Annals of Music in America Part 15

1874. Clara Louise Kellogg made her American operatic debut under Maurice Grau, in New York City. (She had appeared as _Gilda_ in "Rigoletto" at the Academy of Music in 1861 (Feb. 27), before going to Europe, and had concertized in the United States for four years, 1868-1872.)

1874. The Cecilia Society of Boston organized with B. J. Lang as conductor.

CHAPTER VI

1875-1890

The period of fifteen years from 1875 to 1890 was most certainly a period of progress. Not only was the country growing rapidly in population and wealth, but means of communication were much greater and more efficient than in the preceding years. The present writer well remembers a journey from San Francisco to St. Louis, and on to Boston in 1878, when there was one single track railroad between Oakland and Omaha. Cheyenne consisted of two rows of primitive looking wooden houses, behind which were "anch.o.r.ed" many emigrants' wagons, or "prairie schooners" as they were called. Only a few years later (in the early eighties) Colonel Mapleson visited Cheyenne with his opera company, which included Patti and Gerster, and wrote thus of the place: "Although Cheyenne is but a little town, consisting of about two streets, it possesses a most refined society, composed, it is true, of cow-boys; yet one might have imagined oneself at the London Opera when the curtain rose,--the ladies in brilliant toilettes and covered with diamonds; the gentlemen all in evening dress. The entire little town is lighted by electricity. The club-house is one of the pleasantest I have ever visited, and the people are most hospitable."

This account reminds the writer of a visit, not so many years ago, to Oklahoma City where the ladies resembled those of Cheyenne. There was, however, but one gentleman, within the writer's range of vision, in evening dress. And when Mapleson visited Cheyenne Oklahoma was an Indian reservation. Thus has civilization advanced.

In 1875 San Francisco was already a good-sized city, but almost the whole country between San Francisco and Chicago and St. Louis has been developed since 1875.

In San Francisco we find the establishment of the "Loring Club" in 1877.

But good music was getting its roots in deeper in the East. In New York the "Symphony Society" was founded by Dr. Leopold Damrosch in 1878, and was followed in 1881 by the "Boston Symphony Orchestra," which was established through the liberality of Major Henry L. Higginson.

"The Music Teachers' National a.s.sociation" was also formed in 1876, and while it is not in the public eye in the way that opera and concerts are, yet its influence throughout the land has been very marked, and has led to state a.s.sociations, with their annual conferences, and exchanges of views among teachers.

In the concert world we find the names of several celebrities,--Rubinstein had visited America in 1872, and Hans von Bulow in 1875, Moritz Rosenthal in 1888, and G.o.dowski in 1890. We find also among the noted pianists who were first known here in this period Arabella G.o.ddard, Rafael Joseffy, f.a.n.n.y Bloomfield-Zeisler and Josef Hofmann.

Some noted violinists also visited America, August Wilhelmj in 1878, Ovide Musin, Teresina Tua, and in 1888 Fritz Kreisler. But perhaps the most noteworthy event was the appearance of Maud Powell, an American woman, whose career placed her in the front rank of violinists, and has but recently ended with her death.

Of singers there were a great many, but most of them appeared in opera.

Of the Americans who gained international reputation were Emma Abbott, Alwina Valleria (of Baltimore), Lillian Nordica (Norton), Emma Nevada (Wixom), and Charles R. Adams.

Among the European celebrities who visited America were Madame Rudersdorff, Etelka Gerster, Scalchi, Marcella Senibrich, Amalia Materna, and Lilli Lehmann, also Alberto Stagno, Max Alvary, Albert Niemann, Francesco Tarnagno.

This leads us to a short review of opera, and as New York City was the headquarters from which numerous companies issued to charm the rest of the country, a review of New York is practically a review of opera for the whole country.

From 1850 to 1875 opera is said to have "flourished on failure" chiefly under Maretzek and Strakosch. Also, opera meant Italian opera, or at least opera in Italian. There were spasmodic efforts to promote German opera, chiefly by Adolf Neuendorff, who managed the German Theatre in New York City from 1872 to 1883. In 1876 a Wagner Festival was given in New York, and in 1878 there was a short and unsuccessful season given by the Pappenheim Opera Company, during which "Rienzi" was sung for the first time in America. Theodore Thomas did much to prepare the way by playing excerpts from the Wagner operas at his concerts, but Dr. Leopold Damrosch in 1884 set on foot a movement which, during the next few years, brought to America several of the greatest German singers, and gave to the public adequate representations of many of the Wagnerian operas. Dr. Damrosch died in 1885 and his work was taken up by Anton Seidl, who had been a.s.sociated with Wagner in the production of the "Ring" at Beyreuth. Under Seidl "Die Meistersinger" had its first performance in America, in 1886; "Tristan und Isolde" and "Siegfried" in 1887; "Die Gotterdammerung," in 1888, and "Das Rheingold" in 1889. Thus German opera was well launched in this period.

