The Spirit of Music

On April 24, 1924, a memorial was unveiled in Grant Park honoring Theodore Thomas, founding music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  Although designed as a lasting tribute to the man who established Chicago as a center for outstanding classical music, the monument itself has had a shaky history, and very nearly disappeared altogether.  In this article, we will explore the creation of the Theodore Thomas memorial and how it ended up at its current location just north of Balbo Drive.

The B. F. Ferguson Monument Fund

Benjamin Franklin Ferguson was a prominent Chicago lumber merchant.  His home, a massive brick Queen Anne style home completed in 1883, still stands in the West Jackson Boulevard landmark district.  When he died in 1905, Ferguson left a bequest of $1,000,000 for the establishment of a fund, the income of which was to be expended by the Board of Trustees of the Art Institute of Chicago (of which John Glessner was a member) to fund public monuments.  Specifically, the income was to be used “in the erection and maintenance of enduring statuary and monuments in the whole or in part of stone, granite or bronze, in the parks, along the boulevards or in other public places, within the city of Chicago, Illinois, commemorating worthy men or women of America or important events of American history.” 

The first monument to be erected by the fund was the Fountain of the Great Lakes by Lorado Taft, dedicated in 1913 on the south terrace of the Art Institute of Chicago.  By the early 1920s, additional monuments included:

-Statue of the Republic, Daniel Chester French, sculptor, 1918 (Jackson Park)

-Alexander Hamilton, Bela Lyon Pratt, sculptor, 1918 (Grant Park)

-Illinois Centennial Monument, Evelyn B. Longman, sculptor, 1918 (Logan Square)

-Eugene Field Monument, Edward McCartan, sculptor, 1922 (Lincoln Park)

-Fountain of Time, Lorado Taft, sculptor, 1922 (Washington Park, Midway)

Sculptor Albin Polasek

By the time the massive Fountain of Time was dedicated in late 1922, discussion was already underway for a permanent memorial to Theodore Thomas, who had died in 1905.  The site selected was a location just south of the Art Institute, facing Orchestra Hall (now Symphony Center).

Czech-American sculptor Albin Polasek (1879-1965) was commissioned to create the work, which was titled “The Spirit of Music.”  Polasek began his career as a wood carver in Vienna, immigrating to the United States in his early twenties and settling in Philadelphia.  In 1916, he was invited to head the department of sculpture at the Art Institute, where he remained for over 30 years.  He retired to Winter Park, Florida in 1950 and his home and studio are open to the public as the Albin Polasek Museum andSculpture Gardens.

Chicago Tribune, April 13, 1924

An article in the Chicago Tribune, dated April 13, 1924, noted the following:

“Albin Polasek, head of the sculpture department of the Art Institute, will soon have the satisfaction of seeing his beautiful monument to the memory of Theodore Thomas erected in bronze . . . ‘The Spirit of Music,’ Polasek has called his memorial.  The figure is of heroic size and stands thirteen feet high.  She holds a lyre in her arm, the strings of which she has just struck, the act being indicated by her uplifted right hand.  With its granite pedestal the bronze figure will of course stand several feet higher than its thirteen feet.  The great seat just to the east is a semi-circular affair about forty feet in length.  Upon it figures of the orchestra are carved.  Polasek has done in this a truly powerful and significant piece of sculpture.  It is effective, simple, striking, decorative, impressive, and artistic.”

As noted in A Guide to Chicago’s Public Sculpture by Ira J. Bach and Mary Lackritz Gray (The University of Chicago Press, 1983), the bronze figure, actually 15 feet in height, was “to have the grandeur of a Beethoven symphony and to be ‘feminine . . . but not too feminine.’”  The guide also describes the hemispherical base upon which the figure stands, featuring “low relief figures of Orpheus playing his lyre, Chibiabos, from Longfellow’s ‘Song of Hiawatha’ singing, and a group of animals listening.”  Polasek insisted that the face peering out from a small classical mask at the lower end of the lyre was his own.

Howard Van Doren Shaw

Architect Howard Van Doren Shaw (1869-1926) collaborated with Polasek on the memorial, designing the massive granite exedra and bench to display Polasek’s incised carving of the orchestra members being led by Thomas.  The back side of the exedra features a memorial panel with Thomas’ bust surrounded by the following inscription:

“Scarcely any many in any land has done so much for the musical education of the people as did Theodore Thomas in this country.  The nobility of his ideals with the magnitude of his achievement will assure him everlasting glory.  1835-1905.”

Dedication

The bronze figure was completed in 1923, the date noted on its base, but was not set into place and unveiled until April 24, 1924.  The dedication ceremony began at 4:00pm with a program and concert in Orchestra Hall.  Thomas championed German music, so it is not surprising that the works performed that afternoon included the Chorale and Fugue by Bach-Albert, the first movement from Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, and the Prelude to the Mastersingers of Nuremberg by Wagner.  Charles H. Hamill gave an address on the life and work of Theodore Thomas.  Charles L. Hutchinson, president of the Art Institute and the B. F. Ferguson Monument Fund, presented the memorial, which was accepted by Edward J. Kelly, president of the South Park Commissioners.  (The South Park District merged with others to form the Chicago Park District in 1934).

