82. “War-Time Opera,” Nation (October 4, 1917): 363. Note “Again the German Opera Question,” Musical America (September 22, 1917): 20; and “Is Wagner a German or an International Phenomenon?,” Musical America (September 29, 1917): 32.
83. “Metropolitan Directors Bar German Opera,” New York Herald, November 3, 1917.
84. Giulio Gatti-Casazza, Memories of the Opera (London: John Calder, 1977; orig. Scribners, 1941), 180–81.
85. Ibid., 181–82. The estimate of forty to forty-five works is from Irving Kolodin, The Metropolitan Opera, 1883–1966: A Candid History (New York: Knopf, 1967), 270. Unfortunately, the minutes of the board meetings in this period shed no light on how or why the decision was made because the records of those meetings are incomplete. The records skip from April 8, 1913 to March 13, 1916. They also skip from March 12, 1917 to December 27, 1917. Finally, they skip from April 3, 1918 to March 10, 1919. See Board minutes, 1908–1929, MOA.
86. See “War-Time Antagonism Halts Wagner Opera,” Musical Courier (November 8, 1917): 5. Musical America claimed there was no significant disapproval among Met subscribers when the decision was made to ban German opera. See “Mephisto’s Musings,” Musical America (December 22, 1917): 7. Parsifal reappeared at the Met in February 1920 (in English). A complete Ring cycle would not be heard until the 1924–1925 season. See William H. Seltsam, ed., Metropolitan Opera Annals: A Chronicle of Artists and Performances (New York: H. W. Wilson, 1947), 308.
87. “Metropolitan Directors Bar German Opera,” New York Herald, November 3, 1917. On November 2, 1917, the New York Times reported that a minority of the board opposed performing opera in German. “Halt German Opera at Metropolitan.” The November 8, 1917, issue of the Musical Courier reported that the Met board voted unanimously to ban German opera. “War-Time Antagonism Halts Wagner Opera,” 5. Kolodin suggests the board’s decision was hasty and reflected timidity. See Kolodin, 269–70.
88. “Wagner in English,” Musical Courier (November 8, 1917): 22. Note “Why Not Wagner?,” Ibid. (November 22, 1917): 22. Note a letter on performing Wagner in English: “Russian Opera for German,” New York Times, November 14, 1917.
89. “Fools Who Would Be ‘Broad’,” The Chronicle (December 1917): n.p.
90. “Singers to Blame,” New York Times, November 25, 1917.
91. “German Arms, Not Art,” New York Times, November 11, 1917.
92. “Pleasure-Giving Wagner,” New York Tribune, November 12, 1917.
93. “Music Universal, Not National,” New York Tribune, November 9, 1917.
94. “Metropolitan Ban on Wagner the Theme of Many Letters and Conflicting Views,” New York Times, November 11, 1917. Note the letter from Emily Bloch: “German Opera Here,” New York Tribune, November 2, 1917; and “Why Assail German Art?” New York Tribune, November 19, 1917. Despite the ban, the debate on German music persisted. See “Time to Drop Wagner,” New York Tribune, March 29, 1918. On the day the editorial appeared, a Tribune reader wrote to oppose the paper’s position and the ban. See “Wagner’s Message,” Ibid., April 7, 1918.
95. “There Is Danger in German Music,” The Chronicle (September 1918): n.p. For a more reasonable perspective on German music, see “Not a Question of Art,” Musical America (July 27, 1918): 18.
96. Population data in Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, 413. Christiane Harzig, “Germans” in Encyclopedia of Chicago. www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. For background on anti-German sentiment see Howard B. Furer, ed., Chicago: A Chronological and Documentary History, 1784–1970 (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana, 1974), 40.
97. Material on Stock is from the website of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, www.cso.org/archives. On Stock’s achievements, see Joseph Horowitz, Classical Music in America: A History of Its Rise and Fall (New York: W. W. Norton, 2005), 305–8. On Theodore Thomas, see Lawrence W. Levine, Highbrow, Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988), 112–19.
