MUSICAL COURIER
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June 7, 19 2 3
only reliable evidence we have is the fact that Caruso was able to sing in a way not attained by any other singer, and that he was able to do so for more than twenty-five years. Is other proof necessary?
There is something so particularly distasteful about this standing in the shadow of a great name, which smacks of the lurid hoardings advertising creams and lotions under the endorsement of a famous beauty. That such methods should have invaded a profession which is supposed to be dedicated to art is to be deplored, indeed.
Sokoloff Makes a Hit in London
Nicolai Sokoloff, conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, achieved a great success on conducting his first concert with the London Symphony Orchestra, at Queen’s Hall, on May 17. A special cable to the Cleveland Plain Dealer told the story of the concert.
Parts of this are reproduced here by permission:
Sokoloff experienced tonight in historic Queen’s Hall the greatest point of his career, an international ovation, after he had conducted the London Symphony orchestra before an audience that represented the highest artistic life of England.
Few American artists, and no American conductor, were ever greeted so enthusiastically as was Sokoloff after his concert. Recalled repeatedly for encores, the conductor finally was received with the audience standing. Personal salutations came to him from England’s musical representatives and from members of the American colony.
The American charge d’affairs, Post Wheeler, led his party and members of the American colony back stage to offer congratulations to the Cleveland conductor. One critic, in an after-theater paper, referred to Sokoloff as “a giant among conductors.”
Immediately following the ovation, the directors of the London orchestra announced they had offered the conductor a second engagement for June 11 and a third next February. Mr. Sokoloff accepted.
There was a double interest in the American’s appearance in London, first in the enthusiasm he aroused among British critics last summer, when he conducted the London Symphony at the Welsh festival in Ammanford, and, secondly, in the comparison with the veteran leader, Felix Weingartner, conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra, who has been leading the London Symphony this month.
Weingartner for two decades has been one of the great musical figures of Europe and it was a daring bit of program-making the young American essayed. He gave his international audience Brahms’ first symphony, a work with which London has been familiar through the interpretations of Arthur Nikisch, Hans Richter and Albert Coates.
The exotic Oriental Impressions of Henry Eichheim, Chicago composer, were introduced to musical London by Sokoloff. Carefully wrought transcriptions from ancient Korean, Chinese and Siamese melodies, they were beautifully rendered and glowingly received.
Mr. Sokoloff rested his success on the shoulders of the veteran musicians of the London orchestra. They gave him everything they had. The men have great admiration for the young American and they played with their hearts following his baton.
A distinct honor came to Mr. Sokoloff when it developed during rehearsals that only one marimba existed in all London. That was owned by the Queen’s Hall orchestra. But Sir Henry Wood turned over the precious instrument to the American conductor, with his compliments.
The Cleveland conductor will leave London for Paris this week. There he will be formally tendered an invitation to the desk of the Pasdeloup orchestra, the great symphony of Paris.
Young Musicians’ Guild to Meet Weekly
The Young Musicians’ Guild, Inc., is offering to music students in New York an opportunity for social activity, where they may meet and make friends as well as demonstrate their own talent.
Meetings are held every Thursday evening at 8 :30 o’clock m the Knabe warerooms, Fifth avenue and Thirty-ninth street. Information may be obtained from Muriel Anderson, chairman secretarial committee, 357 West 115th street, New; York.
ADA SODER-HUECK,
the ־New York vocal teacher and coach, who will hold master classes at her Metropolitan Opera House studios for teachers and artists, beginning June 18 and ending July 28.
THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF CARUSO’S NAME
By William A. C. Zerffi
Copyrighted, 1923, by The Musical Courier Company.
(let us be vulgarly indefinite) throat trouble and made his final appearance of the season on February 6, 1911. The opera was Germania and the tenor had to stop after the performance. . . . Mr. Caruso was not heard again until the opening of the following season, November 13. . . . The misfortunes of Caruso in the season of 1910-1911 were not his first. In the spring of 1909 he was in difficulties. He sang Des Grieux in Manon on February 26 and was found to be in bad condition. He sang in the same opera on March 4 and then disappeared from the stage until April 3 when he sang Turiddu with a shaky voice and many cut phrases. Curiously enough it was at this period that observers of operatic activities were making mention of Mr. Caruso’s deliberate alteration of style and method and expressing the fear that his beautiful quality of voice might suffer.”
Mr. Henderson then quoted from his review of the performance of February 26 regarding which he made the following comment: “Mr. Caruso was not in his best voice and at times his tones were a trifle shaky. But he is an artist and he has much power behind his voice. It is a pity that he has of late evinced a fondness for extension of the medium register and has striven to carry a big broad quality too far up. This has done his voice no good and it has robbed his singing of much of the crystalline transparency which was one of its greatest charms.”
There was such an amount of discussion of Mr. Caruso’s vocal state that his physician, the late Dr. Holbrook Curtis, issued a statement tending to reassure the tenor’s admirers. Mr. Henderson then quoted from an address given by him before the New York Academy of Medicine when he said the following: “Since that time the deterioration of the most beautiful tenor voice this writer has ever heard has steadily continued until at the conclusion of the recent season, 1908-1909, it no longer sounded like the voice we welcomed seven years ago. The true cause of this deterioration is forcing. Mr. Caruso was not satisfied to be a lyric tenor. He desired to shine as an interpreter of robust roles. In order to accomplish this purpose he sought to make his voice larger. His method was to broaden and thicken the middle register. Instead of keeping his upper middle tones light so that they would naturally blend into his head tones, he carried the thick quality up as far as he could force it.”
