of a phlegmatic nature.
Hamilton Harty and the Halle Orchestra have, of course, been the executants at all the concerts and, but for a few unnecessary gestures and tricks, things have gone well.
Eric Fogg.
Manchester, December 16,—Manchester has been besieged ith concerts of all kinds during the last three months— ano, vocal, violin and cello recitals, chamber concerts of rery description and orchestral concerts.
Chief among the chamber concerts have been the two ■ries inaugurated by Edward Isaacs, and Hamilton Harty id the Catterall Quartet. At the first concert of the tter the Flonzaley Quartet made its first appearance in [anchester and played works by Goossens (Fantasy Quar-t), Schubert and Beethoven. Its performance was so ^rfect that it seemed to be almost mechanical in its pre-sion, and one would have welcomed a little more individual lontaneity on the part of the players.	.
On December 4 the Catterall Quartet was heard in quarts by Pizzetti, Gretchaninoff and Mozart. The attendance as been good, but a larger one will be necessary if the laintenance of these concerts is to be upheld. Mr. Isaacs as bravely ventured to develop the music of Manchester nd should be supported in every way.
The series founded by Hamilton Harty and the Catterall )uartet is also intended to further the music of Manchester, et so far no new music has been given and one feels that body of players like this should give us some of the niportant modern works of the day instead of filling the !rograms with music which, though first-rate_ in its way, as been heard often before. The only exception has been he Brahms clarinet sonata in F minor, beautifully played !y Harry Mortimer, which has not been heard here since he days of the Gentlemen’s Concerts.
Halle Concerts More Popular.
The Halle Concerts Society has done_ better this year than ever before, from an audience’s point of view. At the opening concert on October 19, Florence Austral, the young Australian singer, sang in a Wagner prograrn with remarkable success. She has one of the biggest voices I
The Right Rev. Charles D. Williams, Bishop of Michigan, accuses Americans of paganism, of what he calls “jazzitis”---“jazzitis musical and moral, the characteristic disease of many of our youth.” Youthful Americans might accuse the R. R. of a bit of sensationalism in his pulpit thundering. *
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In a magazine story one reads: “He drank in greedily the intoxicating strains of Strauss’ Blue Danube waltz.” The date of the magazine, Everybody’s, was January, 1913, B. P. Before Prohibi-
As Russian rubles now are at 57,000,000 to the dollar, a subscription in that country to the Musical Courier would cost exactly 342,000,000 rubles, and it ought to be worth it to the Russians.
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Nilly—“Do you like Bach’s suites?”
Willy—“I prefer Huyler’s.”
Leonard Liebling.

NIGHTINGALES.
This is from the Christian Science Monitor:
Large sums are paid in salaries to operatic “songbirds.” Lovers of music have often traveled many miles and spent much money to hear those singers. That quest is inspired fundamentally by the universal love of the beautiful accentuated to a considerable extent by the urge of fashion and “sensation.” A greater search for beauty of sound