VINCENT D'INDY

M. d'Indy is today one of the two foremost figures on the French musical horizon. As a youth, with the vision of youth, he recognized the genius of Wagnerian music when it was generally condemned in France. He attached himself to Cesar Franck, greatest of recent composers, and remained loyal to his master throughout his bitter struggle to reform French taste and introduce the new musical standards. His reward has come in seeing Wagner and Franck justified, France raised to a high place in the musical world, and himself made leader of one of her two greatest musical institutions. With Saint-Saens, his senior, he has built up around him the talent of younger France into a vital group of composers, leading the way for other nations. It is with pride and honor that we welcome him to the University today.