MUSICAL COURIER
34
June 14, 1923
Ted Shawn Flies Over the Sahara
Ted Shawn, who has just finished his tour of Northern Africa, on his arrival in Naples, cabled his wife, Ruth St. Denis, that he had made a thrilling flight by aeroplane across the Sahara Desert from Biskra, “The Garden of Allah.” Mr. Shawn has reported in recent letters that he has gathered a wealth of material for the performances to be given by him, Miss St. Denis and the Denishawn
TED SHAWN IN SPAIN.
(1) Ted Shaivn in front of an old Spanish house in Madrid, which is to he reproduced as a background for an enlarged Spanish suite in next season’s repertory of Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn and the Denishawn Dancers. (2) In Seville, Spain.
Dancers. While in Spain he engaged a native instructor who gave him an entirely new repertory of Spanish dances. The Spanish section of the Denishawn programs this past season was perhaps the most popular of all, and it will be welcome news to the many admirers of these noted dancers, that many new Spanish features will be added the coming season.
In addition to the new dances, Mr. Shawn is bringing back authentic costumes and properties which undoubtedly will greatly enhance the attractiveness of the performances to come. A good part of this material he has gathered in Tunis and Algiers, as A Night in an Algerian Coffee House with its attendant series of Oriental dances, will be one of next season’s novelties.
Haggerty-Snell’s Pupils Please
Among the many pupils of Ida Haggerty-Snell who have recently attracted attention, mention must be made of Mrs. MacAtamney, whose beautiful contralto voice and charming personality won for her much admiration and many engagements. Boyd Hanchett, baritone, won laurels at a recent concert, and her piano pupil, Elizabeth Clark, has become quite a favorite wherever heard. Miss Clark possesses talent which enables her to present her various solos in a fascinating manner.
Vreeland Audiences Need No Word Books
The music critic on the Evening Telegram, Syracuse, N. Y., takes time and space to especially praise the diction of Jeannette Vreeland, soprano, and following her recent two-day engagement there with the Cleveland Orchestra, writes of her voice: “It is remarkable for its clarity of expression and purity of enunciation. Miss Vreeland can be followed all through her songs without reference to the program.” Songs with words, not songs without words, are what audiences want.
Different Tastes
“Why have you two radios in the house?” asked the visitor.
“Well, mother is strong for grand opera and I enjoy a musical comedy,” answered the head of the house.
schools for pupils of exceptional talent—public schools of music, national conservatories where other studies are taught but subordinated to the main issue.
I once read the following argument on Americanization: “We’re tired of these foreigners. We want American musicians in our orchestras.” “Impossible,” said the other, “You can have Americans or you can have musicians but not both.” I forgave the slur because of the humor. Of course there are plenty of Americans who are musicians and they deserve all credit because they are seriously handicapped at home.
Let us tirelessly agitate until people realize that for the talent a musical education is as vital as the three R’s, and the commonwealth owes them a chance. National conservatories with competent teachers and no political entanglements are quite as important as the tariff and the bonus. Business has had its fling these last few years and made a pretty muddle of it. Let us see what art and idealism can do.
Van Vliet Recovering
Cornelius Van Vliet, the cellist, who was prevented from sailing recently for Bermuda because of a fall from his horse while riding in Central Park, which resulted in seri-
IN RESPONSE
to many inquiries
Alberto Jonas
the renowned Spanish Piano Virtuoso and Pedagogue, teacher of many famous pianists, announces that he
Never Accepts Pupils During the Summer
Mr. and Mrs. Alberto Jonas’ summer address is:
Wagner Platz No. 6, Berlin-Friedenau, Germany
Alberto Jonas reopens his New York Studio on OCTOBER 1st at
19 WEST 85th STREET
Applications may be sent in now to insure acceptance for next fall.
Five Assistants for Beginners and advanced pupils.
Address: Secretary of Alberto Jonas, 19 West 85th St., New York, N. Y.
ous injury, will soon leave for Lake Mohonk in order to regain his strength and health. An X-ray examination showed that he had a blood-clot on his head which will take six weeks to cure.
Carolyn Alehin at Berkeley
Carolyn Alehin, the well known specialist on theoretical subjects, with the assistance of a teacher-pupil, will conduct all of the harmony and ear training classes at the Summer Session of the University of California in Berkeley. Two of her teachers will have charge of the same work at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and two others will teach at the Summer Session of the Pennsylvania Training School for Supervisors which is directed by Dr. Hollis Dann.
Despite the demands for teaching, Miss Alehin has taken the time to write another book, Keyboard Harmony, which will be published in three parts. The work is planned to precede or parallel the study of harmony, also for those who want a general knowledge of the subj ect without technical details and the labor of writing. Like her other books, the material is very interesting and very practical. Part 1 is expected from the press early in June.
MUSICAL EDUCATION
By Alexander Bloch
“You can’t kill a talent” is a remark often heard, and like all ready-made phrases it has a sound of finality about it that seems to close the argument. One grows so accustomed to a set combination of words that any variation gives the brain a jog. To mention a few: “Honesty is the best policy” (forgetting that many an honest man has not enough to eat—and I can’t imagine that his spiritual satisfaction is sufficient compensation); “Where there’s smoke there’s a fire” (sometimes the smoke is only a smoke screen) ; “Early to bed, early to rise, etc.” (How about buring the midnight oil?) All these and a hundred other sayings have worn deep grooves in our consciousness, and our ideas run smoothly along these lines of least resistance. Anyone who stops to think can make out a pretty good case for the other side, but we have acquired the habit of swallowing these pat phrases in pill-like doses. It is unfortunate because often these doses are plain dope—generally harmful dope that stultifies our intellect. “War for democracy,” “War to end war,” “Blessed are the poor,” etc.
“You can’t kill a talent” is one of these comfortable dope pills. Bad environment and bad influence will kill any talent. And the hard truth is, that in America talents are killed, wasted by the hundreds, just as our vast natural resources are wasted. I am surprised that the powers that be have not invented slogans like “You can’t exhaust the water power,” “You can’t waste lumber.” If they would harp on such phrases long enough thousands would accept them as gospel until a few “queer ones” broke the spell— changed the magic combination. I suppose it’s really the few “queer ones” those who question the slogans that move the world, and they usually get very little thanks for their pains. If they refuse one of the doses, the worried singletrackers try to force them to take another, such as “If you don’t like it here, get out,” or “What was good enough for our fathers is good enough for us.”
“You can’t kill a talent!” Well, how about the hundreds who are poorly trained, who cannot afford to study, who have never had time or opportunity? I know the answering slogans. “America is the land of opportunity.” As for opportunity in music America lags far behind. In other countries there are national conservatories with subsidized
ALEXANDER BLOCH
teachers. Musical training is free, or nearly so, as in our public schools and talent has a chance to receive good instruction. Art and science have reached such a state of development that in order to succeed in these fields it is necessary to specialize. Particularly in music the technic of playing must be acquired in early years. National conservatories abroad recognize this fact and subordinate other subjects in the school curriculum to the chosen profession. The schools here begrudge any concession to the future musician. He must pursue the same studies, attend the same number of hours as the others who do not have to devote three or four hours to practise. This is readily understandable in the public school which is necessarily organized for the average student, but it emphasizes the need of specialty
CLAIR EUGENIA SM TH =
JOSEPH SCHWARZ
Exclusive Manaiement:
S. HUROK, Aeolian Hall, New York
Distinguished European Baritone