 up a friendship and professional correspondence not only with him , but also with Erik Satie and Les six . This led to more music being sent to her by various composers that she would premiere in concert . She accepted and premiered almost all works sent to her , the only exception being a refusal to perform Pierrot Lunaire by Arnold Schoenberg . Through this , Gauthier performed large amounts of contemporary French music across the United States . She also included American music in all of her concerts . Gauthier toured America frequently and returned to Europe in 1922 , and again in 1923 . She began to explore Jazz music in concert as well , earning her negative reviews by many musical critics .   Her 1923 annual performance at Aeolian Hall entitled " Recital of Ancient and Modern Music for Voice " became a historic occasion when she presented the works of George Gershwin , the first time his works were performed by a classical singer in concert . The first half of the programme presented works considered serious music at the time . She performed both classical works by Vincenzo Bellini and Henry Purcell , mixing them with modernist and neoclassical works by Arnold Schoenberg , Darius Milhaud , Béla Bartók , and Paul Hindemith . The second half of her performance would upset the musical establishment , however . She opened with Alexander 's Ragtime Band by Irving Berlin , then performed works by Jerome Kern and Walter Donaldson , and finally finished with three works by George Gershwin : I 'll Build a Stairway to Paradise , Innocent Ingénue Baby , and Swanee . Gershwin played the piano for these pieces . Important figures in the audience included Ernestine Schumann @-@ Heink , Virgil Thomson , and Paul Whiteman . Although some musical critics panned her decision to include Jazz music , the performance was overall a huge success , and provoked serious discussion among conservative audiences whether jazz music could be considered serious art .   Gauthier continued to present music that was thought poorly of by conservative audiences . On some occasions , such as her performances of Gershwin in New York in 1923 and 1925 , as well as in London in 1925 , this was quite successful . A critic in Vienna welcomed her musical selection as a reprieve from the usual fare of classical performances - Schubert , Brahms , Wolf , Richard Strauss - while praising her skill with more classical choices . Other performances suffered – she was booed while performing works by Heitor Villa @-@ Lobos at the Festival of the International Society of Contemporary Music in Venice . She became a celebrity , and continued giving performances across the United States , Europe , and her native Canada . On the sixtieth anniversary of Canadian Confederation in 1927 , she gave a performance in Ottawa which was the first transcontinental radio broadcast in Canada . Although she toured Canada from time to time , and attended performances of Canadian music in New York , she