The assembled audience then adjourned to the location of the monument immediately south of the Art Institute.  Thomas’s daughter, Mrs. D. N. B. Sturgis, unveiled the memorial “while trumpets played a theme from the ninth symphony of Beethoven and crowds stood with bared heads.”

Later History

In 1941, the monument was moved to the north end of Grant Park, very near to the original peristyle designed by Edward H. Bennett.  That structure was demolished in 1953 when the Grant Park underground parking garage was constructed, and The Spirit of Music was placed in storage.  When it was re-erected five years later near Buckingham Foundation, only the bronze figure was installed.

In the late 1980s, the original granite sections of the exedra were found along the edge of Lake Michigan where they had been dumped.  They were retrieved by the Chicago Park District and restored, and the present setting for the memorial was created at the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive.  The rededication of the monument took place on October 18, 1991, concluding the year long celebration of the CSO's centennial season.  Sir Georg Solti was joined by Rafael Kubelik and Daniel Barenboim for the ceremony, which was followed that evening by a concert recreating the very first performance of the orchestra in October 1891.  

The adjacent Spirit of Music Garden has for many years now been home to the popular Summer Dance, continuing, in a somewhat different vein, the legacy of music in the cultural fabric of the City of Chicago.

Statue Stories

In August 2015, The Spirit of Music was one of thirty statues in the city to be featured in “Statue Stories,” funded by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and produced by Sing London.  At each of the thirty sites, visitors can swipe their smart phone and get a call back from a celebrity, telling the story of the monument.  The Spirit of Music story is read by soprano Renee Fleming, creative consultant with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.  For more information, visit Statue Stories Chicago.

Rose Fay Thomas

On March 29, 2016, music historian Joan Bentley Hoffman will present a lecture on the life and accomplishments of Rose Fay Thomas, the first is a series of three spring lectures exploring women prominent in the advancement of classical music at the turn of the 20^th century.  (Additional lectures will examine Frances Glessner on April 28 and Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler on May 24.  For more information, or to reserve tickets, visit www.glessnerhouse.org/events/).   In this article, we will look briefly at the life of Rose Fay Thomas.

Rose Fay arrived in Chicago in 1878, taking up residence with her brother Charles.  She became acquainted with Frances Glessner through her sister Amy, an accomplished pianist, and one of the first women to study in Europe.  In May of 1890, Rose married Theodore Thomas, the nationally-recognized music director who had brought his celebrated orchestra to Chicago annually since 1869.  Soon after, Thomas accepted the position to establish a permanent orchestra in Chicago, the present day Chicago Symphony Orchestra, now celebrating its 125^th anniversary season.

Rose Thomas became her husband’s able help mate and most ardent supporter.  In a letter to Frances Glessner dated May 3, 1892, she noted in part:

“I want to tell Mr. Glessner how much pleasure his letter gave to Mr. Thomas.  He has worked himself almost to death this winter to bring the orchestra up to the highest standard, and make the concerts as perfect as possible. . . “

Regarding the criticisms he was receiving, she went on to acknowledge the Glessners:

‘for the generous sympathy, and support of those far seeing, and noble minded men and women, like yourself and Mr. Glessner, who can grasp the situation, and understand that Mr. Thomas is here to establish a great Art Work, and to make Chicago one of the first musical centers of the world.”

During the World’s Columbian Exposition, for which Theodore Thomas was placed in charge of the extensive musical program, Rose Thomas organized the music clubs of the country into the National Federation of Music Clubs.  She served as the first president and was later appointed honorary president, a position she held until her death.

In August 1894, the Thomases visited the Glessners at their summer estate, The Rocks, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  While driving through the surrounding countryside:

“Mrs. Thomas was in raptures over one of the views and locations and came back thoroughly in love with it . . . The Thomases went to Bethlehem and bought about fourteen acres out of Whitcomb’s farm – for which they paid $800.  They have been wild with enthusiasm and interest ever since.”

Two years later, the Thomases completed their home, Felsengarten, on the property, with Rose Thomas personally supervising much of the work.  From this point forward, they spent their summers at their beloved summer estate, as neighbors of the Glessners.  Rose Thomas became an accomplished gardener, frequently sharing plants with Frances Glessner, and in 1904 Rose Thomas published an account of her estate, entitled Our Mountain Garden, a copy of which she presented to Frances Glessner for Christmas.

Rose Thomas was passionate about the abolition of cruelty toward animals.  In January 1899, she convened a small group of ladies to organize what evolved into the Anti-Cruelty Society.  Two months later, by-laws were adopted, and Rose Thomas was appointed president, one of the first women to head a Humane Society in the country.