98. “Chicago Symphony Season Concluded,” Musical America (May 5, 1917): 15. On the final concert, see “Symphony Concerts Close,” Chicago Herald, April 21, 1917; and “All German Program by Stock,” Chicago Examiner, Ibid. During the 1916–1917 season, the orchestra played Strauss frequently (ten pieces), along with excerpts from eight Wagner operas. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Programs, 1916–1917 Season, Rosenthal Archives, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (hereafter CSO Archives). In the 1917–1918 season, the orchestra played three Strauss pieces and seven Wagner opera excerpts. Ibid., 1917–1918 Season. On the three boys, see “Defends Youths’ Affront to Flag as ‘Poor Taste’,” Chicago Tribune, April 23, 1917. Note that the Chicago newspaper clippings in the rest of the chapter are from the clipping files in the Rosenthal Archives, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Hall, Chicago.
99. “World Warfare Brings Discords,” Chicago Herald, April 21, 1917. After the intermission of an April 1918 concert, the orchestra expressed its allegiance to the United States in a resolution read by an orchestra official. Some claimed the orchestra was rife with pro-German sentiment. See letters to the editor of the Chicago Journal: “Expel Huns from Orchestra,” August 21, 1918; and “Orchestra Always Pro-Hun,” August 22, 1918.
100. “Mephisto’s Musings,” Musical America (March 30, 1918): 7. Note “Of Ballads, Songs, and Snatches,” Chicago Tribune, April 14, 1918; and Philo Adams Otis, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Its Organization, Growth, and Development, 1891–1924 (Chicago: Clayton F. Summy, 1924), 305.
101. On Stock, see: “U.S. Probes F. A. Stock’s Activities,” Chicago Journal, April 23, 1918; “Stock is Loyal, Is Declaration of F. J. Wessel,” Chicago Evening Post, April 23, 1918; “Leader Stock Satisfies U.S. of Loyalty,” Chicago Examiner, April 24, 1918; “Frederick Stock Gets Clear Bill as to Loyalty,” Chicago Herald, April 24, 1918; “Indorse Stock for Loyalty; Rumor Nailed,” Chicago Tribune, April 24, 1918. The Stock quotation is from “Says War Is ‘Purely Commercial’,” Chicago Journal, April 24, 1918.
102. “Aliens Dropped by Federation of Musicians,” Chicago Tribune, August 14, 1918; “Stock Must Quit, Decree of Musicians,” Chicago Journal, August 14, 1918; “ ‘O.K.’ by U.S. or Stock Loses Job,” Chicago Herald, August 15, 1918; “Union to Drop Aliens as Blow at Symphony,” Chicago Tribune, August 15, 1918; “Fred’K Stock Forced to Quit,” Chicago Journal, August 16, 1918.
103. “Union Revokes Ouster of Alien Musicians,” Chicago American, August 17, 1918; “Union to Eject Disloyal,” Chicago Herald, August 17, 1918; “Symphony Members Pledge Loyalty to the United States,” Chicago Tribune, August 17, 1918; “Stock Menace to [unclear],” Chicago Journal, August 17, 1918.
104. “The Case of Frederick Stock,” Musical America (August 24, 1918): 18.
105. “Matters of Music,” Chicago Tribune, August 18, 1918. Note “Symphony Seeks to Retain Stock,” Chicago Herald, August 21, 1918.
106. Stock to the Trustees of the Orchestral Association, August 17, 1918, Frederick Stock, ART-I-1/23, Rosenthal Archives, CSO Archives. He petitioned the US Government to have his status as an enemy alien changed, which would have allowed him to become a naturalized US citizen. Stock declared his loyalty and devotion to American principles. Frederick Stock to His Excellency, The President of the United States, n.d. (most likely summer of 1918 or just afterward), ART-I-1/22, Ibid.