held a negative opinion of Canada 's treatment of native musicians , saying " Canadians . . . would rather listen to foreigners than their own people . "   = = = Retirement from the stage = = =   Illness forced Gauthier to halt giving performances in the late 1920s , but she would return to the stage in 1931 , giving a concert in Havana , Cuba . As time passed she began to engage more and more in teaching , and less and less in stage performing . Her income from teaching was substantially better than from touring . She retired from performing entirely in 1937 , and opened a music studio in New York . There she became a founding member of the American Guild of Musical Artists , serving on its board of governors . She died on December 20 , 1958 .   = = Views of critics and audiences = =   Gauthier was a controversial musician in her time . Her choice of music for performance was often condemned , and often praised . The appropriateness of jazz music for a classically trained singer , combined with the performances taking place in concert halls lead some critics to cheer her for promoting otherwise overlooked music , and others to condemn her for taking lowbrow music into a highbrow venue .   A May 1 , 1917 review by the New York Times praised her natural talent , with some reservations about the unpolished quality of her voice . Her ability to capture the spirit of the pieces was also praised : " ... her singing of songs by Frenchmen of today and the day before yesterday gave pleasure because of her understanding of them and the appropriate expression which she found for them . "   A November 12 , 1923 Time review of her performance of historic Italian songs , as well as modern English , French , Austrian , German and American numbers focused on her choice to include selections of contemporary jazz music . The critic remarked " Her voice was much too good for jazz . " Here she was praised as a serious , scholarly artist whose performance was " ... neat and expressive . " The audience received the concert very enthusiastically .   Her performance in Fargo in 1923 resulted in a headline in the Fargo Forum the next
Ġup Ġa Ġfriendship Ġand Ġprofessional Ġcorrespondence Ġnot Ġonly Ġwith Ġhim Ġ, Ġbut Ġalso Ġwith ĠErik ĠSat ie Ġand ĠLes Ġsix Ġ. ĠThis Ġled Ġto Ġmore Ġmusic Ġbeing Ġsent Ġto Ġher Ġby Ġvarious Ġcompos ers Ġthat Ġshe Ġwould Ġpremiere Ġin Ġconcert Ġ. ĠShe Ġaccepted Ġand Ġpremiered Ġalmost Ġall Ġworks Ġsent Ġto Ġher Ġ, Ġthe Ġonly Ġexception Ġbeing Ġa Ġrefusal Ġto Ġperform ĠPier rot ĠLun aire Ġby ĠArnold ĠSch oen berg Ġ. ĠThrough Ġthis Ġ, ĠGa uth ier Ġperformed Ġlarge Ġamounts Ġof Ġcontemporary ĠFrench Ġmusic Ġacross Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġ. ĠShe Ġalso Ġincluded ĠAmerican Ġmusic Ġin Ġall Ġof Ġher Ġconcerts Ġ. ĠGa uth ier Ġtoured ĠAmerica Ġfrequently Ġand Ġreturned Ġto ĠEurope Ġin Ġ1922 Ġ, Ġand Ġagain Ġin Ġ1923 Ġ. ĠShe Ġbegan Ġto Ġexplore ĠJazz Ġmusic Ġin Ġconcert Ġas Ġwell Ġ, Ġearning Ġher Ġnegative Ġreviews Ġby