A few American composers emerged, and of them the most frequently found were Frederick S. Converse and Henry K. Hadley, of whose works several were produced by the leading orchestras and opera companies.
The list of virtuosi is also long. Among pianists Harold Bauer and Ossip Gabrilovitsch appeared in 1900, and later came Rudolf Ganz, Josef Lhevinne, Katherine Goodson, and Serge Rachmaninof. Among violinists, Kubelik, Kocian, Hugo Heermann, Jacques Thibaud, Efrem Zimbalist and Arthur Spalding, only the last being of American birth.
The list of singers is long, and is chiefly associated with opera. Louise Homer, an American, made her début in 1900, and Geraldine Farrar, another American, in 1906. Among other noted singers we find, Lucienne Breval, Caruso, Fremstad, Tetrazzini, Bonci, Renaud, Chaliapin, Morena, Destinn, Mary Garden, John McCormack, Edouard Clément, and Slezak,—samples of many nationalities.
This brings us to the opera. Maurice Grau resigned from the directorship of the Metropolitan Opera House in 1903. Grau brought the star system to a climax, and gave opera with "all star casts," but few new operas were presented under his management. In 1903 Heinrich Conried succeeded to the management of the Metropolitan Opera House, and set himself to work to abolish the star system, as far as possible, and produce a good ensemble. The abolition of the star system proved an impossibility, because people had been fed upon it since the musical life of the country began, and New York audiences would not go to hear singers who had not already made European reputations. But Mr. Conried succeeded in producing many works new to the American public. Of these "Parsifal" stands forth conspicuously, though he found a competitor in Henry W. Savage, who produced "Parsifal" in English a few days in advance of Mr. Conried's production. This was followed in 1906 by Strauss's "Salome." Conried died in 1908 and was succeeded by the dual control of Signor Gatti-Casazza and Andreas Dippel, but Dippel soon resigned and went to Chicago, and from that date until the present (1922) Signor Gatti-Casazza has been sole manager of the Metropolitan Opera House.
In 1906 Oscar Hammerstein opened the Manhattan Opera House in New York City and instituted a strong rivalry with the Metropolitan. He brought to America some excellent singers and presented many works new to the American public. While the Metropolitan company gave more German than French or Italian opera, the Manhattan seemed to tend towards a preponderance of French opera. The rivalry was beneficial to the public if not to the stockholders.
We find during this period an opera, "The Pipe of Desire," by Frederick S. Converse, the first American opera to be presented at the Metropolitan Opera House. All the principals, with one exception, were also of American birth,—Louise Homer, Riccardo Martin, Clarence Whitehill and Herbert Witherspoon. The other principal was Lenora Sparks, an English singer.
The most notable feature of the decade seems to have been the spread of musical enterprise throughout the country. Distant cities were organizing choral societies and orchestras to a greater extent than ever before. It is necessary not only to develop composers, support a few fine orchestras and produce a few operas, but the nation must grow musically as a whole. The support given to musical enterprise depends on the education of the rising generation, and must begin with the schools.
1900. Jan. 5. Sinding's "Rondo Infinito" given by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Also Weidig's "Scherzo Capriccioso."
1900. Jan. 13. R. Goldmark's overture to "Hiawatha" produced (from MS.) by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
1900. Jan. 19. Sinding's "Episodes Chevaleresques" given by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.