To return to Italian opera,--Colonel Mapleson invaded the United States in 1878 bringing with him a good company of singers. He did not go farther west than St. Louis. Several tours followed in succeeding years.

During his third tour he gave the first performance in America of Boito's "Mefistofele," with Campanini, Valleria, Cary and Novara. About this time he found a strong compet.i.tor in Henry E. Abbey, who secured Nilsson as a counter-attraction to Patti who was under Mapleson. This compet.i.tion caused Mapleson to proceed farther west, so he led his company as far as San Francisco, where he appears to have taken the town by storm, and, if his account is correct, the march in "Aida" was performed by six hundred of the State militia and he had the a.s.sistance of a military band and an extra chorus of three hundred and fifty voices. But Mapleson's enterprises were beset with difficulties and finally ended in disaster, although not for some years. To many people, who can remember the rivalry between Abbey and Mapleson in the eighties, when Patti, Gerster, Sembrich, Scalchi, Nilsson, Annie Louise Cary, Campanini, Ravelli and del Puente were in their prime, these were the days of Italian opera in America. Probably much was lacking in the staging and scenery, but the singers have been unsurpa.s.sed.

Before closing the review of this period we come to that which is of immense importance in the development of music in America, viz. the appearance of a number of composers who have taken high rank among the composers of the world;--John K. Paine, whose first symphony was produced in 1875, was followed shortly by Arthur Bird, George W.

Chadwick, Horatio Parker, Harry Rowe Sh.e.l.ley, Dudley Buck and Edward A.

MacDowell. Nothing speaks more eloquently of the progress of music in America than the work of these men, and of several others of smaller achievements.

1875. Jan. 6. "Wotan's Departure" and "The Magic Fire Scene" from Wagner's opera "Die Walkure" given by Theodore Thomas, in Philadelphia.

1875. Jan. 8. Gluck's overture to "Paris and Helen" and Raff's Sixth Symphony (D minor) given by Theodore Thomas, in New York City.

1875. Jan. 15. Seifert's "Festival March" given by Theodore Thomas, in New York City.

1875. Jan. 16. Brahms's "Hungarian Dances" given (from MS.) by the Brooklyn Philharmonic Society.

1875. Jan. 22. Haydn's Ninth Symphony (in C) given by the Philharmonic Society, New York City.

1875. Feb. 6. Hofmann's "Frithjof" symphony given in New York City, by Theodore Thomas.

1875. Feb. 20. Spohr's Third Symphony (in C minor) given by the Philharmonic Society, New York City.

1875. Feb. 22. Dr. Leopold Damrosch's oratorio "Ruth and Naomi"

sung by the Oratorio Society, New York City.

1875. Mar. 4. Rubinstein's Fourth (Dramatic) Symphony given by Theodore Thomas, in New York City.

1875. April 24. W. Sterndale Bennett's "Paradise and the Peri"

given by the Philharmonic Society, New York City.

1875. May 1. The music of Mendelssohn's comic opera "The Wedding of Camacho" given by Theodore Thomas, in Chicago.

1875. May 27. Liszt's "Rhapsodie Hongroise" (number 1); Schubert's "Impromptu" in C minor; and Schumann's "Bilder aus Osten"; and on the 28th, Schubert's "Teufel's l.u.s.tschloss" given by Theodore Thomas, in New York City.

1875. June 3. Saint-Saens's symphonic poem "Le Rouet d'Omphale,"

1875. June 17. von Weber's "First Symphony" (in C),

1875. June 22. Lizst's "Rhapsodie Hongroise" (number 6).

1875. June 24. Raff's "Sinfonietta" for wind instruments, given by Theodore Thomas, in New York City.

1875. Aug. 5. Mozart's Intermezzo for Strings,

1875. Aug. 10. Schubert's Octet for Strings,

1875. Aug. 20. Schubert's Tenth Symphony (in C) given in New York City, by Theodore Thomas.

1875. Sept. 7. W. Sterndale Bennett's Symphony in G minor,

1875. Sept. 14. The "Introduction" and "Siegmund's Love Song" from Wagner's opera "Die Walkure" given by Theodore Thomas, in New York City.

1875. Oct. 4. American debut of Arabella G.o.ddard, noted English pianist, at Steinway Hall, New York City.

1875. Oct. 18. American debut of Madame Eugenie Pappenheim, dramatic soprano, in "Les Huguenots" at the Academy of Music, New York City, with the Wachtel Grand Opera Company.

1875. Oct. 18. American debut of Dr. Hans von Bulow, great pianist, in Boston.

1875. Oct. 21. Emma Albani (Lajeunnesse) made her debut in opera, as _Amina_ in "La Sonnambula" at the Academy of Music, New York City. She afterwards went to Europe, and returned to America a mature singer in 1883.

1875. Oct. 25. Chaikovsky's Pianoforte Concerto, in B flat minor, given in Boston Music Hall, with Hans von Bulow as soloist.

1875. Nov. 17. Verdi's "Requiem Ma.s.s" given by the Italian Opera Company, at the Academy of Music, New York City.