(Today, the Rose Fay Thomas Society recognizes those individuals who have made planned gifts for the ongoing support of the Anti-Cruelty Society). 

Theodore Thomas died of pneumonia on January 4, 1905, just two weeks after the official opening of Orchestra Hall.  His widow soon gave up their home at 43 Bellevue Place, moving to an apartment at 2000 S. Indiana Avenue, just a few blocks from the Glessners.  Before the move, she came to stay with the Glessners for much needed rest, Frances Glessner noting:

“Mrs. Thomas came in the afternoon to stay with us.  She brought her little dog.  She was perfectly worn out with all the hard work and anxiety she has gone through.  I gave her the big corner room with a bright fire in it – and have left her alone as much as possible.  She says it is the first rest she has had since October and has visibly improved since coming.”

She remained a champion of her husband’s work and in 1911 published Memoirs of Theodore Thomas, dedicating the volume to her brother Charles Norman Fay, “the best and truest friend of Theodore Thomas and the chief promoter of his art.” 

When she died in 1929, she was given a military funeral in recognition of her significant service assisting enlisted men as a director of the Soldiers and Sailors Club.  She was the first woman in New England and only the fourth in the United States to be accorded a military funeral up to that time.  She was interred beside her husband at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Today, the Anti-Cruelty Society and the National Federation of Music Clubs serve as the enduring legacy of this fascinating and inspiring individual.

The Singing Bowl

One of the first objects visitors notice upon entering the Glessner house is a large bronze bowl set upon a table in the main hall.  Displaying a dark patinated finish, the bowl measures 9-1/2 inches in height and 14 inches in diameter.  The piece is yet another example of the Glessners’ interest in Japanese design.

Known as a singing bowl, the piece is a standing bell positioned with its bottom surface resting on a cushion.  The rim of the bowl vibrates to produce a beautiful tone, thus the origin of its name.  John Glessner makes mention of the bowl in a manuscript describing the contents of the house:

“ . . . a Japanese temple gong of sweet tone, from the celebrated Captain Binkley collection.”

Postcard showing a Japanese temple gong
Morse Museum, Warren, New Hampshire (closed 1992)

Although the reference to Captain Binkley and his celebrated collection has been lost to time, the reference does verify that the piece is Japanese in origin.  These bowls, or gongs, are found in all Japanese temples.  An important part of Buddhist worship, the bowls are rung to signal the beginning and ending of periods of silent meditation.  They are also used during chanting, and are an important element in traditional Japanese funeral rites and ancestor worship.

The bowls were also widely made and used in Tibet, Nepal, and China.  Accompanied by a mallet (seen in the foreground of the photo at top), they could be rung in two ways.  One was to strike the rim of the bowl with the padded end of the mallet, producing a deep tone.  The other was to slowly rub the wooden end of the mallet around the exterior perimeter of the bowl, gradually producing a sweet higher pitched tone that “sung.” 

Wear on the mallet would indicate that the Glessners rang their singing bowl in both manners.  In addition to using their bowl to call their guests in to dinner, entries in Frances Glessner’s journal would indicate that they also rung the bowl as part of their New Year’s celebrations.

Frances Glessner made the following journal entry for December 31, 1893:

“At nine some invited friends commenced to come.  Then Mr. and Mrs. Thomas and Marion came.  Mr. Thomas brought a trio of the best from the orchestra – and the harpist Schuecker.  We had a bright drift wood fire in the hall and turned the lights all out.  There were about thirty guests in all.  We all sat about this lovely fire…The music the trio played was all from Beethoven and Mozart – it was as it was originally written – and was of the most exquisite character.  The harpist played beautifully.  We had him come out in the hall for one number and sit in the fire light.  At midnight Mr. Thomas struck the hour on our Japanese gong.  We all congratulated each other.  John proposed my health in a beautiful toast to me – all drunk it in some hot mulled claret.  Mrs. Stevenson made a very flattering toast.  Then we had more sweet, sweet music – and all went home half after one. It was very rare artistic evening.”

(Notes:  “Mr. Thomas” was Theodore Thomas, first music director of the Chicago Orchestra – later the Chicago Symphony Orchestra – and a very close friend of the Glessners.  Frances Glessner’s birthday was January 1, hence the toast from her husband). 

Frances Glessner herself had the honor of striking the gong on December 31, 1909:

“We had our dinner at 8 o’clock.  The Stocks, Johnsons, Wessels, Anne, Mrs. Kennedy, Mrs. Morron were here.  Frances had a dinner for 10 – all came here at ten o’clock and we had Miss Reid who imitated a passé prima donna, Will Collins who sang songs and told stories, and McConnick who brought his trained dog Bronte.  He also gave clever imitations of bird songs.  We all laughed until we ached.  At midnight we had champagne and claret cup, ice cream and cake and I struck twelve on the gong.  We circled round and sang Auld Lang Syne – hoch etc. etc.  John proposed a beautiful toast to Mr. Stock and another to me at midnight.  I gave Mr. Stock a letter from Mendelssohn, one from Jenny Lind and an old engraving of Jenny Lind.”

