Salt Lake Telegram | 1929-04-28 | Page 21 | Composer Sees Music as Voice of Womanhood

Composer Sees Music as Voice Of Womanhood Franz Lehar Writer of Merry I Widow Says Artistry Has F Feminine Feminine Femi Femi- em i- i nine Background By GEORGE GEORG KENT United U nit d Press Staff Correspondent PARIS PARTS April 27 21 United Press j t Music sic Is feminine T he lie art that thatIs Is said to to soothe the savage savage beast is the yo voice oice Ice of ot wife wiCe mother or sweetheart speaking through a gifted man according to to Franz Lebar Lehar Lelar Le Le- Le- Le bar har composer ot of The Merry Widow and many other other popular songs and waltzes Lehar said in an n interview hero here that that every piece he lie has comp composed sed was wak was Inspired d by toy a woman woman either real o or ot Imaginary It 4 It may be said sCid he lIe added added that music governs and arid controls the woman woma bu but It Is equally tr true e that woman governs gO and controls music All my compositions were were Inspired by wom women n. n Often It was not a wom woman n I knew but a ct creature atur of ot my imagination or or an Idea Ida mothered by bYa a w Woman oman or or ora a desire going back to some woman of ot my dreams My fy mother w was as the first woman w woman oman to exert an influence upon my compositions com corn positions Music l us together The rhe enchanting melodies melodies melodies-it it w was s my ny moth mother cr through her her- presence alone llone who br brought them to meShe me She inspired them theft by the manner manner with ith which she my s success and ind rejoiced l In the praise Plaise that It was my lot to receive DIED OF Or- JOY One Ona d day y at ISchI Ischl I played before th the Emperor Franz Josef I had p the e great hon honor i of being complImented complimented by him I hurrIed home homet t to inform her of my triumph Alas fn Tn hearing me relate the events of ot that memorable evening she was stricken n with Joy Shot She died Bu Buhe he she left me a legacy richer thai thal anything I had dared dream of oC She left me music all the melodies With sith which material soul was vibrant fl fI I l' l recall another Incident I was waC barely 16 years old when I Iwas was asked to tb compose a waltz for the birthday of the queen of Rumania It was the Duchess of Meternich l iho who ho made the request I composed a a. brilliant waltz inspired by this woman the queen whom I I. I did not know personally and o of whom I knew nothing beyond what I had read In iri the newspapers It was as she however who wh lived In my music This his grande dame the tle unknown queen vibrated in let my harmonies With fth all her being and with all her desires as if itI I had myself created her But there is still another and f lucre noro decisive proof of the effect of woman on music In 1910 when Tue The Merry Widow was wa's conquering the world I I made a voyage to to America and there I 1 discovered that m my melodies had won the hearts of the women The manner in Ia which this was revealed to me ne was cras truly very American merIcan original MERRY WIDOW CORSETS Everything t that at was manufactured manufactured manufactured and sold was done so under tle patronage of The Merry W Widow Widow Wid d- d ow There were were- Merry Widow i beauty ci creams earns Merry Widow corsets corsets corsets cor cor- sets Merry 1 Widow salads It Is ces ary to point out that all these things were for tor or the women The A American meri an business business- men mett had bad Immediately sensed that profits profits' lay in taking advantage of the gentle sex sex's enthusiasm for forthe the melodies of ot the Merry 1 Widow WidowS Arid And It is certain that this Amer American merican mer- mer ican lean experience has also inspired me me In IlL the composition that followed followed followed fol fol- fol- fol lowed I felt the need 0 of writing and composing under feminine in influence in- in fluence 1 I L wrote whenever I felt u under the charm of a woman woman wom- wom wom wom- an whenever I had near me a woman I admired but had not the I had courage urage to speak to to whenever won the sympathetic and m understanding under er- er standing friendship of Cf a a woman The little oscillations of feminine sentiments are are enlarged by bj the soul o of ot the composer forming a microphone microphone microphone micro micro- phone and changed into melodies which on the w wings Ings of music return to their point of departure departure to to the feminine so soul J. J