107. For the October 1, 1918, reply, see the Trustees’ letter to Stock, Minutes of the Board of Trustees, TOA-B-1, 55–56, CSO Archives. For press accounts: “Mr. Stock Quits Orchestra Till Made a Citizen,” Chicago Tribune, October 2, 1918; “Trustees Praise Stock’s Ability,” Chicago Herald, Ibid.; “Stock Is Out of Orchestra,” Chicago Journal, Ibid. For positive editorials: “Mr. Stock’s Resignation,” Chicago Tribune, October 3, 1918; and “The Orchestral Problem Solved,” Chicago Herald, October 4, 1918.
108. “Probe Loyalty of 7 Symphony Orchestra Men,” Chicago Evening Post, August 8, 1918.
109. “Kaiser Lovers in Orchestra under Probe,” Chicago
Journal, August 8, 1918; “7 of Symphony Orchestra May Be Interned,” Chicago American, August 8, 1918; “Seven Symphony Players under Anti-U.S. Cloud,” Chicago Tribune, August 9, 1918.
110. “Orchestra Men Charged with Pro-Hun Talk,” Chicago Tribune, August 10, 1918. Note “Americanized Symphony to Be Asked of Stock,” Ibid., August 11, 1918; “More Symphony Players Heard in Loyalty Quiz,” Ibid., August 13, 1918; “Bruno Steindel in U.S. Inquiry,” Chicago Herald, August 10, 1918; “Steindel Stills Cello,” Chicago News, August 13, 1918.
111. For the resolution, see “Minutes of the Board of Trustees,” August 19, 1918, TOA-B-1, Rosenthal Archives, Chicago Symphony Orchestra. On the U.S. district attorney’s position, see “Trustees Offer U.S. Aid to Make Symphony Loyal,” Chicago Tribune, August 22, 1918. On the investigation, see “Americanized Symphony Asked of Stock,” Chicago Tribune, August 11, 1918.
112. “Charges of Disloyalty,” Chicago Tribune, August 22, 1918. Note “Disloyalists in Orchestra Soon Will Be Named,” Chicago Evening Post, August 22, 1918; “Truth-Justice,” Chicago Herald, Ibid.; “Our Orchestra,” Chicago Tribune, August 16, 1918.
113. “Symphony Members Pledge Loyalty Publicly to the U.S.,” Chicago Tribune, August 17, 1918. Note “Alien Symphony Men Renounce Kaiser and Home,” Chicago Herald, August 17, 1918; “Orchestra Men in Symphony of Real Loyalty,” Chicago Evening Post, Ibid.
114. “Bruno Steindel Gives Up His Job with Orchestra,” Chicago Tribune, October 3, 1918.
115. “Mephisto’s Musings,” Musical America (October 12, 1918): 7.
116. “Four Orchestra Players Ousted for War Views,” Chicago Tribune, October 11, 1918. Note “More Musicians Now Facing Trial for Disloyal Acts,” Chicago Evening Post, October 11, 1918.
117. On the oath, see “Loyalty Test for Minnesota Players,” Musical America (September 7, 1918): 23. Note Jack K. Sherman, The Story of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1952), 113, 138–39.
118. “Emil Oberhoffer—An American,” Musical Courier (June 27, 1918): 6. Note a Musical Courier interview with the manager of the Minneapolis Symphony, which lauded Oberhoffer. “Wendell Heighton, Resourceful and Able Manager of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Expresses Himself Regarding Music in War Times,” Ibid. (June 20, 1918): 9.
119. Ibid.
120. See Kenneth H. Marcus, Musical Metropolis: Los Angeles and the Creation of a Music Culture, 1880–1940 (New York: Palgrave, 2004), esp. ch. 2.
121. “Will Not Hear German Music,” Los Angeles Times, January 29, 1918.
122. Ibid.
123. Ibid.
124. “Concert Programmes Are Being Revised, Ibid., January 31, 1918. Note “Tainted Money, Baer’s Theme,” Ibid., May 13, 1918; and “Approves Elimination of German Music,” Ibid., August 28, 1918.
