USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 2 > Part 73
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93
To Theodore Thomas alone belongs the last- ing success of these festivals. The first one had with its musical success the attraction of being a colossal novelty in a part of the country that was in a sense a musical wilderness. The sec- ond carried with it much of this semi-air of newness while the third had back of it the en- thusiasm over the dedication of the new Music Hall, supplemented by the public curiosity to see the new structure and hear the great organ.
By the fourth festival the elements that ap- pealed only to the public curiosity had disap- peared, the chorus conditions were less cumber- some, the community had become accustomed to the festival idea, so that Mr. Thomas was less handicapped in his efforts to carry on his ideas of general education. A glance through the pro- gram books reveals the fact that every great choral orchestral work worthy the name has been heard one or more times at these concerts. . Many have had their first performance in this country here.
Choral works like Bach's "Passion Music," "B Minor Mass," "Christmas Oratorio," "Mag- nificat ;" Beethoven's "Missa Solennis," "Ninth Symphony ;" Berlioz' "Requiem," "Te Deum," "Dammnation of Faust," "Fall of Troy ;" Brahms' "Requiem," "Rhapsody :" Dvorak's "Spectre Bride," "Stabat Mater," "Requiem;" Franck's "Beatitudes ;" Handel's "Messiah," "Israel in Egypt," "Judas Maccabacus." "Dettingen Te Deum ;" Haydn's "The Creation ;" Liszt's "Missa Solennis," "Prometheus :" Mendelssohn's "Eli- jah," "St. Paul," "Walpurgis Night ;" Mozart's "Requiem," "Praise of Friendship;" Parker's "Ilora Novissima :" Rubenstein's "Tower of Babel," "Paradise Lost," "Moses ;" Saint Saens' "Deluge," "Samson and Delilah :" Schumann's "Scenes from Faust." "Paradise and Peri;" Verdi's "Requiem ;" and Wagner's "Lohengrin." "Tannhauser," "Meistersinger," "Flying Dutch- man," "Tristan and Isolde," "Walküre," "Sieg-
925
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
fried" and "Parsifal" are now familiar to every festival goer.
What far, reaching influence upon the culture of the city the festivals have had cannot be defi- nitely realized even by those most intimately con- nected with their management. Thousands of music loving citizens have received through membership in the chorus an insight into and appreciation of the whole range of classic choral literature. Through these thirty years of con- tinuous endeavors Mr. Thomas has step by step built his programs on the highest educational lines, never yielding but nursing with the master hand of genius the sensitive musical public until to-day in his 16th festival he is enabled in the Bach "B Minor Mass," the Beethoven "Missa Solennis," the "Ninth Symphony," the Berlioz "Imperial Hymn" and the Elgar "Dream of Ge- rontius," to present a program unequaled for its classic symmetry and ideal beauty.
To Col. George Ward Nichols, Edmund H. Pendleton, William N. Hobart, and Robert B. Bowler as presidents and a long list of distin- guished citizens as directors have the business affairs of the organization been intrusted. Colonel Nichols, from his conspicuous identity with the city's musical affairs after his removal to Cincinnati in 1868, was the logical choice for its first president. From the period of organiza- tion in 1872, until he withdrew as director and resigned as president in 1880, Colonel Nichols was the guiding spirit. Possessed of a marvelous faculty for testing the public courage, indomitable energy and remarkable foresight he was able to procure such financial success that the third fes- tival settled the question of their permanency. After Colonel Nichols' resignation, Edmund H. Pendleton in March, 1880, was advanced from the position he held, a vice-presidency, to that of president. It was during Mr. Pendleton's regime that the celebrated performance of the "Messiah" occurred with Madame Patti as one of the soloists. The receipts of this concert which occurred in December, 1882, reached the enor- mious sum of $19,500, of which amount the Diva carried away $6,000.
At Mr. Pendleton's resignation in 1883, Will- iam N. Hobart who for some time had been a member of the board was elected to the va- cancy. For nearly twenty years or until his resignation in 1001, Mr. Hobart watched over the destinies of the organization. While the ar- tistic advancement of the festivals belongs en- tirely to Mr. Thomas, those high ideals could
not have been accomplished without the coopera- tion of men who were willing to sustain him in all his artistic efforts. Mr. Thomas has often said, "Art never pays," and there were many times in the history of the organization when the directors possibly felt that the saying was true but such discouragements never disturbed the confidence of Mr. Hobart.
