HIE BEE: OMAHA, SUMKAt, MARCH . 192L
-i
(MUSIC
A
By JEAN P. DUFFIELD.
THE RECENT death of James
Gibbons lluncker, in New
York City, has removed from
the musical-literary world one of
its most rjromincnt ficures and one
t the most be oved. ror those who
knew him say that he had a "gen
ius for friendship, that he was
idolized by those with whom he
came in contact. And the far wider
world who knew him through his
writings surely entertains a feeling
of affection for the man whose mind
compassed so many things, yet who
revealed in every stroke of his pen,
a nature so human and sympathetic.
At the time of his death he was
music critic for the New York
Yorld, and in that capacity had
reviewed a concert jtist four days
Wore he passed ivvay. Thus he
iica in n's Doots, as he had- hoped
to do.
Though he wrote with authority
.".nd almost incredible erudition on
all the "Seven "Arts," it was on
the ''tonal art that he wrote the
most, and most loved to write.. 'And
of all writers on subjects musical,
he is now probably the one most
widely read and quoted.
Few musical authors seem able
to proceed far upon their way with
out a citation, from, his wocks. Pro
gram annotators use him as a staff
to lean upon,, and a young rccitalist
appearing for a debut valued a word
or two of encouragement from his
pt'n more than much fine gold.
The reason for this lies in his
marvelous store of knowledge, and
his amazing literary ability. His
power of word coloring was unique.
Often, in reading one of his de
scriptions of a musical composition,
you feel that the description is al
most more beautiful than the piece
itself. We have his own confes
sion in his "Steeplejack" (an auto
biography) that he "was always in
clined to the excessive, the full
blown, the flamboyant." This
trait, ever under control, is con
stantly in evidence in his writings,
and gives them much of their in
dividual flavor. Besides, her had
read everything, from Confucius to
11. G. Wells, and remembered , it
all. In one paragraph will appear
allusions to a dozen or more au
thors of widely divergent style and
nationality. And when he dips his
pen into the purpled wells of the
Orient, 'prepare, O reader, for' an
exciting ride over the mountain
tops of literary exhilaration.
His first book, "Mezzotints in
Modern Music," was issued in 1899,
and has in 22 years become a classic.
It' is filled with brilliant essays on
various musical subjects and con
tains an education within its covers.
The musician, either arrived, or in
the mating, who fails to read it,
will be the poorer for the omis
sion. A lfiter volume, called "Mel
omaniacs," is a collection of short
stories. It opens with a master
piece entitled "The Lord's Prayer
in B." It betrays in every poignant
sentence, the authorship of one with
infinite imagination, and a gift for
word coloring that borders on the
miraculous. Read it and marvel I
But do not think that &I1 the stories
in the book reach the, standard set
by the first. All are good, some
excellent, but the first is unapproach
able, and may be enjoyed by every
body, musical or otherwise. Next
come several other volumes wherein
some fascinating phantom chasing
is indulged in. Several of these
books are not on musical subjects
at all, for Mr. Huncker was versatile,
and wrote and spoke as one having
authority on all the arts.
Huneker himself considered the
biography -of Chopin his greatest
work, though in what way it is su
perior to. his life of Franz Liszt,
would be difficult to decide. Needless
to say, both are superlatively well
written, and tell their subjects' stor
ies in sympathetic fashion. They are
biographies, but they read like fic-
Cmon in," Black Mike, Gunman, Calls Out;
"But There's Some Lead Left in the Shooter
Black Mike Silva knew no law. Respectability annoyed him. Fear
and honor were unknown to htm. He was "outside the law." When
a squad of "dicks" camped on his trail, he hied himself back to his den
and with gun in hand awaited their attack. Lon Chaney portrays the
role of Black Mike in "Outside the Law," at the Moon theater this week.
Priscilla Dean plays the part of Molly Madden, the crook's housekeeper,
while Wheeler Oakman takes the role of Dapper Bill..
AUDITORIUM
Matinee 3:30
Evening Show
At 7 and 9
LAST TIMES TODAY
Absolutely' Neutral Motion Pic-
turc. Presentation of Facts',
IRELAND
IN REVOLT
COMPLETE FACTS ON IRISH
: SITUATION
These pictures, taken by Capt.
Edwin F. Weigle, war photo
grapher show graphically condi
tions as they actually existed in
both the north and south of Ire
land. SEE THE PICTURES AND
THEN FORM YOUR OWN
OPINION.
"Ireland in Revolt" presents both
sides AS THEY ARE.
PRICES Matinee and Evening- 50c.
Children 25c. All prices plus war tax.
HIPPODROME
25th and
Cumin r
D.W.GRIFFITH
Presents
"The Greatest Question"
Comedy "Slippery Feet" Path News
MATINEE 2:30
HAMILTON
Today
BLANCHE SWEET
in
"Help Wanted Male"
Renovated Ventilated.
New Equipment Being Installed.
Bring the Family.
EDDIE MONAGHAN, Mgr.
GRAND SBM4?
