March 22,1923
MUSICAL COURIER
50
Godowsky Writes from the Far East
A letter which will be of great interest to Musical Courier readers has just been received from Leopold Godowsky, the pianist, and Mrs. Godowsky, who are now touring in Japan, China, the Dutch East Indies and other Far Eastern countries. It reads as follows:
After the tour in Japan, where I played ten recitals, we went via Seoul (Korea) and Mukden (Manchuria) to Harbin, which is a characteristically Russian town, only about five hundred miles from Vladivostok (Siberia). Here I played four recitals with tremendous success. Harbin is a city of about 800,000 with a population of about 200,000 Russians, the rest, mostly Chinese. From Harbin we went to Tientsin _ and Peking (China) where I shall play on my return trip from China and Japan.
Of all the cities we have thus far seen on our far Eastern trip, Peking is by far the most outstanding marvel, the equal of any of the great sights I have seen in my life. Tientsin is also a huge busy impressive commercial city, with a large white population in the part of the town which consists of the various European nationalities living in the concessions of the different countries, squeezed out of moribund China.
Nowhere on earth can one observe so well the grabbing proclivities and shameless robberies of the European governments as in the concessions of the Chinese cities to the white people. However, it is most interesting to wander in a town and see bits of England, France, Japan and formerly Germany, Austria and Russia, etc., in addition to Chinatown, which is always Huge and like a beehive. The giant China has an estimated population of about four hundred and forty millions—the United States scarcely one-fourth of this population.
We arrived in Shanghai—the New York of the Orient—on December 26. I played three recitals there, December 27, January 6 and January 9. The concerts were a wonderful success and we had excellent houses. This is so far the only real metropolis we have been in since we left New York. These Chinese cities might easily be a part of London or some other big city. The life, shops, the busy streets, the big buildings, the cosmopolitan crowds, all contribute to an impression of internationalism.
We will leave on January 14 for Manila, where I am engaged to play several recitals. From there we go to Hongkong, where I play three recitals, and on the thirty-first we sail for Singapore, a five day voyage by the fastest boat. I shall give a recital in Singapore and then we go to Batavia, Java (Dutch East Indies), where we will remain about four weeks, as I am booked there for twenty concerts.
From Java we will return to Hongkong about the middle of March and I shall play return engagements there and also in Peking and Tientsin between March 23 and 30.
Then we shall go directly to Japan where I have a return engagement of ten concerts. These concerts will be given within three weeks and we will sail for America early in May, stopping to play several concerts in Honolulu. We will spend several weeks in Los Angeles and will probably not arrive in New York until the end of May.
The Japanese are lovers of music and eager to assimilate western art. They have an intuitive feeling for anything that is beautiful and true and deep. I am amazed at their receptivity. Japan will soon be a mecca for artists. It is a beautiful country full of fine scenery. The climate and weather are less praiseworthy at this time of the year. The houses are not heated and one suffers from the lack of warmth and comfort. From the cities I have seen, I like best from a tourist’s standpoint, Mora and Kyota. They are the most interesting, unique and picturesque. The scenery, temples, shrines, pagodas and gates, monuments, lanterns, etc., and the tame deer walking the streets of Mara are most fascinating sights. Yokohama and Kobe are the great harbors of Japan. They are both very busy ports, very European, with a large white population. Tokyo is the capital of the Empire politically, but Osaka is the commercial metropolis. Tokyo has between three and four millions of inhabitants while Osaka has close to two millions.
Hongkong is the most beautiful place I have seen in the Orient, while Canton is the most original. There is nothing like it anywhere. There has recently been a great deal of fighting in the streets of Canton by the two rival armies, and many people have been killed. Imagine a city of two and a half million inhabitants, yelling, cursing, hurrying, bargaining in the narrowest streets on earth in filth. Every corner over-crowded with pedestrians, sedan chairs, rik-shas, people eating, working, shaving, etc. The shops, however, are very wonderful. The whole town is a riot in picturesqueness and grotesqueness. In the middle of all this nightmare there is an island called Shameen, which is ravishingly beautiful, owing to the enormous contrast. It is like an oasis in a desert which gladdens the heart and cheers the soul. It is the English and French settlement, called in the East, “concessions.”
We will be glad to be on United States soil once more. The Far East is good for a visit and most interesting, but for progressive minds the Western world is more congenial.