(Note:  Frederick Stock, one of the Glessners’ most intimate friends, served as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1905 until his death in 1942.  The New Year’s Eve celebration followed the afternoon premier of his Symphony No. 1 which he dedicated to John and Frances Glessner). 

Singing bowl shop in Nepal

Singing bowls are now widely available and are commonly used in meditation, although most of these are much smaller than the Glessners' bowl so that they can be held in the palm of the hand.  

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra 125th Anniversary Season

Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1926

Over the weekend of September 18-19, 2015, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra launched its 125^th anniversary season.  John and Frances Glessner were deeply involved with the orchestra from the time of its inception in 1891, raised considerable funds for the erection of Orchestra Hall in 1904, and were generous supporters throughout their lifetimes.  Theodore Thomas and Frederick Stock, the first two music directors who led the symphony for more than 50 years, were intimate friends.

John J. Glessner

Mayor Rahm Emanuel issued a proclamation in August 2015 honoring the symphony for its 125^th anniversary.  Appropriately, the proclamation acknowledged the significant support provided by John Glessner in the first decades of the symphony’s history.  In honor of the CSO 125^th anniversary season, we reprint the proclamation in its entirety below.

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

CITY OF CHICAGO

RAHM EMANUEL

MAYOR

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performs its annual free Concert for Chicago in Millennium Park this year on Friday, September 18, 2015, and the Symphony Ball gala at Symphony Center on Saturday, September 19, 2015, as it launches its 125^th Anniversary season; and

WHEREAS the first meeting for the incorporation of The Orchestral Association was held at the Chicago Club on December 17, 1890, during which a board of five trustees was elected to serve and a group of fifty-one businessmen, including Chicago pioneers Armour, Field, Glessner, McCormick, Potter, Pullman, Ryerson, Sprague and Wacker volunteered to serve as guarantors, each pledging their continued financial support; and

Theodore Thomas, Music Director, 1891-1905

WHEREAS Theodore Thomas, then the most popular conductor in America, was engaged as the Orchestra’s first music director and led the Chicago Orchestra’s first concerts at the Auditorium Theatre on October 16 and 17, 1891, conducting music of Wagner, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Dvořák; and

Fundraising brochure for the new Orchestra Hall, 1903

WHEREAS Orchestra Hall, designed by CSO trustee and Chicago architect Daniel H. Burnham and completed in 1904 at a cost of $750,000, saw its dedicatory concert, led by Thomas, on December 14 of that year; and

Frederick Stock, Music Director, 1905-1942

Photo inscribed "To my best friends,
Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Glessner"

WHEREAS the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is a long-standing international cultural ambassador for Chicago and the United States of America having completed 58 international tours, performing in 29 countries on five continents, and

WHEREAS in 2011 the CSO and the Chicago Symphony Chorus’s recording of Verdi’s Requiem led by Maestro Muti won two Grammy awards, and, to date, recordings by the CSO have earned a total of 62 Grammy awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; and

WHEREAS the Chicago Symphony Orchestral Association has been an active collaborator with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events in the development and execution of a Cultural Plan for Chicago, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, Yo-Yo Ma, and the CSO’s Negaunee Music Institute continually work to share live classical music with all;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RAHM EMANUEL, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO, do hereby proclaim September 18-19, 2015 to be CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 125^TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON OPENING WEEKEND CELEBRATION and encourage all Chicagoans to participate.

Dated this 3^rd day of August, 2015.

Rahm Emanuel

Mayor

Ringing in the New Year - 1900

In a few days, the world will bid farewell to another year and usher in 2015.  In celebration, we take a brief look back at how the Glessners and a few of their fellow Chicagoans welcomed in the year 1900.

The Glessners celebrated with a small gathering in their home which was greatly enhanced by the arrival of their dear friend, Theodore Thomas, conductor of the symphony orchestra, and a few of his musicians.  Frances Glessner related the following in her journal for Sunday December 31, 1899:

“Mr. & Mrs. Philo Otis, Miss Hutchinson, Frances, Mr. Badger, Mr. Hendricks, Mr. Hendrickson came to supper.  Mr. Hendricks and Mr. Hendrickson left at 10.  Mr. Thomas came in between eleven and twelve.  At twelve we were congratulating each other when the most beautiful music seemed to fill the whole house.  Mr. Thomas had brought in eight or more members of the orchestra into the dining room.  The doors were shut into the dining room, and the whole house seemed filled with harmony.  The men played German chorales.  Then the doors were opened, we went out and wished every one a happy new year, after that the men played burlesques on a German street band.  We were moved to tears in the first part, and nearly hurt ourselves laughing over the other part.  We had some sandwiches, champagne, and mulled wine – and a very delightful time.”