TODAY
Catherine MacDonald
'' ' . IN
"MY LADY'S LATCHKEY-"
Matinee at 3 P. M. '
tion. The "magic touch of .James
Huneker is upon them. He could
write a book in all seriousness and
make you sit up nights reading it.
He was also master of the light
touch, and had the facile conversa
tional gift of the true raconteur. His
Sunday columns had the flavor of
personal intercourse, and caused the
reader to feel that he had spent a
pleasant quarter of an hour in the
brilliant author's companionship; He
makes you read with the dictionary
on your lap, but you do not resent
the necessity. He wears his learning
gracefully.
"Bedouins" is the title of one of
the latest volumes. It opens with a
panegyric on Mary Garden, in which
he spills several bottles of vermil
lion ink on the subject of (the gifted
singing actress who has since be
come a manager; Thus he character
izes her: "A swan, did I say? A con
cl' an eagle.a peacock, a nightingale,
a ither, a society dame, a gallery
oi moving pictures, a siren, an in
domitable fighter, a human woman
with a heart as b,ig as a house, a
lover of sport, an electric personal
ity, and a canny Scotch lassie who
can force from an operatic manag
er, wails oft anguish because of her
close bargaining over a contract; in
a word, a superwoman." I
Very clever is the essay in this
same book called "Caruso on
Wheels," describing a trip to Phil
adelphia and' return with the Metro
politan Opera.
The picture is drawn clearly before
you Scotti, in a card game excited
ly demanding, "Why you play that
ace?" Geraldine Farrar, with her
mother plus chicken sandwiches.
Frieda Hempcl, sitting and chatting;
Caruso "ordering carte blanche sup
per for the chorus" and playing
pranks on everylxjdy until "even that
potent, grave, and bearded signor,
Manager Gatti, is forced to smile."
Our progressive public library con
tains these books, even down to
"Steeplejack," Mr. Huneker's stim
ulating story of his own life issued
last September.
Herein are many mysteries ex
plained among them the author's
"mechanical memory," which was
such that he "had no trouble in reel
ing off page after page" of the books
he read. Of these last he also tells
the story how he laid out for him
self the incredible plan of reading
tall literatures English, Americas,
I Italian, Spanish, French. German and
classical. A 500-foot bookshelf of
jail the world has thought and writ
ten. Aivl how he succeeded in read
ing, and rereading every book in the
list, though the five years his early
ambition allowed stretched out into
SO before the task was finished. He
explains how his father's choice col
lection of black and white engrav
ings engendered the love of art with
in him; how his love for music
flamed into a fire that could not be
quenched and resulted in his be
coming a piano student in Paris, and
later in New York under Rafael
Joseffy, whose assistant he became;
how his thirst for literature remained
forever insatiable. There is many
a fascinating page regarding his as
sociation with leaders in the arts and
literature throughout the world he
knew them all, was admired by all,
and loved by many. Because of the
individual trend of his temperament,
his literary predilection was out
spoken for the French school, and
he was made an officer of the Le
gion of Honor by the French gov
ernment, in recognition of his serv
ices to the literature.
Encomiums, eulogies, themodies
have appeared everywhere on the
subject of James Huneker. The New
York Tribune was right when it said,
"There were few minds as rich as
his in all the history of American
writing." ,
On next Friday evening, March
11, the Tuesday Musical club will
present Fritz Kreisler, the-world-famous
violinist, in recital at the Audi
torium at 8:15 o'clock. The program
follows: - ' '
Concerto No. 4, T Minor (opus SI)...
H. Vieuxtemps
"Andante Adagio rellsMoso.
Scherzo Finale marsiale.
Gavotte in E Major j, vj- ", b"c1!
Andantino Padre Martini
Tambourin, C Major.. I. B. Laclalr
I.a Chssse J. B. Oartler
Variations Tartini
Indian Lament Dvorak
Chanson Inddus (Hindoo chant) from
"Sadko" Klmsky-Korsakoff
Moment Mustaal Schubert
Spanish Serenade Chnminade-Kreisler
Minuet Paderewskl-Kreisler
The Old Refrain Kreisler
(Viennese popular song-.)
Musical Notes.
From Cincinnati comes word that
Miss Jane Beats of Omaha, who is
a pupil of Thomas James Kelly of
the voice department of the Cin
cinnati Conservatory of Music, was
asked by Pier Adolfo4Tirindelll to
sing three of his compositions at a
recital to be given March 15 at the
conservatory. A number Of Tlrin
delli's compositions both for violin
and voice will be presented at this
recltal.and Miss Beats fill sing three
favorites, "To Love, To Suffer,"
"Love "Symphony" and "Carmert's
Shadow." Miss Beats gives promise
of becoming one of the most notable
of the pupils at the conservatory in
Tolce this year.
- - In a story of Paris,
where anything may happen
and eV s?y thing jloes -
BODKriSOUL'
V
ADDED FEATURE
in his latest comedy
"e SPORTSMAN"
TKhJkkin.4 Double Feature Program at ike
-sv
as
iSLVN n j,r n
ISP IbJ lLlj
8
An informal musU'ul rrojtrani was
given In the l.unetta Del-one Harp
Btuilio before the Nash eoncert on
February 27. The Harp sextette at
traction, uiuler the personal direc
tion of Loretta DeLone will be the
first opportunity for an Omaha
audience to ee and hear seven
beautiful golden harpa used togeth
er. Mlfts Dorothy Hopke arrived
this week fron Ohio, for renewals.