Let it be well remembered that these comments are all made with clear reference to Caruso’s method of voice production, and can in no way be taken as a disparagement of his artistry in singing. It is only to be deplored that it should ever be necessary to refer to them, but in view of the numerous attempts which are being made to commercialize so great a name, it• is only just and proper to do so.
As a matter of fact the whole system of seeking to discover the methods of great men, whether they be singers or otherwise, is largely futile. Those who are phenomenally gifted are able to violate rules and traditions by reason of their superlative equipment, and to endeavor to prove that ',Caruso’s greatness as a singer was due to the employment off "sotne particular method of voice production is to manifest a faulty appreciation of the facts which governed such achievements.' Methods by which ordinary individuals accomplish their tasks are not discovered nor founded upon the experiences or technic of the occasional genius, but are reached by a study of־ the problem in the light of ordinary experience. The very fact that a Caruso appears so seldom despite attempted employment of methods supposed to be identical, is proof enough that the method is secondary to the man. It has been suggested that Caruso’s larynx was not unusual in any way, nor did his throat possess unusual features. What superficial reasoning in the face of the fact that unusual features must have existed and were proved to have existed by virtue of his tremendous vocal powers. Further, how could an examination of the larynx reveal t-he structure of the cords and the muscles which actuated those cords and the extent of the exceptional co-ordination of the organ ? Actual examination of the structure of the tissue could only have been made post mortem, and the observation of the muscles which produce the voice is never possible while the subject is actually singing. Therefore, the
With Caruso’s death there passed from the world of music one of the greatest, perhaps even the greatest singer of all time, and the world-wide interest which his illness engendered, and which was followed by such keen sorrow at his death, proved only too clearly how phenomenal a hold he had upon the affections of the whole world.
Unfortunately, however, the matter of his unique career has been and still is being used for purposes which cannot be otherwise described or interpreted than as purely commercial, and the name so revered by all is serving as a cloak to cover a variety of vocal methods, which, evidently being not sufficient unto themselves, need to lean upon some such support as this famous name would give them. The writer is convinced that this state of affairs can only be regretted by those who seek to further the art of singing, and the situation is serious enough to warrant the bringing out of facts which will make the fallacy of this method of advertising clear.
The most trenchant point which stands out in the face of statements from those who claim to have intimate knowledge of how Caruso produced his tones, is the fact that until his death what could be legitimately described as a “Caruso Method” did not exist, or at least had not been given out to the public. Those who view the matter objectively can hardly fail to regard it as remarkable, that if Caruso^ possessed a secret of voice production which would revolutionize the singing world, he made so little mention of it, and seemingly made no attempt to preserve it for posterity.
Caruso s art was so great as to be above the question of praise or blame as far as his singing went, but those who followed his career know that his vocal method was not such as to make his career free from the difficulties which assail other singers who are less phenomenal, and the fact that he conquered them must not be taken to prove that they did not exist.
The writer has taken the liberty of quoting freely from an article by W. J. Henderson in the New York Herald of December 19, 1920, which will clearly prove the above contentions. Mr. Henderson’s position in the musical world is such as to free him from any suggestion of carping criticism and the facts which he so clearly sets forth are such as cannot be denied. After discussing the accident which befell the great tenor in Brooklyn in 1920 and which was the cause of so much concern to Caruso’s friends and admirers, Mr. Henderson, in a brief review of the tenor’s career, mentioned some of the vocal difficulties which he encountered during his life time. He said: “Caruso fell a victim to
Mgt. Universal Concert Bureau, Inc.
The American Contralto with International Fame
CAHIER
“Mme. Cahier is one of the finest artists that America has produced. She unites a lovely voice with perfect and most subtle comprehension of the mus e she interprets. I shall never forget her rendering of Berlioz ‘La Captive.’ It was perfection.” —Walter Damrosch.
BALDWIN PIANO USED
17 East 42d Street, New York City
Press Comment Appearing in the “MESS AG ERO” Rome, Italy, March 3rd, 1923
VECSEY’S
Triumphal Success at the Costanzi
It is not enough to be possessed of the gift of artistic intuition, the very intricate technique of either a string or key instrument in order to conquer an audience and lift it to the highest degree of enthusiasm and feeling; it is necessary that from the artist’s whole being there radiate that irresistible and often inexplicable something which fascinates the audience. Hubermann, Flesch, Kreisler, Serato are, no doubt, wonderful violin virtuosi— but they do not exert on the masses that intoxicating and uplifting suggestion of which today only VECSEY can boast. That is why it would be useless to devote to him a more or less studied criticism which would, perhaps, attain the opposite effect of turning down and cooling the divine enthusiasm of the crowd which fills with joy one’s own body and soul. Last night at the Costanzi Theatre a new soul was vibrating, the soul of music, which is the eternal essence of beauty, and the form of music, whether by Tartini or Vieuxtemps, by Respighi or Chopin, by Sarasate or Paganini, whether u^ly or not, inspired or not, learned or not, became of secondary importance before the imagery and feeling doe solely to VECSEY’S wonderful bowing. And last night, Vecsey, who has for some time been an ardent lover of Italy, poured into the thirsty soul of the audience the purest flow of his geniality.
Immeasurable were the applause, ovations and shouts for encores. Only the fact that VECSEY is to reappear at the Costanzi next Monday served to assuage the gen ?ral unrequitedness.
Management of R. E. JOHNSTON	1451 Broadway, New York City
KNABE PIANO
FERENC VECSEY
Renowned Violinist