Ġmany Ġmusical Ġcritics Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠHer Ġ1923 Ġannual Ġperformance Ġat ĠAe ol ian ĠHall Ġentitled Ġ" ĠRec ital Ġof ĠAncient Ġand ĠModern ĠMusic Ġfor ĠVoice Ġ" Ġbecame Ġa Ġhistoric Ġoccasion Ġwhen Ġshe Ġpresented Ġthe Ġworks Ġof ĠGeorge ĠG ers h win Ġ, Ġthe Ġfirst Ġtime Ġhis Ġworks Ġwere Ġperformed Ġby Ġa Ġclassical Ġsinger Ġin Ġconcert Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġhalf Ġof Ġthe Ġprogramme Ġpresented Ġworks Ġconsidered Ġserious Ġmusic Ġat Ġthe Ġtime Ġ. ĠShe Ġperformed Ġboth Ġclassical Ġworks Ġby ĠV inc en zo ĠBell ini Ġand ĠHenry ĠPur cell Ġ, Ġmixing Ġthem Ġwith Ġmodern ist Ġand Ġneoc lass ical Ġworks Ġby ĠArnold ĠSch oen berg Ġ, ĠDarius ĠMil ha ud Ġ, ĠB Ã© la ĠBart Ã³ k Ġ, Ġand ĠPaul ĠHind em ith Ġ. ĠThe Ġsecond Ġhalf Ġof Ġher Ġperformance Ġwould Ġupset Ġthe Ġmusical Ġestablishment Ġ, Ġhowever Ġ. ĠShe Ġopened Ġwith ĠAlexander Ġ' s ĠRag time ĠBand Ġby ĠIrving ĠBerlin Ġ, Ġthen Ġperformed Ġworks Ġby ĠJerome ĠKern Ġand ĠWalter ĠDonald son Ġ, Ġand Ġfinally Ġfinished Ġwith Ġthree Ġworks Ġby ĠGeorge ĠG ers h win Ġ: ĠI Ġ' ll ĠBuild Ġa ĠSt air way Ġto ĠParadise Ġ, ĠInnocent ĠIng Ã©n ue ĠBaby Ġ, Ġand ĠSwan ee Ġ. ĠG ers h win Ġplayed Ġthe Ġpiano Ġfor Ġthese Ġpieces Ġ. ĠImportant Ġfigures Ġin Ġthe Ġaudience Ġincluded ĠErn estine ĠSch umann Ġ@ - @ ĠHe ink Ġ, ĠVir gil ĠThomson Ġ, Ġand ĠPaul ĠWhit eman Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġsome Ġmusical Ġcritics Ġp anned Ġher Ġdecision Ġto Ġinclude ĠJazz Ġmusic Ġ, Ġthe Ġperformance Ġwas Ġoverall Ġa Ġhuge Ġsuccess Ġ, Ġand Ġprovoked Ġserious Ġdiscussion Ġamong Ġconservative Ġaudiences Ġwhether Ġjazz Ġmusic Ġcould Ġbe Ġconsidered Ġserious Ġart Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠGa uth ier Ġcontinued Ġto Ġpresent Ġmusic Ġthat Ġwas Ġthought Ġpoorly Ġof Ġby Ġconservative Ġaudiences Ġ. ĠOn Ġsome Ġoccasions Ġ, Ġsuch Ġas Ġher Ġperformances Ġof ĠG ers h win Ġin ĠNew ĠYork Ġin Ġ1923 Ġand Ġ1925 Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġin ĠLondon Ġin Ġ1925 Ġ, Ġthis Ġwas Ġquite Ġsuccessful Ġ. ĠA Ġcritic Ġin ĠVienna Ġwelcomed Ġher Ġmusical Ġselection Ġas Ġa Ġrep rieve Ġfrom Ġthe Ġusual Ġfare Ġof Ġclassical Ġperformances Ġ- ĠSch u bert Ġ, ĠBrah ms Ġ, ĠWolf Ġ, ĠRichard ĠStrauss Ġ- Ġwhile Ġpraising Ġher Ġskill Ġwith Ġmore Ġclassical Ġchoices Ġ. ĠOther Ġperformances Ġsuffered ĠâĢĵ Ġshe Ġwas Ġboo ed Ġwhile Ġperforming Ġworks Ġby ĠHe itor ĠVilla Ġ@ - @ ĠLob os Ġat Ġthe ĠFestival Ġof Ġthe ĠInternational ĠSociety Ġof ĠContemporary ĠMusic Ġin ĠVenice Ġ. ĠShe Ġbecame Ġa Ġcelebrity Ġ, Ġand Ġcontinued Ġgiving Ġperformances Ġacross Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġ, ĠEurope Ġ, Ġand Ġher Ġnative ĠCanada Ġ. ĠOn Ġthe Ġs ixt ieth Ġanniversary Ġof ĠCanadian ĠConfederation Ġin Ġ1927 Ġ, Ġshe Ġgave Ġa Ġperformance Ġin ĠOttawa Ġwhich Ġwas Ġthe Ġfirst Ġtrans continental Ġradio Ġbroadcast Ġin ĠCanada Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġshe Ġtoured ĠCanada Ġfrom Ġtime Ġto Ġtime Ġ, Ġand Ġattended