His artistic standard for the festivals had long been established on the highest plane and with untiring zeal he worked to satisfy that exalted purpose. It is to men like Mr. Hobart who have been willing to make their interest in art a labor of love that Cincinnati owes her fame as an artistic citv.
Robert B. Bowler, a former treasurer of the association, succeeded Mr. Hobart. Since his untimely death in the fall of 1902, Lawrence Maxwell, the vice-president, has guided the af- fairs of the organization.
A move that, while it had its drawbacks, should have been continued for the good effect it had upon the American composer was inaugurated by the association in 1879. Following the pre- cedent of European countries in fostering cre- ative talent, Mr. Thomas advised the offering of costly prizes for the best composition of a native American, the selected work to be pre- sented at the May Festival. In accordance with the plan a resolution was passed by the board of directors January 14, 1879, offering a prize of $1,000 for such a composition. The offer was received with marked favor by musicians and the public. Renewed interest in the festivals was awakened in sections of the country that there- tofore had only looked upon them with quiet acquiescence. Twenty-five works, more or less elaborate. were offered for competition to the board of judges, with Theodore Thomas as chair- man.
With unanimous consent the judges concurred in awarding the prize to Dudley Buck of New York for his composition entitled "Scenes From Longfellow's Goklen Legend."
A similar prize was offered for the Festival of 1882 and was awarded to W. W. Gilchrist, of Philadelphia, for "A Setting of the Forty-Sixth Psalın." For reasons best known to themselves, the association discontinued this practice with the Festival of 1882. Like all such awards there are evils practiced that often more than offset the good accomplished but in this case it seems 11- fortunate that this impetus to the creative genius of the country should have been withdrawn by
56
926
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI
the one organization that could do most for its permanent advancement.
After the experience in three festivals of com- bining the choral forces from separate choral organizations in and about the city, it was deemed advisable for the better progress of the chorus to make it a permanent institution under the direction of one person. As the chorus make the festival, much of the praise due for artistic sticcesses should be given to the long list of loyal members of the chorus and the able men who have been its directors. Carl Barus, Otto Singer, Michael Brand, Arthur Mees, Louis Ehr- gott, B. W. Foley, W. L. Blumenschein and Edwin W. Glover have successively piloted the chorus through its thirty years of epochi making history. It remains to supplement the foregoing admirable account of the musical development of Cincinnati written by Edwin W. Glover with brief references to some of the musical institu- tions which are prominent at the present time in the city. Mr. Glover himself has contributed as much as any other man to the success of the festivals in the latter years. He became the chorus conductor in the fall of 1896 and pre- pared the chorus for cach festival which has been given since that date. Excellent as had been the work of the festivals prior to that time, it is undisputed that wonderful improvement has been effected in the quality of the choir since it has been in charge of Mr. Glover and to-day as the result of his training that body stands without a rival in this country.
THE CINCINNATI MUSIC HALL.
In May, 1875. Reuben R. Springer influenced by the success and beneficial results to the city of the industrial expositions and the musical fes- tivals and it is said at the suggestion of Mrs. A. D. Bullock wrote a letter to John Shillito, of- fering to donate the sum of $125,000 for the erection of a Music Hall upon the lot on Elm street occupied at that time by the old Saenger- fest building upon condition that the lot be se- cured in perpetuity for the uses of the society at a nominal rent and free from taxation . and upon a further condition that the sum of $125,- ooo be subscribed by other citizens. Committees to collect subscriptions were appointed by the Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Trade, the Ohio Mechanics' Institute and the Musical Fes- tival Association. From the outset there seemed to be a little jealousy between the musical and industrial interests and the project langnished and finally on June 7th Mr. Springer offered to ob-
ligate himself to subscribe $50,000 further upon condition that $100,000 more be donated by the citizens for the erection of suitable and perma- nent buildings around the hall for the purpose of holding industrial expositions. In November Mr. Springer added $20,000 more "to save the enter- prise from discreditable failure." Accordingly on November 27th Mr. Springer was notified that the sum of $106,031 had been subscribed by others and on December Ist a meeting was held at Col- lege Hall to decide upon a plan of organization. T. D. Lincoln, Joseph Longworth, John Shillito, Julius Dexter and! Rufus King reported at a later meeting a plan of organization and on the 20th day of December articles of incorporation of the Cincinnati Music Hall Association were filed in the office of the Secretary of the State. This association had a capital stock of $1,000 divided into 50 shares of $20 cach, which bore no divi- dends. The final organization came on January 3, 1876, at which time Joseph Longworth was elected president, Mr. Springer treasurer and Mr. Dexter secretary. Mr. Springer however asked to be relieved and Mr. Shillito was chosen in his place. On April 3, 1876, the city con- veyed the Elm street lot to the association. De- signs for the buildings as prepared by Messrs. Hannaford and Proctor were accepted in Sep- tember and immediately thereafter contracts for the building were let. The building was finally completed in time for the Musical Festival of 1878 and the Exposition buildings were com- pleted in time for the Industrial Exposition of 1879.