A Busy 1923 for Amy Ellerman
1923 has started as a very busy new year for Amy Ellerman, contralto. Being a versatile artist there are many different phases of activity in the singing art to create a demand for her services. She has an excellent recording voice and is engaged by several of the phonograph companies for making records. Miss Ellerman holds one of the best church positions in New York, being soloist at the Old First Presbyterian Church, of which Dr. William C. Carl is organist. Besides the oratorios given at her church, Miss Ellerman’s oratorio appearances this season have included Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Parker’s Hora Novissima, Verdi’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Gaul’s Holy City, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Mendelssohn’s St. Paul.
On March 2 Miss Ellerman sang at the annual concert of the New York Caledonian Club at the Commodore Hotel, before an audience of 2,800. On April 5 she is booked for The Elijah at Southampton, and on April 10 she will sing at the Pennsylvania Hotel for the Merchants’ Managers’ Association.
Cecil Arden to Sing in Washington
Cecil Arden, of the Metropolitan Opera Company, is to sing for the 321st Continental Congress of the D. A. R., on April 21 at Memorial Hall, Washington, D. C.
distinction, through the aid it can afford to ambitious and sincere artists, favoring Americans first.
The newly elected officers for the coming year are: President, George E. Shea; vice-presidents, Louis J. Sajous and Helena A. Pino; recording secretary, Agnes D. Melvin; corresponding secretary, Gertrude M. Beckley; treasurer, Irvin F. Randolph; five executive committee members, Miguel Castellanos, Clara A. Korn, Elizabeth Sajous, Georgina Southwick and Robert M. Treadwell.
Moussorgsky Music at the Brick Church.
Clarence Dickinson, Mus. Doc., planned and gave a program of music by Moussorgsky, assisted by Lawrence Tib-bet, baritone, and Bruno Steinke, cellist, at his March 11 hour of music at the Brick Church. This music, much of it highly original and rhythmical, brought many unusual moments. Much enjoyed was the Oriental melody (Milligan) and A Tear, both for cello. My Little Room, also Silently Floated a Spirit, as well as a Lullaby, all these were well sung by Baritone Tibbet. Organ numbers included Kiev Processional, The Ox Cart, The Seamstress, Crimean Sketch and Gopak, some of these sounding most spontaneous, even wild in Dr. Dickinson’s playing. March 16 a Massenet program was given.
A MacDowell program will be given at the Friday noon hour of music at the Brick Church, March 23, by Dr. Clarence Dickinson, with Edna Indermaur, contralto, and Mabel Farrar, violinist.
Sacred Music at St. John the Divine.
March 18 a special service, which included liturgical and other sacred music, was given by the choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Miles Farrow, organist and choirmaster. David Mannes and Channing Lefebvre played the opening prelude for violin and organ, consisting of an adagio and air by Bach. At the offertory Franck's Blessed He (from The Beatitudes) was sung, and further choral numbers were by Vittoria, Allegri and Palestrina. The Dresden Amen concluded the program, on which was printed. considerable information regarding the music.
Reed Miller Stands Out in Pittsburgh.
“Reed Miller stands out as one of the most intelligent singers of the season. He has a tenor voice of highly superior quality, eminently fitted to the part in Gerontius, and he handles it with skill. He offers one of the rare and gratifying examples of those whose art is above mere vocalization. In the most comprehensive sense of the word he is an interpreter, one of the highest calibre. Singers who can reach an audience in such a part as Mr. Miller did last night are rare indeed.” Such was the verdict of the music editor of the Pittsburgh Post, after Reed Miller’s appearance with the Mendelssohn Choir.
Southland Singers’ Card Party and Dance.
The Southland Singers, Emma A. Dambmann president, gave a card party, musicale and dance at the Hotel Plaza, March 16. Useful and attractive prizes were offered for each table. The musical program was furnished by Helene Eagan, Marion Ross, Helen Day, Viola Bryan and Adelaide Malry, all of whom gave much pleasure in their singing. For those who did not play cards there was dancing, and altogether a most enjoyable evening was spent.
Grace Liddane at Washington High School.
Grace Liddane, soprano, assisted Organist Goldsworthy at his recital March 18, in Washington Irving High School, singing songs by modern composers in most satisfactory way. This soprano is fast becoming widely known as a singer of superiority.
Kriens Symphonists in Plainfield.
The sixth concert, third season, of the Plainfield Symphony Society, Christiaan Kriens conductor, at the High School Auditorium, Plainfield, March 12, was a notable local event, containing Haydn’s second symphony, ballet suite from The Queen of Sheba (Goldmark) ; Merry Wives of Windsor overture (Nicolai), and Kriens’ own Creole march; beside these orchestral numbers, Vida Llewellyn Livezey, pianist, played the Schumann concerto. Nearly one hundred members, both sexes, make up this efficient orchestra, the president of which is G. W. V. Moy.