125. “Kultur-Tainted School Songbooks Withdrawn,” Ibid., June 13, 1918.
126. “Why German Music Is Banned,” Ibid., June 18, 1918.
127. “Must Not Play German Songs,” Ibid., September 1, 1918.
128. “German Music Must Become ‘Verboten’,” Ibid., September 2, 1918. Note “Pro-German Apologists,” Ibid., May 15, 1918.
129. On the events that evening, see “Beethoven Festival Concerts Unqualified Artistic Successes,” Pacific Coast Musical Review (August 14, 1915): 1. The review criticized the decision to play the anthem: “ ‘Bulletin’ Writer Victim of Stupid Musical Hoax,” Pacific Coast Musical Review (September 4, 1915): 1. The preceding exculpated Hertz. For Hertz’s account, see his memoir, “Facing the Music,” which was serialized over several weeks in the San Francisco Chronicle. See installment 24 of “Facing the Music,” July 5, 1942. For concert reviews, see “Thousands Pay Homage to Art of Beethoven,” San Francisco Examiner, August 7, 1915; and “Hertz is Hero at Beethoven Concert,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 7, 1915.
130. See “ ‘Bulletin’ Writer Victim of Stupid Musical Hoax” (cited above); and “Hadley’s Friends, in Huff, Quit Music Association,” San Francisco Bulletin, August 27, 1915. Note installment 24 of “Facing the Music” in San Francisco Chronicle.
131. See “Hadley’s Friends, in Huff, Quit Music Association,” San Francisco Bulletin, August 27, 1915.
132. See the board minutes for the San Francisco Symphony, September 6, 1918, 395–97, San Francisco Symphony Archives (hereafter SFSA), Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, CA. On the citizenship question, see Hertz’s account in “Facing the Music,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 7, 1942; and “Contract with Mr. Hertz,” Board minutes, May 1, 1918/April 19, 1918, 374, SFSA.
133. See Edmund Bowles, “Karl Muck and His Compatriots: German Conductors in World War I (and How They Coped),” American Music 25, no. 4 (Winter 2007): 405–40.
134. On the board’s dissatisfaction, see “Selfridge Quits Music Committee,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 28, 1915. Note “Hertz Wins Place,” San Francisco Bulletin, August 28, 1915.
135. Quoted in “Weapons Are Sharpened for Symphony War,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 5, 1916.
136. See “Contract with Mr. Hertz,” Board minutes, May 1, 1918/April 19, 1918, 373, SFSA.
137. On “The Star-Spangled Banner,” see “Facing the Music,” installment 25 of Hertz’s memoir, San Francisco Chronicle, July 7, 1942. For reviews, see “Alfred Hertz Wins Triumph with Symphony Orchestra,” San Francisco Chronicle, December 8, 1915; and “Alfred Hertz Reveals Himself as a Great Symphony Conductor,” Pacific Coast Musical Review (December 25, 1915): 1–2. On the challenges Hertz confronted, see Larry Rothe, Music for a City, Music for the World: 100 Years with the San Francisco Symphony (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2011), 39–50; and Leta E. Miller, Music and Politics in San Francisco: From the 1906 Quake to the Second World War (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012), 52–56.
138. See “German Composers,” Board minutes, August 6, 1918, 382, SFSA. On anti-German sentiment, loyalty, and citizenship, see Board minutes, September 6, 1918, 395–97, SFSA.
139. For the orchestra’s repertoire, see the concert program lists for the 1918–1919 and 1919–1920 seasons, SFSA.
140. “Wisconsin Music Teachers Urge Ban on Alien Artists,” Musical America (June 8, 1918): 1.
141. “St. Louis Union Drops Seven Aliens,” Ibid. (July 27, 1918): 4.
142. “Club to Teach No German Music,” Christian Science Monitor, October 10, 1918.
143. “Orchestra Changes Its Wilmington Concert,” Musical America (November 17, 1917): 31.