The great organ was also built by private subscription to which Mr. Springer contributed liberally. This was under the charge of the Cincinnati Music Hall Organ Association organ- ized in 1877. A year later this association turned over the organ to the Music Hall Association. The cost of the organ was $32,605. The cost of Music Hall as shown by the balance sheet of April 30, 1903, was $300,962.78; of the Exposi- tion wings $146,331.51. The hall was subse- quently remodeled for the purpose of adapting it for use for operatic and dramatic purposes at a cost of $118,330.41 ; in the opinion of many the change was not to the advantage of the edi- fice.
THE COLLEGE OF MUSIC.
The organization of the College of Music was directly due to Col. George Ward Nichols to whom the city is so much indebted. At his suggestion a corporation was formed on October
THE CINCINNATI HOSPITAL.
THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI BUILDINGS.
THE SPRINGER MUSIC HALL AND EXPOSITION BUILDINGS.
929
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
14, 1878, for the purpose of making Cincinnati a center of musical education. Theodore Thomas was its first director and George Ward Nichols, its first president.
To these two men more than to any others Cincinnati owes its musical position during the last 35 years. Theodore Thomas is a native of Hanover, Germany, where he was born in 1835. He received his first musical education from his father, a violinist, and made a successful public appearance when he was but six years old. With his parents he removed to New York in 1845 where he played the violin in concerts and or- chestras and six years later he made a concert tour as solo violinist. In 1855 he with others started a series of chamber concerts which con- tinned until 1869. In 1864 he began his first series of symphony concerts with an orchestra ' of which he was the head until 1888. He has been the condnetor of the Cincinnati May Festivals since their organization and from 1878 to 1881 he was director of the Col- lege of Music of Cincinnati and the con- chictor of the Cincinnati Orchestra. In 1877-78 and again from 1879 to 1890 he conducted the orchestra of the New York Philharmonic Society. He also conducted for years the Brook- lyn Philharmonic Society, the Mendelssohn Union, the New York Chorus Society and the great New York Festival of 1882 as well as the American Opera Company from 1885 to 1887. He was the musical director of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893. In 1891 he moved to Chicago where he became the head of the Chicago Orchestra, which position he has held continuously since that time. Mr. Thomas from the outset of his career has been a leader in the effort to elevate the standard of music in this country and to him more than to any other living man is the American public in- debted for stich musical ideals of the higher type as it possesses. In his first concerts he be- gan the musical education of his auditors and in every concert that he has since given this work of education has continued. As a leader he is incomparable. His wonderful power of instilling confidence into his orchestra and sing- ers and in drawing from them not only the best that is in them bnt even something better can be appreciated by one who has been privileged to sit in front of him.
George Ward Nichols was born in Maine in 1837. In early life he was a journalist, but he served throughout the war as a member of General Fremont's staff and afterwards upon the
staff of Gen. William T. Sherman. He subse- quently published an account of the "March to the Sea," of which 70,000 copies were sold in one year. After the war he moved to Cincin- nati and immediately became interested in art and musical subjects. His wonderful executive capacity and his indomitable will soon gave him a position of prominence in almost every public enterprise and it can be safely said that no man within the same short period of time (he lived in Cincinnati about 16 years) made him- self more felt than Colonel Nichols. He died September 15, 1885.