Theodore Thomas

From the Chicago Tribune we get a glimpse of how others in Chicago were celebrating.   Midnight masses and “watch night” services were common in many of the churches as indicated below:

“The dawn of the ‘holy year’ in Chicago found the many churches where midnight mass was sung surrounded by great throngs of people.  Every edifice was crowded, the aisles were filled, and many stood in the vestibules, but could hear or see little of the services.  At the Cathedral of the Holy Name, North State and Superior streets, and at the Holy Family Church, May and Twelfth streets, the crowds were greatest.  At both these were special details of police and detectives.

“At the North Side Cathedral the crowd began to gather soon after 8 p.m.  By 11:30 there was a crowd of 2,000 people around the church.  Shortly before midnight a small door was opened, and through this the crowd filed slowly till the church was filled.  Hundreds were turned away disappointed.

Holy Family Church and St. Ignatius

“The Holy Family Church, Twelfth and May streets, which has the largest congregation of any Catholic Church in the city, was crowded long before midnight.  Solemn high mass was sung, and the music and floral decorations were fitting for the celebration.”

Cycling clubs, extremely popular at the turn of the last century, provided appropriate entertainment and activity.  The Board of Trade Cycling Club gave an annual entertainment, consisting of a minstrel show with club members taking all of the roles.  T. J. Cannon, the master of ceremonies for the show, was in Colonial costume and powdered wig; others performers were in black face.

Cyclists on the porch of a Pullman home

The Chicago Cycling Club continued their annual tradition of a ride to Pullman:

“Members of the Chicago Cycling club having an authenticated record of 2:50 for a mile unpaced will start at 10 o’clock this forenoon on their fourteenth annual New Year’s day run to Pullman. . . The annual run has been held in all sorts and kinds of weather in the thirteen years in which it has flourished.  Roads from the consistency of mush to the frozen pathway which will be found today have been religiously whirled over by the pioneers of Chicago cycling every year.  Sometimes they rode in snow, sometimes in rain, sometimes in a combination of rain and snow; but they have always ridden the course and finished up with a big dinner at Pullman . . . Twenty-five or thirty riders have signified their intention of taking the run today.  Probably not more than fifteen will turn out, but these will be the oldest riders of the lot.  The younger generation do not take as kindly to the hardships of the task as do those who first burned the pathway for the bicycle in Chicago.”

The holiday was also celebrated with many parties and receptions including these two on the South Side:

“Two entertainments with which the week closed were given by Mrs. Chauncey Blair and Mrs. Arthur Caton last evening (December 31).  Mrs. Blair gave an old-fashioned farm supper and dance for the young people.  Pumpkins, jack-o’-lanterns, and other novel features were used in decoration.  Mrs. Caton gave a dinner for nearly fifty guests, followed by a vaudeville entertainment.  The program was supplied entirely by amateurs.”

Caton dining room, 1910 S. Calumet Ave.

NOTE:  The Chauncey Blair residence was at 4830 S. Drexel Boulevard.

Regardless of how you choose to ring in 2015, we wish our readers a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

Happy Birthday Richard Strauss!

Wednesday June 11, 2014 will mark the 150^th anniversary of the birth of the great composer and conductor Richard Strauss.  Widely regarded during his lifetime as the greatest composer of the first half of the 20^th century, his innovative music, which bridged German Romanticism and early modernism, was championed by the first two conductors of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during its first half century – Theodore Thomas and Frederick Stock. 

                           

In February 1895, the Chicago Tribune made the following comment at the time of the premiere of his tone poem “Death and Transfiguration” with the orchestra:

“Richard Strauss is an interesting figure in the musical world.  Appointed a conductor at the Royal Opera, Berlin, for 1896, and also to direct the orchestra concerts in that city, he is not yet 31 years old.  At present he fulfills the part of director at the Munich Royal Opera, and last summer was one of the four conductors assisting at Bayreuth.  In Germany he is regarded with favor through his symphonic compositions.

“Of this branch of his work opportunity was allowed to judge in the last orchestra program.  ‘Death and Transfiguration’ was the composition chosen.  In it the composer has given free flight to a remarkably vivid imagination, discarding ordinary artistic rules.  The demands upon the orchestra are prodigious.  If rules are ignored in the writing, difficulties are ignored in the treatment from the executants’ point of view.  In rhythm, complication of themes, and nuances it is redundant almost to the extreme of extravagance.”

Just three years later, in an article entitled “Born for a Baton,” the Chicago Tribune announced:

“The leader of the Royal Orchestra in Munich, Herr Levy, lays down the baton.  There is no necessity for him to wield it longer, as he is soon to wed an heiress.  Richard Strauss has been appointed his successor.

“This is the latest word to reach America concerning musical affairs in the fatherland.  Richard Strauss, who up to this time has occupied the position of second conductor of the Royal Opera, is what the Germans so lovingly designate ‘Ein Munchener Kind,’ having been born in Munich June 11, 1864.  He is not related by blood to the Vienna waltz king, although often erroneously counted as a member of the latter’s family, both bearing the same name.”

