GERMAN MUSIC

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 99, 26 April 1917, Page 10

GERMAN MUSIC

At the forty-sixth annual general meeting of tho corporation of tho Royal Albert Hall Mr. G. Hicks, after commenting fay-, ourably upon the year's work of the council, had something to spy about German music at the hall. When attending a Sunday concert on ono occasion, he said, ho saw many wounded .soldiers presentmen who had lost arms, or legs, or eyes' in the war. By, hia side sat a wounded officer, who called attention to the fact that the whole of ,the instrumental music on the programme was by a German composer — Wagner. / It was hardly tho thing for men who had lost their limbs to bo invited to a German concert, and he thought the officer'who spoke to him was quite right in venting his indignation. It was as insulting as to invite "a friend to a dinner of sauerkraut arid other. German dishes! . If German musio could not be boycotted altogether, let them, at any rate, provide some of the best works of the Entente Allies. ' To this complaint, Earl, Howe, the chairman, replied that the concert criticised was one of the most successful of the season. But Mr. Hicks was quite within his right in calling attention to it. . All the German music which had been chosen was by men ivho were dead and gone, and could have had no sort of influence on, or responsibility for, the present war. If attention was called to any great composer whose works had not been produced he would only be too pleased to do his best to secure performance for the compositions.