Several, classic dances will be given
in costume by three of the harpists.
Later in the spring, Miss DeLone will
present her harp ensemble in Chi
cago, where she will also feature,
in harp recital her talented pupil.
Miss Thelmn Sheen.
The second Sunday afternoon
musicale will take place this Sun
day at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Cecil Berryman. Those furnishing
the program will be: Jean and
George Reclick, Barbaria Millard.
Elizabeth Clark, Marie Knowland,
Jean and Cora Laverty, Phyllis
Lohnier, Mary Louise Million. Kath
rrlne Imloe, Jane l'owell, Catherine
Clow, Urace Hoot, KUerton Henry
and l'hil Dodge.
The piano student.-' of the City
Mission music school will give their
first recital at the Mission. 1204
Pacific street, at 4 o'clock Sunday
afternoon, March 6. The school is
under the direction of Mrs. Oeil
AVhite McMonies, who would ap
preciate the assistance of a few
more piano teachers at this time.
Mr. Stanley will give his fourth
organ recital In Trinity cathedral this
afternoon nt 4: SO. Popular organ
music will Lie given and the public
is cordially invited.
At All Saints church, oil Passion
Sunday, March IS. at 4:30 p. m.,
the choirs of All Saints and West
minster Presbyterian churches will
present a lenten cantata, "The mes
sage from the Cioss." by JVlll C.
MacFarland, famou? American or
ganist and composer. Mr. Fred O.
Ellis, well known baritone, and
I teacher, will assist the choirs. Miss
Irma Book is organist Ht West
minster church and Mr. J. H. Slmms
la director of both choirs. This is
i one of the events planned by the
! Nebraska Chapter of the American
Guild of Onanists, and It is hoped
thai all membora of the chapter will
be present in the chancel on that
occasion.
Simply overwhelming is the num
ber of reqiieois for return concerts
by the St. Ol.if Lutheran choir from
the cities where, last year, they ap
peared. Not one of those towns but
is eager and willing to provide the
most far-reaching financial guar
anties. Thh interest is not only
among Tditherans, but prominent
choirmasters everywhere keep on
wiring and writing to M. H. Hanson
for possililo contracts for return en
gagements. Some of the greatest
managers are anxious to book the
St. Olaf Choir for their star courses
for their 1921-1922 season. One
prominent manager from the middle
west visited New York last week for
the Hpecial purpose of getting M. H
Hanson to sign a contract for the
spring for several Ohio cities. Noth
ing definite can be stated yet re
garding the future movements of
this choir. ne thing Is certain
that the demand for dates exceeds
tho supply. Omaha Is fortunate In
securing the choir for a concert on
Thursday evening, March 31. when
they will lie heard in the Omaha
Auditorium.
Sills Has New Job
K.ilph l ewis and Milton Sills are
two prominent actors who play lead
ing parts with Pauline KrecWtck
in her latest Robertson-v'ole feature
under the direction of Henry King.
Miss Frederick will remain idle hut
a few clays upon completing her fea
ture before starting work on lirr
next story, which King will also
direct.
Experiments are being; made in
Paris with a roadside gasoline tank
ami pump system. .
31
PwfC!. ..L1LA
tiiMiiiitnmitMiiiin ittti
NOW AND ALL WEEK
TODAY ONLY
The management of both
theaters kindly requests
the public to attend the
matinees and early shows
today if .possible. : : : :
BEAK "
The DazzliW Heroine of 'The Virgin of bmboul"
fn Tod Browning real -Universal-Jewel
presented bi Ceu-l Lacmmle
i!iin!,,,ii!,1,1FflT:"irr"!!n!:''fi''''""1
! i!i!!li
Supported bq
LON CHANEY
The greatest character actor on the screen that's LON
CHANEY famou for his remarkable roles in "Th Mir
acle Man" and "The Penalty," and his portrayal of "Black
Mike Silva" in "OUTSIDE THE LAW" is by far the finest
thing he has ever done. Get ready for a thrill with a shiver
in it when you see him supporting beautiful PRISCILLA
DEAN in this newest wonder drama.
5
She was helpless m Vhve masl-ercrookk
hands -and bom or Vhcm knew n
WKUM OAKMAI
Remember the lo er in "The Virgin of Stamboul"?
Remember the tremendous fight with the Sheik in the
last reel? Well, just watch WHEELER OAKMAN
in "Outside the Law" when he battles with Silva
he'll make all other "screen scraps" look like pink
teat.
STANLEY GOEJHAl
One of the dearest and most natural
little boys that ever played in pic
tures. Watch him melt the ice-itka
heart of "Silky Moll" and set her on
the straight road and youll see an
amazing piece of child acting. Don't
miss this big pittUJCj
'When the Ifyhtso'out bear ftoul- of rhe
back door and leaye the. vest to me
NOV PLYING
f iisib.ii )ynjy.u. Ji n
4 .