be heard in Carnegie Hall or the Opera House. Within a few months, indeed, at these cinema concerts, I have listened to the overture to Iphigénie en Aulide, Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March, Dvořák's Carneval overture, the andante con moto from Schubert's major Symphony, Dukas's l'Apprenti-sorcier, the first movement of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, the overture to Oberon, the March from the Symphonie Pathétique, Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien, and even the vorspiel to Die Meistersinger![1] In 1920, the direction of the Rialto Theatre in New York went so far as to offer a prize of $500 for the best orchestral composition submitted by an American. Among the judges in this contest were Artur Bodanzky, Victor Herbert, Carl Deis, and O. G. Sonneck. Eighty-five compositions were entered in this competition and the gold was awarded to Mortimer Wilson of Iowa for his New Orleans overture. This work was performed at the Rialto during the week of October 24, 1920. The week of December 19, Maurice Baron's Ouverture Triomphale, the second choice of the judges, was given a hearing. I listened to both of these numbers and can
- ↑ Strauss's Ein Heldenleben, which even symphony society audiences found heavy ten years ago, was performed at the Capitol Theatre in New York during November, 1922. A year later, lunching at the Ritz-Carlton, I became aware that the orchestra was playing Debussy's l'Après-midi d'un faune.