Cadman’s New Opera
Word has been received by the Musical Courier to the effect that Charles Wakefield Cadman has just finished a new opera, entitled Witch of Salem, The work most likely will be produced in one of the big opera houses in America next winter.
People’s Symphony Society Concert
The third Friday evening chamber music concert of the People’s Symphony Society will be held at the Washington Irving High School, March 23.
GOTHAM GOSSIP
National Organists’ Executive Committee Meets.
R. L. McAll, as chairman, called tne executive committee of the National Association of Organists for a meeting on March 12, during the recent storm; nevertheless there were present eight faithful members, namely Kate Elizabeth Fox, Messrs. McAll; Doane, Nevins, Sammcnd, Adams, Dr. Russell and Riesberg. Treasurer Doar.e reported $1,664.56 cash on hand and all bills paid. (Fine!)	Secretary
Nevins reported a membership of nearly 1,000, and all present said “A lot of interest is expressed everywhere.” Mr. Doane will give a recital in California in June under the auspices of the united three State guilds; recital programs from various members were passed around; convention matters relating to the August 28-31 meeting were considered, and plans well formulated.
Two letters from Chairman Gleason of Rochester were read, one of them containing Mr. Eastman’s offer of the theater and orchestra for an evening (the N. A. O. to furnish the soloist) ; he also invited the members to his beautiful home. Organists who will give recitals, already planned, are Healy Willan (Canada), Gleason, Sears, Noble, Delamarter and Christian (the last two of Chicago), and there will be a moving picture with special organ demonstration by d’Antalffy and Adams, round table discussions, etc. Messrs. Nevins and Riesberg were named as the committee on publicity, and, although this convention is five months distant, it appears that Chairman McAll and his coworkers already have matters well in hand.
At New York’s Music Week, April 29-May 5, the N. A. O., in association with the Society of Theater Organists, will have charge of recitals in the Wanamaker auditorium, Courboin and an ensemble giving the recital of April 30, Doane and his choir that of May 5, Hammond of Rochester playing the film music May 2, etc. The N. A. O. and_ S. T. 6׳. will have charge of Mauro-Cottone’s special moving picture, with recital by this organist, at the Capitol Theater on the morning of April 5, when Manager Rothafel will also deliver an address.
“I guess we will muddle through somehow,” said Chairman McAll, but anyone can see there is no muddling in his well considered and carefully developing plans.
Joint Recital of the Brothers Gehrken.
The joint recital of George A. and Warren Gehrken, A. A. G. O., violinist and organist, respectively, at St. Luke’s Protestant Episcopal Church, Brooklyn, revealed the brothers in close touch because of musical association, their fine conception of the numbers rendered, and their mastery of technic, comparing well with any organ recitals given throughout Greater New York. An excellent feature of the program is the knowledge conveyed in prints of the composers and compositions, bringing the audience closer to the subject; each hearer has a better conception of the thought expressed. Handel’s sonata in D, for violin ; Bach’s fantasie and fugue in G minor, for organ; Beethoven’s romance in F, for violin, and Faulkes’ concert overture in E flat; Godowsky’s Valse Macabre, Meditation from Thais, Paganini’s Praeludium and Allegro, Souvenir (Gehrken), and Hochstein’s arrangement of Brahms’ waltz in A major, were the violin numbers. Warren Gehrken’s composition appears to be a Hongrois Capriccioso, with its light whimsical theme, followed by contrasting mood, and return to the first theme. It was a worthy number, and was finely rendered by his brother. Warren Gehrken gave Elegie (Massenet), Rondo Française (Boellman), and Keep Me From Sinking Down (Diton), Within a Chinese Garden (Stoughton) and Marche Russe (Schmimke). The Negro spiritual, Oriental music and Russian march made a contrasting and characteristic group, and was brought out vividly and realistically on the organ.
Fraternal Association of Musicians’ Election.
The annual dinner and election of the Fraternal Association of Musicians on February 27, at the Lyons restaurant, brought out a goodly number of members and guests. The presiding officer, George E. Shea, was as always a genial host, and at the close of the dinner introduced the business of the evening, and announced the result. An animated discussion followed, led by Louis G. Stillman, newly appointed chairman of program, concerning ways and means to enlarge and diversify the programs. Louis Sajous spoke of the past of the association, its influence, and the dignity of its aims. The occasion was interesting from a reminiscent point, as the organization is now a dozen years old, with a list of officers who built well for its usefulness, a constantly growing membership, with new additions of prominent musicians, and an outlook for a future of continued
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