In 1909, he was invited to take a position as professor of piano and theory at the
Imperial Academy in
Tokyo, Japan. Reuter was the first pianist to perform the piano works of
Debussy in Japan, playing the Sarabande from
Pour le piano in 1909, and the Toccata from the same suite in 1911. He returned to the United States in 1912, being concerned that his geographic distance from the United States and Europe was "endanger[ing]" his "whole musical future..." He developed an active career as a soloist and teacher based in
Chicago, Illinois. In 1920, he was the first pianist to give a public performance of
Charles Tomlinson Griffes's revised
piano sonata; the
Chicago Tribune critic praised Reuter's playing of the piece, citing the pianist's "enthusiasm and excellent musical understanding,” but dismissed the sonata out-of-hand as “wholly meaningless and useless musical material.” The critic for
Musical America offered even more trenchant criticism: "Especially noteworthy was his first performance from manuscript, of a sonata in four divisions, but in one movement, by Charles T. Griffes. This work by the Southern [sic] composer, hardly measures up to his many compositions we have heard, either in thematic worth or harmonic texture. The short thematic materials and the vague harmonic meanderings, leave the hearer in uncertain mood as to the meaning of the entire work. Mr. Reuter played the sonata with virile and straight forward style, but even his excellent performance could not rescue the sonata from its drab dullness.” Reuter taught for many years in Chicago, first at the
Chicago Musical College, then at the
American Conservatory of Music. ==References==