Richard Strauss made his debut in America in February 1904.  In a special to the Chicago Tribune from New York, dated February 28:

“The long heralded American debut of Richard Strauss of Berlin, an important figure at the present time in the world’s field of music, was made in Carnegie hall tonight at last in the Wetzler symphony concerts before an immense audience with notable enthusiasm. 

“Mr. Strauss’ compositions monopolized the program, the occasion constituting the first series of festival concerts at which his works will be consecutively exploited, and the composer himself conducted the most important number in the list, his tone poem “Ein Heldenleben,” at his first appearance.”

Strauss’ trip to America also included performances in Chicago.  In the Chicago Tribune, dated March 13, 1904 it was noted that:

“The coming to Chicago of Richard Strauss will in certain respects be the most interesting event of the present season.  There is today no man in the musical world who so completely fills the public eye as does this comparatively young German composer.  His orchestral works and his songs have made their way into every country where occidental music is cultivated as an art, and his influence in both these lines of creative music is already making itself distinctly felt.  We here in Chicago have – thanks to the presence of Mr. Thomas and the Chicago orchestra – been made unusually familiar with all orchestra works of Strauss, and through the efforts of our singers, headed by Mr. Hamlin (whose services in this line should not be forgotten), have made the acquaintance of many of his songs.  We are, therefore, in better position than is any other city in this country to receive Dr. Strauss with understanding and appreciation of what he has accomplished in music.  No other American city heard all of his tone poems so early, and nowhere have they been given with such frequency since that time as here in Chicago, for Mr. Thomas’ keen and constant search for important novelties and his realization of Strauss’ influence in present day music have caused him to place the composition of the celebrated German often before the patrons of the Chicago orchestra.

“The conditions under which Dr. Strauss will be heard here will also be peculiarly favorable.  Even the decriers of Chicago and all that is Chicagoan can but admit that the only orchestra in the United States which can compete with our own for technical and interpretative supremacy is the Boston Symphony.  The other orchestras of the country are capable, but they are not of the superior excellency that distinguishes the one we call our own and that which Boston has so long boasted.  Dr. Strauss will not have an opportunity to direct the Boston organization. 

“When he comes to Chicago therefore, he will have under his baton for the first time in this country an orchestra of supreme capabilities.  It is safe to say that Mr. Thomas, while he is no hero worshiper or is not given to lionizing anybody or anything, will see to it that his ‘boys,’ as he calls his players, are in the finest condition possible when Dr. Strauss takes them in charge week after next.”

Strauss arrived in Chicago on Wednesday March 30^th, and immediately went to the Auditorium where he led the orchestra in a rehearsal of his works lasting two and one half hours.  The concert was presented in two performances – Friday April 1^st at 2:15pm and Saturday April 2^nd at 8:15pm.  After the first concert, Chicago Tribune music critic W. L. Hubbard reported, in part:

“That master musician of modern music, that wonderful combination of poet, painter, and composer, the man to whom pictures are audible and tones visible – Richard Strauss – appeared at the Auditorium yesterday afternoon, and for over two hours some 3,700 persons sat beneath the spell his great gifts weave and listened to the tonal tales they enable him to tell.

“It may be that some who heard did not understand, and that many who listened did not fully comprehend.  For fully to grasp all that this maker of musical pictures presents to us would mean that to us, too, the tones of an orchestra were but so many pigments, and that the color and forms drawn in them upon the canvas of the vibrant air were as clear, as distinct, and as definite to our aural vision as they are to his.

“To most of us such hearing is denied – our ears are still too blind to be able to see all the dream pictures Richard Strauss’ magical power would have us see through them.  But while we may be thus blind, and while some of us in that blindness may even question the possibility of such tonal pictures existing – may, in short, doubt the possibility of music performing all the tasks he would have it perform – it was not difficult, while sitting yesterday afternoon in the presence of this mighty weaver of musical mysteries, to catch glimpses of the brilliantly colored pictures he was painting with tones, and to credit the possibility of music doing all he would have it do.”

The program opened with Theodore Thomas leading his orchestra in the prelude to “Die Meistersinger” after which he turned the podium over to Dr. Strauss for the remainder of the concert. 

“A rousing fanfare from the whole orchestra and applause loud and long continued expressed to the celebrated conductor-composer Chicago’s cordial welcome.  He bowed repeatedly, and then raised his baton for the first measures of ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra.

“After the ‘Zarathustra,’ Mme. Strauss appeared, escorted by both Mr. Thomas and Dr. Strauss.  Mme. Strauss is one of the leaders of the dress reform movement in Germany, and her gown yesterday was in this style, an elaborate creation of creamy lace and silk, which was distinctly becoming to her.  Her singing proved interesting and satisfactory from an interpretative viewpoint.  The voice has lost its richness in the upper middle register and in the high tones, but it is of no inconsiderably beauty in the lower half, and it is used throughout with so much of discretion and understanding that it seems adequate for all that is undertaken.  The seven songs heard were beautifully interpreted, and the exquisite accompaniments, played, as they were, in the finest style by the orchestra, made the performance of them in high measure gratifying.”