The College of Music has been the storm cen- ter of the musical controversies of the last quar- ter century into which it would be profitless to enter. After a few years, Mr. Thomas severed his connection with the organization and returned to New York. During the time that he was here he surrounded himself with a remarkable faculty which soon gave the institution a lead- ing place in the musical circles of the country. The disagreement between him and Colonel Nichols, although most unfortunate for the musi- cal circles of the city, creating an apparent dif- ference between the festival interests and those of the College, cannot be said to have impaired permanently the efficiency of the latter. Colonel Nichols threw the whole energy of his life into the College and soon put it upon a solid financial footing. For a time Max Maretzek was at the head of the educational department, devoting special attention to opera. From this came three great opera festivals in Music Hall, in which such operas as the "Magic Flute," "Don Giovanni," "Le Prophete," "Huguenots," "Loh- engrin" and "Tannhauser" were given on a scale of magnificence, such as had not been witnessed before, with such soloists as Patti, Nilsen, Albani, Sembrich. Scalchi, Campanini and Novara. At a later time Henry Schradieck, one of the world's great violinists, was at the head of the insti- tntion, and finally in 1895 Frank van der Stucken came to Cincinnati as the conductor of the Symphony concerts and became dean of the College of Music in 1897; the title of honorary dean he has held since 1901. The present dean of the faculty is Signor Albino Gorno. The "Silver Jubilee" of the College was celebrated in February, 1903, by a number of performances, dramatic, operatic and musical. A part of the College is the Schmidlapp Dormitory for young wonien, a most valuable memorial building.
930
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI
THE CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.
The desire for a permanent orchestra led to the organization in 1893 of the Cincinnati Sym- phony Orchestra, which has for its object the catering to the highest musical taste in concerts, given at stated intervals in Music Hall. This organization is entirely under the control of a number of ladies, who in this, as in art matters, have taken the lead in Cincinnati. The director is Frank van der Stucken. This orchestra ranks with the best organizations of its class in the country.
THE APOLLO AND ORPHEUS CLUBS.
Not the least important of the musical organ- izations in Cincinnati is the Apollo Club, which was organized under the inspiration of Elliott H. Pendleton, January 3, 1883. Mr. Pendle- ton became its first president and its director from that time until the present has been Bush W. Foley. The purpose of this club was to furnish . a malc glee club of a high class. Sub- sequently in 1886 Mr. Foley organized in the College of Music what was known as the Col- lege Choir, a chorus of female voices, and in April, 1886, a concert was given by the two organizations. Several concerts were so success- ful as eventually to lead to the consolidation of the two under the name of the Apollo Club. For a number of years this organization has given concerts to associate members and has more than sustained the high reputation which it gained carly in its career. These concerts were given for some time in Music Hall, but it was found that the hall was too large for music of this quality, and subsequently the associate mem- bership was restricted and the concerts were given in a smaller hall.
The Orpheus Club was formed in 1893 by a number of young men who had very much the same ideals as those of the founders of the Apollo Club. After the consolidation of the Apollo Club and the College Choir, the Orpheus Club, preserving its identity as a purely male chorus, has occupied this field alone. It is at present conducted by E. W. Glover.
MUSIC SCHOOLS.
The oldest and largest music school in the city is the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music of Miss Clara Baur, organized in 1867, now located in the magnificent Shillito place on Mount Auburn. There are also the schools of B. W. Foley, E. W. Glover, Louis Ehrgott, Mrs. Will- iam McAlpin, the Oscar Ehrgott Vocal School,
the Metropolitan of Messrs. Sterling and Roberts, the. Ohio Conservatory of Music and a very large number of other institutions and teachers.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ART.
The pioneer artist of Cincinnati, according to the account of Henry A. Ratterman, was a German, George Jacob Beck, who came here in 1792 with Waynes' army, in which he was a scout. In civil life he was a landscape painter and early formed a Franco-German marriage alliance with the daughter of the French refugce, Menessicr. He removed to Lexington in 1800, but his wife, returning here after his death in 1812, had charge for many years of a drawing school for young ladies. He was the first of a long succession whose names, preserved for us by Mr. Cist, Mr. Foote and still later by Mr. Ratterman, whose papers on art and music in Cincinnati, read before the Cincinnati Literary Club, have almost exhausted the subject, have been referred to in the earlier chapters dealing with the period in which Cincinnati art had its feeble beginnings.
In 1826 wc are told that F. Eckstein, "an in- telligent and highly ingenious artist of this city," was about to commence the formation of an 'Academy of Fine Arts." Mr. Eckstein, by this action as well as by his genius, earned for him- self the title of "Fatlicr of Cincinnati Art."
The Academy of Fine Arts was the first definite expression of the artistic longings of the people of the young city. Those longings as yet had found but little expression in performance although the germ was here which developed into a mighty growth.
Cist mentions among the early artists Edwin B. Smith, who painted portraits and historical picccs.
