HARVARD MUSICAL REVIEW

With the October issue of the "Harvard Musical Review" appears another magazine to claim its share of undergraduate interest. To the average observer it would seem that the number of students sufficiently interested in music to subscribe to such a paper would be much too small to insure it life and financial health, or at least in comparison to its older brothers the "Monthly" and the "Illustrated." And, no doubt, the very fact that enough enthusiasm was generated among the students to produce even the initial number of a paper which contains only material of a purely musical nature will, people, induce on the part of many inhabitants of our College world and elsewhere a healthy state of speculation and inquiry.

Like all first numbers, the October "Review" lacks that unity which may be expected when the editors have enjoyed longer co-operation and have gained that experience which no less in journalism than in other pursuits is an efficient teacher.

All the material is interesting, and the article by Mr. Foote, one of the most distinguished graduates of the Musical Department, is particularly so in that it contains personal recollections of well-known men and chronicles certain events significant in the musical history of Boston.

Music's Everyday Usefulness.

To the casual listener the major function of music is to please. Professor Spalding emphasizes the oft-neglected but supremely valuable quality of music; namely, its everyday usefulness. This article should be a "lamp unto the feet" of many. May it be widely read!

The number contains several cuts, among them one of Dr. Karl Muck and one of Mr. Foote; also a well-written review of the life and works of Massenet, by T. M. Spelman '13, and an account of the plans of the Harvard Opera Association, by N. Roosevelt '14. Edward Royce '07 has contributed a graceful piece for piano-forte, and there is editorial comment and other reading. The composition of the magazine both as regards type and paper is excellent.

Music is a daily increasing factor in Harvard life. In the Musical Review we behold the latest and most potent evidence of its hold on the undergraduate. That the editors should have felt themselves called to the work of issuing a new paper in the face of discouraging odds, and that they persevered and succeeded does them high credit. If the first number is a criterion, the Harvard Musical Review has already taken its place among the undergraduate publications.