Richard Strauss with his wife, Pauline Strauss de Ahna

The Glessners were present at the second Strauss concert on the evening of Saturday April 2^nd, having just returned that afternoon from a two-month trip to Santa Barbara, California on account of Frances Glessner’s health.  She made the following entry in her journal:

“We had a state room and were very comfortable coming home.  Miss Gillette of Elkhart was on the train.  We got here between three and four.  Frances and Blewett met us – Alice was here at the house.  George had gone to Canada and Littleton.  Helen and Anna (her sisters) soon came.  We had a good talk and a very warm welcome from all. 

“In the evening we had the Lees and the sisters here to dinner and then we all went to the concert where we heard Richard Strauss conduct the orchestra.  Madame Strauss sang.  Mr. Thomas conducted the first number and Strauss the rest of the program.

“After the first number Mr. Thomas sat with Mrs. Thomas a while, then he called on us in our box.  Mrs. Thomas, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Woodyatt, Mr. Baird called before the concert, - Mr. Burnham, Mr. Kramer, Mr. Block and others called in the intermission.  Frances and Blewett went out to the florist in the intermission and sent flowers for me to the orchestra and the Strauss’.”

The Potter Palmer "castle" on Lake Shore Drive

On April 4^th, Dr. and Mme. Strauss gave a benefit recital for the Russian Red Cross society at the residence of Potter and Bertha Palmer on Lake Shore Drive.  The event netted $4,500 for the relief of Russian soldiers fighting in the Far East.  The Chicago Tribune reported:

“It was entirely a Strauss recital.  It was a German evening.  Every selection given was of Strauss’ own composition.  Dr. Richard Strauss, the famous composer and orchestra leader of Berlin, did not play a single solo, but presided at the piano as accompanist for every number.  The first, second, and fourth parts of the program were by Mme. Strauss de Ahna, soprano, and the third part was by Paul Meyer, violinist, second concertmeister of the Chicago orchestra.”

The final performance by Dr. Strauss and his wife in Chicago was given at the Auditorium on the evening of Thursday April 14^th.  He traveled to Washington to give his final American concert on April 26^th before returning to Germany.  During his time in the United States he appeared in 36 concerts, and was received with enthusiasm in every city in which he performed.

NOTE:  In February 1936, when CSO conductor Frederick Stock returned from a vacation, he directed the orchestra in a performance of the tone poem “Death and Transfiguration” by Richard Strauss in memory of John J. Glessner, who had died January 20^th of that year. 

The Friendship of Maud Powell and Frances Glessner

On January 25, 2014 the American violinist Maud Powell was posthumously granted a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys, during the Recording Academy’s 2014 Special Merit Awards Ceremony and Nominees Reception.  The award was accepted on behalf of Powell by violinist Rachel Barton Pine, who recorded a tribute album of Powell’s work in 2007.  Powell is widely regarded as one of the greatest female violinists in history, and was also the first American violinist to achieve international rank.

Powell was a close friend of Frances Glessner and visited the Glessner home on Prairie Avenue many times during her trips to Chicago to concertize and perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  The museum is fortunate to have a number of letters in its archives from Maud Powell to Frances Glessner, in addition to a signed photograph (shown above), which is inscribed, “To one of the dearest and best ladies in the land, with fond affection, Maud Powell.”

Maud Powell was born in Peru, Illinois on August 22, 1867.  She began the study of the violin about 1874, taking lessons in Aurora, Illinois.  Within a couple of years she was recognized as a child prodigy and started taking lessons with William Lewis in Chicago.  At the age of 13, her parents sold their home to finance her musical studies, and she travelled to Europe with her mother to study with Joseph Joachim at the Berlin Hochschule, Henry Schradieck at the Leipzig Conservatoire, and Charles Dancla at the Paris Conservatoire. 

Her official debut took place in 1885, when she performed Bruch’s G minor concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic under Joachim’s baton.  Her American debut was with the New York Philharmonic under Theodore Thomas, marking the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership with Thomas and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. 

Powell was the first American violinist – man or woman – to change the opinions of Europeans, who, at the time, tended to scoff at classical music in America.  She concertized extensively throughout her career on stages across the United States and Europe.  She also introduced solo violin recordings with the Victor Talking Machine Company on their Red Seal label, all of which have been digitally remastered and were rereleased in 2009. 

She met her future husband and manager, H. Godfrey Turner, in London during the winter of 1902-1903.  At the time, Turner was serving as manager of the British syndicate which guaranteed the band of John Philip Sousa, and in that role, he extended an offer to Powell to play with Sousa’s band.  They married in 1904.