A. H. Corwine, who became quite distinguished as a portrait painter, came to Cincinnati from Kentucky in 1817. His likenesses were said to be so accurate that a number of citizens engaged him to paint their portraits. To insure perfec- tion in his work, at the suggestion of Dr. Drake, he was paid in advance to enable him to go to Philadelphia, there to study for a time under Sully. He improved his opportunities so well that the portraits which hie painted on his re- turn were said to be unexcelled in fidelity of likeness and expression of character. Some of the earlier works were painted in colors, which were not permanent, but this is not true of the later ones. He subsequently visited Europe. where his health failed so rapidly that he died
1
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
931
on his way home. Among his well known paint- ings were those of Peyton S. Symmes, Nathan Guilford, Timothy Walker and Capt. Joseph Pierce.
A preeminent figure in art circles at that time, however, was Frederick Eckstein, who has already been mentioned. Not only was he active in the establishment of the Academy of Fine Arts, which unfortunately died a-borning, but he modeled the busts of many of the most prom- inent public men as well as citizens. His most famous pupil was the most famous of American sculptors, Hiram Powers. Powers came to this city from Vermont, and in his early days acted as an attendant in Langdon's Reading Room. Subsequently he was clerk and errand boy in a grocery store. While here his mechanical skill which was very remarkable attracted the atten- tion of the clock maker, Luman Watson. Wat- son was a lover of music as well and invoked Powers' mechanical talents to assist him in build- ing an organ, a department of mechanical work with which neither had any familiarity. They built the first organ erected in the Episcopal Church on Sixth street and one or two chamber organs which were said to be good instruments. While working with organs, Powers invented a musical instrument much on the plan of an ac- cordion, which was worked by a bellows car- ried under the arm like that of a bagpipe. An- other one of his inventions was a doll which could pronounce distinctly the words "papa" and "mamma," and he thought of constructing a speaking automaton which should utter all the sounds of the human voice. His greatest interest, however, was in the department of portraiture in clay and plaster. He neglected his work in watching the store and spent every moment he could snatch in Eckstein's studio. Here he de- veloped his great talents which had already been manifested in the making of small medallion portraits. He finally succeeded in obtaining a place in the Western Museum, where for seven years he manufactured for Dorfeuille some ex- quisite specimens of waxwork. He also par- ticipated in the manufacture of the "Infernal Regions." He was ambitious, however, to turn his talents to better account, and he left Cin- cinnati in the year 1835 for Washington, where he sculptured a number of portrait busts of prominent men. These were so successful as to induce Nicholas Longworth, a patron of art, to furnish the means for him to go to Europe, there to prosecute his work among the master- pieces of his art. He settled in Florence and his
subsequent life and work are a part of the history of the world of art. Busts from the hands of Powers made in the early days were in the homes of Nicholas Longworth, Judge Bur- net, General Lytle and J. P. Foote. One of his best was that of Judge Burnet.
The first sculptor in the city was John Airy, an Englishman, who was employed by Daniel Gano to execute a monument to his father, Gen- eral Gano, which was erected in the Baptist Cem- etery.
From the same nursery of sculptors, a stone- cutter's yard, came the famous sculptor, Shubael V. Clevenger, whose original name was Jubal Klefinger. He was a native of Butler County, but came as a boy to Cincinnati, where he ob- tained employment in the stone-cutter's yard of David Guion, on Race between Third and Fourth streets. While employed at a stone-cutter's at Seventh and Race, chiseling ornaments on tomb- stones, he was noticed by E. S. Thomas, the edi- tor of the Evening Post. Clevenger was so en- couraged by the latter's favor as to suggest that Thomas sit to him for a bust. This was chiseled directly from the common gray freestone of the region without the intervention of a plaster model and was so striking a likeness as to bring him into immediate notice. The bust, according to Mr. Thomas, the first ever executed in the Mis- sissippi Valley, is still to be seen over the grave of Mr. Thomas in Spring Grove Cemetery. Clev- enger continued his vocation as a stone-cutter for several years, but at the same time devoted much attention to the study of portraiture under Eckstein. He subsequently took up art as his vocation and transferred his studio to New York, where he produced a number of portrait busts remarkable for their fidelity of likeness. Among the sitters at this time were Harrison, Clay, Van Buren, Webster, Everett and Washington Allston. His promise was so great that he finally was induced to go to Italy, where he was assisted by Powers and where in Rome he produced a number of fine works. His "North American Indian," sculptured in Rome, where he lived after 1840, has been called the first distinctive piece of American sculpture made in Rome, and attracted a large number of Italians to his studio. He contracted a disease of the lungs from inhal- ing stone dust and died while on his way home. Specimens of his work are in the art galleries of all the large cities of the United States and in the early days were to be found in the residences of Mr. Longworth, Judge Burnet. Micajali T. Williams, William Greene and others of this city.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.