September 7, 1918 MUSICAL AMERICA 5
Am Meteoric Rise to F arne in Our New World Opened Its Arms to Country of This Signally Him-Found More Real Crit Gifted Composer - Writer Ical Acumen Here Than in ,. Notes Characteristically Amer Europe -His Great Quartet ican Qualities in Mr. Bloch-A Finished Within Stone's Man of Action, Broad Interest Throw of the "L"-Has Cast and Sympathies, and Flaming in His Lot with Us-Potential Imagination - His "] ewish Influence on Our Music Side" - Early Career and with every contemporary current. His Studies Judaism saved him. from being swept away by any of them. It gave him By CESAR SAERCHINGER nourishment when after all his studies with different masters he turned within T is considerably more than a year himself to study, as he expressed it, I since Ernest Bloch stirred musical "with nature and with myself." And ~ believe that his coming to America, New York with a great orchestral con when .he had evolved this new style of cert consisting entirely of his own works his own, is of still greater significance. -works of such magnitude and bold de For the problem that Bloch has solved sign as to arrest the attention of every for himself, musical America must solve for herself also. We must emerge from musician and critic in America. Many this European welter into a freer, were enthusiastic, others were hostile, brighter world of our own, permeated few were indifferent-a fairly good sign with the spirit of our own ideals and that ·the works were important. built by the aid of our own technique. Bloch himself meant this when he spoke, There was a real fervor in the enthusi a year ago, of the "fearless expression asm of the young partisans who gathered Ernest Bloch, the Swiss Composer, from of ourselves." about the banner of the Swiss c.omposer; Photographs Taken Before His. Coming The thought that Ernest Bloch is, in small wonder if it kindled sympathy and to America: Above, in the Study deed, the ideal for the American com Where He Composed His Opera, "Mac poser, forced itself upon me as we went gratitude in his heart-not only toward through th'e score of the Quartet. No .the little band that worshipped, wrote beth"; in Circle, at the Age of Twenty, matter if he was born in Switzerland. and "talked" (in terms linguistic and When He Composed His First Sym We may safely accept the message of material)-but toward the whole of phony the old world as expressed through his broad cosmopolitan personality, a · per America, which had brought so large a sonality which, I could not help feeling, measure of understanding to his mes What an inspiring thought-and what an fact, not a conscious musical nationalist is even now capable of an interpretation sage, while Europe had remained almost example for our own composers! at all. The fact is that his music, more distinctly American. The broad, yet dis deaf. I remember Bloch's overflowing - * * * than Jewish, is just "human." In it, no criminating c-atholicity, the profund sin That was fifteen months ago. In the doubt, one may hear the characteristics cerity, the unqualified democracy, the joy and hopefulness as he spoke-not of meantime Bloch has been in Europe and of an ancient race, feel the throbs of the large idealism and the boundless energy himself but of America and its musical has returned, bringing his family with passion and the 'violence that one feels which are Bloch's-are not these the future, and of his determination hence him. He has been settled in New York in the lines of eternal scripture. It is qualities with which we like to invest the forth to battle under that sign. I re for a year, teaching and composing. because this psychology of a race, echo American character ? Henceforth his works will be written ing down the generations, vibrates a As I looked at the composer there in member his showing me a picture of his under the influence of American life, will syinpatlie~ic • string in Bloch, the indi his American home I could not escape home in Switzerland, a charming villa be to all intents and purp'oses American vidual Jew, that Bloch the sensitive art the fact that his appearance, too, is not by a lake, surrounded by age-old trees, works. (The fact that an American pub ist is able to react to it. un-American. He is neither the long :set in an atmosphere of lofty serenity, lishing house is bringing out these mas But have we not, with our love for haired foreigner who in our popular sive scores is certainly significant.) And labels, too quickly labeled Ernest Bloch imagination has become the type of the :and my asking how he could bear ex Bloch himself may go down in history ·as as a Jewish composer, and decided that European musician, nor the slender • changin~ that for this-pointing to our an American composer: he is certainly he writes "Jewish music" and no other, precieux whom one associates with :Sixth Avenue and its thundering "L." as "American"-in his music-as many just as Montague Glass writes Jewish ultra-modern art. He is first of all a '"Ah· yes," he answered, "it was beauti of our native disciples of Strauus and stories and no other? At any rate, the man of flesh and blood; his strong frame, Reger, of d'Indy and Debussy. "Poemes d'Automne,'' which have just the massive head set upon a sturdy body, ful. But what would you? I had to Considering the profound influence been published, or the youthful First the clean-shaven countenance with the leave it in order to make myself heard which this man is likely to exert upon Symphony, or the beautiful symphonic vaulted forehead, the deeply . set eyes the prophet in his own country. * * * American music I was anxious, after poem, "Hiver-Printemps" have no pecu and rather ascetic mouth, and his quick, America is young and vigorous, open these fifteen months, to know whether liarly Jewish connotations. energetic movements might easily be minded, idealistic; Europe is old, sophisti he has preserved the enthusiasm which I was still reflecting upon this phase those of an American professional man •cated, decadent and hostile-an aggrega he radiated at our last interview, eager of his work when Mr. Bloch showed me or man of affairs. This impression tion of cliques. Switzerland was too to renew my impressions of his striking the proofs of his String Quartet, just re deepened as he sat down in the swivel :small; in France they considered me too personality. I felt that the American ceived from the printer. He placed them chair behind the fiat top desk in the little f •German, in Germany too French. Here public, myself included, did not really on the piano rack and began to turn the "office" next to the studio, where books, .I may be anything-even Jewish!" know Ernest Bloch. leaves. Before we realized it we were papers and pictures jostled one another At this I raised my eyebrows in token The thing that is most generally known immersed in the beauties of the work in cozy confusion. From the walls the •of a skeptical frame of mind, and re about Bloch is that he is a Jew. It was the composer sketching the parts on the faces of Mahler and Moussorgsky-the minded him that some of.our own critics as a "Jewish composer" that he intro piano while I read over his shoulder. only musicians' portraits in the entire ,had summarily dismissed his works as duced himself to America. To borrow Now and then he commented upon a pas apartment-looked down as he answered :ugly, br.utal, cacophonous. But his en the language of politics, his campaign sage, but-while I could not help being my questions about his career. I will let thusiasm could not be dampened. "These was conducted upon the issue of Judaism utterly amazed at the technical complex the reader judge whether that career, :are the older men," he said. "It is in music. The great concert of May, ity, the marvelous freedom with which contrasting sharply with that of the tra :natural that they should think this way. 1917, of which the "Jewish Cycle" formed only a master can handle his material ditional musician, might not have been ·what is musical criticism, anyway? I the program, left the public under the his comments always concerned the that of an American. 1work and criticize, I search and suffer, I impression that Bloch represents the spirit of the music alone. They were Hive between dreams and nightmares for musical sublimation of the Jewish race given with a sort of contemplative de The Son of a Merchant m10nths-perhaps years-to produce a and nothing else. It was with this fact tachment, as though he were standing In the first place Bloch is the son of 'composition. At last I know it is good, lingering in my mind that I visited the outside of the thing and searching for a business man-a Geneva dry goods