On November 27, 1919 she suffered a heart attack on stage while performing in St. Louis, Missouri; she died from another heart attack on January 8, 1920 while on tour in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.  She was just 52 years old. 

Journal entries by Frances Glessner and surviving letters indicate that the two became acquainted in 1907, when Powell was in Chicago playing with the Orchestra.  Frances Glessner wrote on January 24, 1907, “I went to the orchestra rehearsal . . . Maud Powell played.  After rehearsal was over, she came down with Mr. Wessels and I had a pleasant talk with her.  We walked down to her hotel together.”

The next day, Frances Glessner received a letter from Maud Powell, which reads, in part:

“I can’t quite tell you how touched I was that you have sent me those beautiful, beautiful roses!  They are the most exquisite things in the world.  I wonder if you saw them and know how ravishingly lovely they are?  They are filling the gap that comes in the awful reaction after an exciting performance and it WAS exciting today.  I tried so hard to induce Mr. Stock to have the orchestra rise to share the applause – but he was obdurate.  I felt that it was awful to stand there and to take all of it myself after their wonderful work.   I shall be here Sat. and Sun. the 2^nd & 3^rd of Feb. unless plans are changed.  Should I leave St. Paul earlier I might (visit) you – for I should love to see you again if possible.  With a thousand thanks for filling my room with beauty and my heart with warmth, believe me, yours sincerely, Maud Powell.” 

Another letter, written in February 1908, reads in part:

“En Route – Pennsylvania Lines – Pullman Vestibuled Train – Monday:

Dear Mrs. Glessner,

It is extraordinary, but I feel as though I had always known you and as if our ideas about essential things of life and conduct would walk hand in hand, and when you called me “Maud” – I loved it.  You radiate womanliness and have so many qualities of mind and temperament that I am so woefully lacking in, but love to feel the influence of!  It was very sweet of you to give me such a delightful opportunity of meeting the artistically elite – and in Chicago the artistically elite are so RIGHT personally.   Isn’t it so?  It was a lovely evening?”

By 1909, she is signing her letters simply “Maud” such as this example from November 1909 where she thanks Frances Glessner for making a chain for her:

“My dear Mrs. Glessner,

I keep hugging myself with pleasure YOU not being near to receive my ebullitions of delight – over the beautiful chain.  Why I should be so honored I hardly know, but certainly no one else could appreciate the lovely gift more than this erratic fiddler.  I am so proud that a woman made it – and proud that you wanted to give it to me.  What I love in you so much is the beautiful enthusiasm that keeps you interested in right things – the simple things of life – in spite of worldly riches.  How few people know how to live – and how seldom riches help them to know – isn’t it so?  My love to you and a heartful of thanks – thanks to the fates, too, for letting me know you.”

Frances Glessner was quite ill for an extended period, and Maud Powell was unable to see her when visiting Chicago in 1911.  She wrote in part:

“Thank you for your sweet letter received many weeks ago.  How are you now, dear?  I tried to see you in Chicago, when they told me of your illness – and since then I have had news of you from different mutual friends . . . Take care of your dear self – what I mean is: as you convalesce, don’t get busy being nice and kind to everyone and doing too much.  Don’t let your heart go beyond your strength.  I send you my love, and hope next winter will find you in Chicago feeling QUITE your old self.”

A particularly amusing letter was sent in 1912 after Frances Glessner wrote inquiring about Maud Powell’s condition following an automobile accident:

“It was very good of you to write.  The accident occurred a month ago.  It was not nearly as bad as it might have been, nor was it as bad as it seemed at first.  I was badly cut up, as my head went through the windshield, but my eyes were not hurt, and I shall carry only one small scar, and that, the Doctor promises will go down in a year.  Mr. Turner was not hurt at all, thank goodness, and the little machine came out of the repair shop, better than ever.  I was to blame for the whole thing.  A case of too much artistic temperament!  A wonderful butterfly flew in and fell on his back.  I tried to save him, but the draught caught him a second time, and he blew against the pedals.  Mr. Turner’s attention was taken for a second from the wheel, and of course, in that second, bang! we ran off the road and tried to root up the stump of a tree!  And if that tree had not been there, we should have been down in the ravine, - and in eternity, probably.  However it was a good lesson for us, and we are more careful than ever, now.”

Powell ends the letter with a postscript apologizing for typing the letter (which at the time was not considered appropriate for personal correspondence):

“I almost forgot to apologise for writing with the machine!  But I know you will forgive me, when you realize how it saves my bow arm.  And it is easier to read!”

Letters continue until 1917, when Frances Glessner stopped writing her journal.  There are frequent mentions of visits, dinners at the Glessner house, and of Maud Powell sitting in the Glessners’ box at Orchestra Hall during concerts.  It must have been a hard blow for Frances Glessner to lose her dear and talented friend at such a young age especially considered Maud Powell was only four years older than the Glessners’ son George.  But the warm and affectionate friendship they shared for more than a decade provided many happy memories that Frances Glessner carried with her for the remainder of her life.