[89] It is but justice to accord Anton Fuchs a large measure of credit for the recent successful series of performances of Wagner's "Parsifal" in New York at the Metropolitan Opera House.
[90] Although Giacomo Puccini (1858) has long since been held by his countrymen at his true valuation, it is only during the past few years that the world at large has come to realize that his productions are more significant than those of Mascagni and Leoncavallo who, until 1896, had won an international reputation that temporarily overshadowed that of Puccini. Even though Puccini lays himself open to criticism as to the æsthetic value of his choice of librettos in which ultra-sensationalism frequently plays so conspicuous a rôle, there is no longer any doubt that his operas "La Bohème" and "Tosca" have now been permanently admitted to the standard repertoires of the dramatic stage, and, together with his recent success, "Madam Butterfly," have caused the entire musical world to put their stamp of approval upon the earlier verdict of Puccini's countrymen in regarding him as a worthy successor to Verdi and as the most gifted living representative of Italian operatic art.
[91] Wolf-Ferrari (1876) is probably the youngest living composer to whom already more than fleeting recognition has been accorded. It is not an easy matter to decide under what classification he should be placed. With a German father, his mother an Italian, and married to an American, his instincts are Italian, though he owes the stability of his musical training to Rheinberger at Munich. His melodic form is conspicuously Italian, while his harmonic substructure is more or less Teutonic. His orchestration is eclectic; on the other hand, its cardinal characteristic consists of a happy appropriation of Mozart's naïve touch. In a word, one might go yet farther and say that it is precisely this naïveté, not alone in orchestration but in musical substance as well, that makes Wolf-Ferrari's music so refreshing. He owes the opening up of his career to the opera "Die neugierigen Frauen," which has enjoyed a notable and wide-spread popularity in Germany, whereas he has already demonstrated his ability to handle large vocal and orchestral forces for concert performance by his setting of Dante's "La vita nuova," which has also excited favorable comment in Germany and has just been performed in New York with success.
[92] Joseph Suk (1874) continues to command critical favor, as evidenced, for example, by his successful appearance on the concert stage of Berlin in the fall of 1906. Particularly his "Scherzo fantastique" is widely known and well received.
[93] See [Appendix of Musical Illustrations], Examples [90] to [96].
[97] Edvard Hagerup Grieg died in Bergen, Norway, on September 4, 1907.
[98] Enna's recently composed opera "Aglaia" has yet to await the favorable verdict of the general public. Taking into consideration the kindly and patriotic disposition of his own countrymen toward all serious artistic efforts on the part of their native composers, it is reasonable to predict that "Aglaia" will eventually receive the same cordial reception as its predecessors, at least in so far as the Danish audience is concerned. (During the past year the present writer has had repeated opportunity to note the attentive attitude of the public in the Danish capital toward aspiring home talent,—a national trait of such exceptional virtue that it cannot be sufficiently commented upon.)