Ġperformances Ġof ĠCanadian Ġmusic Ġin ĠNew ĠYork Ġ, Ġshe Ġheld Ġa Ġnegative Ġopinion Ġof ĠCanada Ġ' s Ġtreatment Ġof Ġnative Ġmusicians Ġ, Ġsaying Ġ" ĠCanadians Ġ. Ġ. Ġ. Ġwould Ġrather Ġlisten Ġto Ġforeigners Ġthan Ġtheir Ġown Ġpeople Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠRetirement Ġfrom Ġthe Ġstage Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIll ness Ġforced ĠGa uth ier Ġto Ġhalt Ġgiving Ġperformances Ġin Ġthe Ġlate Ġ1920 s Ġ, Ġbut Ġshe Ġwould Ġreturn Ġto Ġthe Ġstage Ġin Ġ1931 Ġ, Ġgiving Ġa Ġconcert Ġin ĠHavana Ġ, ĠCuba Ġ. ĠAs Ġtime Ġpassed Ġshe Ġbegan Ġto Ġengage Ġmore Ġand Ġmore Ġin Ġteaching Ġ, Ġand Ġless Ġand Ġless Ġin Ġstage Ġperforming Ġ. ĠHer Ġincome Ġfrom Ġteaching Ġwas Ġsubstantially Ġbetter Ġthan Ġfrom Ġtouring Ġ. ĠShe Ġretired Ġfrom Ġperforming Ġentirely Ġin Ġ1937 Ġ, Ġand Ġopened Ġa Ġmusic Ġstudio Ġin ĠNew ĠYork Ġ. ĠThere Ġshe Ġbecame Ġa Ġfounding Ġmember Ġof Ġthe ĠAmerican ĠGuild Ġof ĠMusical ĠArtists Ġ, Ġserving Ġon Ġits Ġboard Ġof Ġgovernors Ġ. ĠShe Ġdied Ġon ĠDecember Ġ20 Ġ, Ġ1958 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠViews Ġof Ġcritics Ġand Ġaudiences Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠGa uth ier Ġwas Ġa Ġcontroversial Ġmusician Ġin Ġher Ġtime Ġ. ĠHer Ġchoice Ġof Ġmusic Ġfor Ġperformance Ġwas Ġoften Ġcondemned Ġ, Ġand Ġoften Ġpraised Ġ. ĠThe Ġappropri at eness Ġof Ġjazz Ġmusic Ġfor Ġa Ġclass ically Ġtrained Ġsinger Ġ, Ġcombined Ġwith Ġthe Ġperformances Ġtaking Ġplace Ġin Ġconcert Ġhalls Ġlead Ġsome Ġcritics Ġto Ġcheer Ġher Ġfor Ġpromoting Ġotherwise Ġoverlooked Ġmusic Ġ, Ġand Ġothers Ġto Ġcondemn Ġher Ġfor Ġtaking Ġlow brow Ġmusic Ġinto Ġa Ġhigh brow Ġvenue Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠA ĠMay Ġ1 Ġ, Ġ1917 Ġreview Ġby Ġthe ĠNew ĠYork ĠTimes Ġpraised Ġher Ġnatural Ġtalent Ġ, Ġwith Ġsome Ġreservations Ġabout Ġthe Ġunp ol ished Ġquality Ġof Ġher Ġvoice Ġ. ĠHer Ġability Ġto Ġcapture Ġthe Ġspirit Ġof Ġthe Ġpieces Ġwas Ġalso Ġpraised Ġ: Ġ" Ġ... Ġher Ġsinging Ġof Ġsongs Ġby ĠFrench men Ġof Ġtoday Ġand Ġthe Ġday Ġbefore Ġyesterday Ġgave Ġpleasure Ġbecause Ġof Ġher Ġunderstanding Ġof Ġthem Ġand Ġthe Ġappropriate Ġexpression Ġwhich Ġshe Ġfound Ġfor Ġthem Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠA ĠNovember Ġ12 Ġ, Ġ1923 ĠTime Ġreview Ġof Ġher Ġperformance Ġof Ġhistoric ĠItalian Ġsongs Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġmodern ĠEnglish Ġ, ĠFrench Ġ, ĠAustrian Ġ, ĠGerman Ġand ĠAmerican Ġnumbers Ġfocused Ġon Ġher Ġchoice Ġto Ġinclude Ġselections Ġof Ġcontemporary Ġjazz Ġmusic Ġ. ĠThe Ġcritic Ġremarked Ġ" ĠHer Ġvoice Ġwas Ġmuch Ġtoo Ġgood Ġfor Ġjazz Ġ. Ġ" ĠHere Ġshe Ġwas Ġpraised Ġas Ġa Ġserious Ġ, Ġscholarly Ġartist Ġwhose Ġperformance Ġwas Ġ" Ġ... Ġneat Ġand Ġexpressive Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe Ġaudience Ġreceived Ġthe Ġconcert Ġvery Ġenthusiastically Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠHer Ġperformance Ġin ĠFargo Ġin Ġ1923 Ġresulted Ġin Ġa Ġheadline Ġin Ġthe ĠFargo ĠForum Ġthe Ġnext