144. See “Mrs. Jay Bars German Music,” New York Times, August 17, 1918.
Chapter Two: “It Would Be a Gross Mistake to Play Patriotic Airs”: Locking Up the Maestros
1. Edmund A. Bowles, “Karl Muck and His Compatriots: German Conductors in America during World War I (and How They Coped),” American Music 25, no. 4 (Winter 2007): 405–440. Quotation from 428. For an illuminating discussion of music and World War I, see Barbara L. Tischler, An American Music: The Search for an American Musical Identity (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), ch. 3.
2. Bowles, 426–27.
3. “Dr. Muck Bitter at Sailing,” New York Times, August 22, 1919.
4. According to the 1910 census, Cincinnati’s population was 363,591, of whom 28,425 were born in Germany, which represented half the foreign-born residents of the city. The number of US-born residents with both parents born in Germany was 59,986; the number of U.S.-born residents with one parent born in Germany was 28,959. Thus, 117,370 residents were either German-born or were born in the United States to one or two German parents. Information from Thirteenth Census of the United States taken in the Year 1910 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1913), 3: 398, 426.
5. On Kunwald’s arrival in Cincinnati, see the following: “Cincinnati’s New Conductor,” Cincinnati Times-Star, n.d. but 1912, Clipping file, Ernst Kunwald, Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center, New York (NYPLPA); and “Ernst Kunwald Is Cincinnati’s Choice,” Music
al America (n.d. but 1912), Ibid.
6. “Cincinnati Orchestra’s New York Triumph,” Musical Courier (January 11, 1917): 25. “Dr. Kunwald’s Great Gifts,” Ibid. (January 18, 1917): 27. Note a somewhat less adulatory review. “Rousing Reception for Cincinnatians,” Musical America (January 20, 1917): 17.
7. “Dr. Kunwald’s Great Gifts,” Musical Courier (January 18, 1917): 27.
8. Note “The Cincinnati Orchestra in Retrospection,” Musical Courier (January 18, 1917): 27; and a collection of excerpted reviews in “The Triumphal Tour of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra,” Musical America (February 10, 1917): 14.
9. “Kunwald to Lead Players in Local Songs,” Cincinnati Post, October 25, 1917. Kunwald said he did not anticipate being called home to serve. “Kunwald Attends Only to His Music,” Toledo Times, April 29, 1917.
10. Quoted in “Kunwald Attends Only to his Music,” Ibid.
11. “Symphony Season Opens with Admirable Concert,” Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, October 27, 1917.
12. “Symphony Scores Success in Native Music Program; Delightfully Presented,” Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, November 3, 1917.
13. “Many Subscriptions to the Liberty Loan by Symphony Players,” Cincinnati Times-Star, October 25, 1917. On the opening concert, see “The Symphony Concert,” Cincinnati Enquirer, October 27, 1917; “Symphony Is Triumph for Player Body,” Cincinnati Post, October 27, 1917; and “Symphony Season Is Opened with Brilliant Concert,” Cincinnati Times-Star, October 27, 1917.
14. On the Springfield concert and interview, note the following, all from November 21, 1917: “Cincinnati Orchestra Commended,” Springfield Daily News; “Philip Frey,” Springfield Sun; “Bar Music of Living Composers,” Ibid.; “Audience Waits,” Ibid. Material from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Scrapbooks, vol. 19 (hereafter CSO Scrapbooks), Cincinnati Historical Society, Cincinnati, Ohio.
15. “Pittsburgh Puts Ban on Enemy Musicians,” Philadelphia Public Ledger, November 22, 1917, CSO Scrapbooks, vol. 19. The mention of Sherman is undoubtedly a reference to the Civil War general’s observation that “war is hell.” Note “Orchestra Not to Play in This City,” Pittsburgh Daily Dispatch, November 22, 1917; “Orchestra Forced to Cancel Concert,” Pittsburgh Post, November 22, 1917.
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