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Show f "ANOTHER TRIUMPH FOR A UTAH ARTIST." ' The latest number of the Now York Musical Courier' seems to disagree with a few opinions gathered at local firesides regarding the "Ouver-ture "Ouver-ture Joyeuse," by Arthur Shepherd, which was awarded the Paderewski prize a few months ago. What the Courier critic and other sympathetic souls have to say of our young idol will not change the general opinion in this immediate vi- Hn cinity, but a part of the article is interesting at Hj The Courier says. Hj j In the case of young Arthur Shepherd criticism ! from us were in bad taste, as certain veiled accu- Hjf sations were made against The Musical Courier Hl when Shepherd's "Ouverture Joyeuse" was given Hj the Paderewski prize last autumn over Berlioz's Hf "Corsair" overture, supposed to have been sub mitted by John Rice, Jr., circulation manager of The Musical Courier. However, although Berlioz vwas not present last Saturday, Mr. Rice was, and we asked him for his unbiased opinion of the Shepherd work. Mr. ' Rice's signed criticism (he " is not a musician, be it explained,) reads as fol- "Why the judges of the Paderewski prize con- test should award the first prize to the composer 9B! of the 'Ouverture Joyeuse' as the best musical (?) Hr composition, is more than I can conceive. The Hf composition sounded to me like a King's Royal Band, on the 1 ;ght side of the hall, the Roosevelt's 'Hot Time in the Old Town' Band on the left, and the Salvation Army Band in the rear. The en-L en-L tire composition sounded unmusical to me. Per- baps this is real music; I don't; know. If the judges say so it must be so. I am now convinced that if Berlioz could not write better music than that of tho 'Ouverture Joyouse,' then he lived in Ht vain and chose the wrong vocation. HI (Signed) " JOHN RICE, Jr." Hi For fear that some persons might regard Mr. H!' Rice as a prejudiced party, we append also the B criticism of the New York Tribune, written by H! one of the men who voted Mr. Shepherd the Pad- Bj erewski prize for his "Ouverture Joyeuse": "Young Mr. Shepherd's overture, which came W- last on the program, impressed one a3 music that needed filtering, if one may be allowed the term it waq a musical stream a bit clouded, muddy, not 80 mucu probably from lack of clear ideas on the composer's part as lack of technical skill in expressing his ideas orchostrally." fl The Times says of the "Overture Joyeuse": "The 'Overture Joyeuse,' by Arthur Shepherd, tIjat gained the Paderewski prize last year, begins well, witli a swinging and expansive phrase bril-liantly bril-liantly proclaimed by the orchestra, but the com-posed com-posed is not well able to sustain his music at this level, and he lapses into laborious and inconse- quentlal treatment of his material, and continues it too great length." The Sun says, Indirectly: "Neither of the two new compositions seemed to justify the 6rganizatIon of a society to intro-Hj intro-Hj duce them to the public." H The Staats Zoitung: H "The overturo was exactly the opposite of H what its title promised. The fact that this mea- H 1 gre piece, which Is not even skilfully orchestrated, H couW win the first prize In the Paderewski con- H test is a sad reflection on the musical productive- Hr ness of this country." H The Evening Post: "The final piace was the 'Ouverture Joyeuse' of H Arthur Shepherd, which won the Paderewski Hj Prlze a few month? ago. There is no original B mes"ige in this, but the orchestra is, on the w!. j, cleverly handled. Mr. Shepherd is a na-B na-B tivo of Idaho, and a resident of Salt Lake City. B Tho 'joyousnoss' of this overturo suggests the B animal spirits of the Utah aboriginals." B The Globe: "The much discussed 'Ouverture Joyeuse' of Arthur Ar-thur Shepherd proved to be more ambitious than successful. Why a composition by an American living at Salt Lake City should bear a French title was not explained." And thus endeth the lesson of the Paderewski prize contest. Berlioz, poor man but we must not comment, for good taste forbids. |
